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  1. #1
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    Lightbulb Design my stupid Batman turn-around platform idea!

    Mrs phUnk and I are probably going to tear down our current free-standing garage and have a new one built in its place. It'll be big enough for 1 truck and 1 motorcycle and I've got this gay-ass idea that I want to build the same rotating platform that Batman parked the batmobile on. But, for my motorcycle.

    It doesn't need to be motorized, but it would have to have some kind of auto-locking mechanism so it doesn't spin when I'm driving the bike up onto it.

    The garage is on a concrete slab, but I'd probably avoid cutting into that for this project just to keep it simple and cheap.

    So, how should I design/build this thing?



    PS. It's all ball-bearings these days.

  2. #2
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    I have no idea how to design it, but I SO want to be there for testing. (To watch that is.)

    BobMc

  3. #3
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    There was a show on the Discovery Channel a little while ago about cool/unique homes. There was a house in Southern California that was completely circular and rotated slowly throughout the day. The circular theme carried over to the garage where each of the cars parked on a circle that could be spun around (just like you mentioned). It just took a push from one side or the other. It could be useful to find out more about that house. Another really cool thing with that house is how all the utilities worked. Whereas the place would spin the plumbing/drain lines had this crazy contraption that the owner of the home actually invented to make it all work. It was a pretty interesting show for a remodel dork like myself.

  4. #4
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    Here she is... my masterpiece.
    What I couldn't find is the bearing setup to spin the turntable on. If you find a track the is about the same circumference as the turntable (which ought to be a touch bigger then the wheelbase of your bike), line it with ball bearings and then weld a frame for the turntable it ought to be fairly light and plenty strong. Mount that inside a ply-wood box and you're all set.
    Blue ramp is optional, but i'd need it.

    Last edited by XtrPickels; 03-26-2006 at 10:26 PM.

  5. #5
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    XtraPickels, ! I like your design. Overall, minimizing the total platform height will make pulling onto it a lot easier. Also, I don't have any welding gear, so using existing parts (from whatever) will have to do, for the most part.

    Quote Originally Posted by BobMc
    I have no idea how to design it, but I SO want to be there for testing. (To watch that is.)
    Oh yeah, the rotating surface will covered in rough grit sandpaper so I can get a good holeshot on way out.
    Last edited by phUnk; 03-26-2006 at 10:50 PM.

  6. #6
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    What Pickels drew is perfect.

    Make it simpler by using some common athletic balls for bearings.
    Maybe baseballs or lacrosse balls - whatever you can get cheaply.
    Actually, golf balls might be the perfect bearing.
    Not perfectly round, but they are free and the bike wont be that heavy to rotate.

    Here's the easiest plan:

    drill a hole in the floor and insert a steel rod or bolt for the pivot.
    Assuming golf balls are 1 3/4" tall, cut two small circles of 1/2" ply (for spacers) and a large circle the size of your turntable of 3/4" ply.
    drill center holes for the center bolt.
    Drill holes in the large circle for your golf ball bearings.

    Place the small circle down first. Set the large circle on top.
    Put a golf ball in each hole.
    set the second small circle in the center.
    Then attach the turntable top (3/4 ply or metal, or whatever).
    Voila.

    Each ball rotates in its own hole just larger than the ball diameter so the balls are trapped but can still roll.
    How many balls you need depends on you and the size of your bike
    . . .

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by phUnk
    Also, I don't have any welding gear, so using existing parts (from whatever) will have to do, for the most part.
    Uhh, isn't the point of "home improvement" really just buying more tools?

    actually 4-5 casters could do the job well, $10bucks each isn't the cheapest, but it'd be a quick and easy install. A few hundred lbs capacityeach. Have the weight of the bike and yourself spread over 5 of them... 1,000 lbs capacity ought to be enough.

    Then some sort of center axis and 3/4" plywood ought to support the whole thing, no welding needed

    EDIT: Jesus I'm bored... this is better than wasting my brain away grading papers. (cant go to bed, SAC hasn't updated)

    The base of the center axis, its a dirt tamper, but we gotta go macgyver so I can get my ideas out.
    Last edited by XtrPickels; 03-26-2006 at 11:09 PM.

  8. #8
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    Bearings on a raceway is nice but you can use casters too -- at least 2" for smooth rolling. 6-8 will provide a stable platform. Up here we have Princess Auto which has a wide variety of stuff just for a man's workshop and Batcave.

    It really should be powered. Router a v-groove into the turntable and add a small motor.
    If you have a problem & think that someone else is going to solve it for you then you have two problems.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    i got a great idea!!
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    ...and its very simple...

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    ...and cost effective...

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    ...so i drew up some very elaborate plans:

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    Mom! The meatloaf! FUCK!.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    France
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    Quote Originally Posted by hucksquaw
    i got a great idea!!
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    ...and its very simple...

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    ...and cost effective...

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    ...so i drew up some very elaborate plans:

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    Not an option with a heavy bike and a angled driveway...
    (Until you're Batman of course. Batman woudn't mind)

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by hucksquaw
    i got a great idea!!
    I recommend you stop being such a faggot.

  12. #12
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    In my feebacious cling to reality, the things I don't see immediately is what the turntable surface itself should be.

    Plywood alone wouldn't be enough. You'd have to beef up the plywood with some framing and then set that on some turntable mechanism. You can find circular suport frame for tables that would be a good support.

    You could build the plywood platform. Then the actual turntable mechanism could be made out of a car wheel. You'd probably have to go to a junkyard to find one. Then you could bolt the plywood platform to a rim that sat on the wheel.

    Another idea would be to grope the web for some playground merry go round, the kind that you just push. Maybe you could find an old one, but they're definately out there. They're usually pretty robust and would likely support a motorcycle.

    In each case, you'd have to build a ramp, but that's easy.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  13. #13
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    $2300 for the 10' platform:

    http://american-playground.com/M1500.htm

    $1500 for the 6' platform:

    http://american-playground.com/M600.htm
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  14. #14
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    My last house in Tahoe actually had one of these in the basement for snowmobiles. Sadly, I don't have access to the house anymore, but it was a nice setup. They use the same thing in SF for turning the trolleys. Maybe you can contact the trolley authority or whatever to see how they do it.
    "I knew in an instant that the three dollars I had spent on wine would not go to waste."

  15. #15
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    Talking

    There. Fixed it for you

    Quote Originally Posted by phUnk

  16. #16
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    Wink

    Quote Originally Posted by Arty50
    My last house in Tahoe actually had one of these in the basement for snowmobiles. Sadly, I don't have access to the house anymore, but it was a nice setup.

    Ooooooh the haunted house?


    Maybe p-Hunk can cruise down and buy a used turntable at the local Goodwill to use for his bike

    [/being such a faggot]

  17. #17
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    It wouldn't be all Batcave cool but a dolly ($300 or so) would get the job done.


  18. #18
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    The concept is to be able to pull the bike and truck onto the turntable nose-in, then rotate it so they're nose out? Beyond batcavery, is the main goal to eliminate backing out? I'll think about this one tonight.

    I think pics of Mrs Phunk would make it easier to think about this one tonight, btw. (Course, I haven't seen her ... could be wrong ...)

  19. #19
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    why use bearings when you could use big casters?

    sounds like a phun projeckt
    Let me lock in the system at Warp 2
    Push it on into systematic overdrive
    You know what to do

  20. #20
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    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by Stikki
    It wouldn't be all Batcave cool but a dolly ($300 or so) would get the job done.
    The batcave didn't use dollies because dollies are gay.

    Also, I guess I should have been more clear in my original post: The goal is not to avoid backing my motorcycle out of the garage. The goal is to build a stupid Batman turn-around platform for my motorcycle. Any suggestions that do not produce a Batman turn-around platform suck.

  21. #21
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    This would fit
    Elvis has left the building

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by cj001f
    This would fit
    [picture of gay-ass spindly turn-around thing that Batman would never use]
    *sigh*

  23. #23
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  24. #24
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    this thread is funny.

    seriously id be very impressed if someone could come up with a system that works, is cost effective, doesnt need any serious fabrication, and is Batman worthy.

    hey phunk- so is the point of this just so that you can have some super rad Batman steeze in your garage?
    Mom! The meatloaf! FUCK!.

  25. #25
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    Casters seem to be the better idea here. Baseballs or even golf balls would shred sooner or later. And nothing is needed to contain the bearing then... hence less complex.... for your non welding needs.

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