Greg Smith GS-ML1500 Premium Motorcycle Lift Review: The Master Builder Choice

Greg Smith Equipment of Indianapolis owns the Atlas lift brand and sells its own house-branded motorcycle tables above the Atlas line. The GS-ML1500 is the flagship. Published specs: a 1,500 lb capacity, a 52 by 24 inch premium heavy-duty steel deck, a hydraulic foot pump, an 8 to 36 inch height range, dual positive-lock bars with a hydraulic check valve, a premium chemical-resistant powder coat, integrated tool tray mounts, 215 lb assembled weight and a three-year extended warranty. Price is around $799.

Every other 1,500 lb table over $600 in this category uses an air-hydraulic pump. The GS-ML1500 does not, and that is the decision a buyer is making by choosing it. What Greg Smith offers instead is a frame heavier than any foot-pump competitor, two positive-lock bars rather than one or a pair of ratchet locks, the longest warranty in the category alongside the Challenger and BendPak, and the tool tray mounts shared with the GS-ML1200.

The sections below take the foot pump seriously as a choice rather than a shortcoming, because for a specific buyer it is one. For most buyers at this price, it is not.

A 1,500 lb rating is comfortable to about 1,000 lb of bike and covers every two-wheeled production motorcycle, including a CVO Road Glide at roughly 950 lb wet. Trikes at 1,200 lb are inside the rating but at 80 percent of it, and belong on the BendPak ML-2000.

The 52 by 24 inch deck is the same size as the Triumph NML-1500 and Rotary RML-1500 decks. A 64 inch wheelbase bagger has its rear contact patch about 8 inches inside the deck end with the front wheel chocked; bikes over about 66 inches of wheelbase are better on the 60 inch Atlas AML-1500XL, which is Greg Smith's own long-deck table. The 24 inch width holds floorboards and a wide rear tire.

The 8 to 36 inch range is 1 inch taller at the top than the GS-ML1200 and matches the Triumph and Rotary air-hydraulic tables. At 36 inches a bagger's rocker boxes are at chest height for a rider around six feet, and a dressed touring bike's windshield is near 8 feet. The 8 inch minimum works with a short ramp; the air-hydraulic tables at 7 inches have a small advantage with very low cruisers.

The three-year warranty is the longest in this category, shared with the Challenger CML-1500 and the BendPak ML-1500 Pro and ML-2000. Greg Smith calls it extended, which in practice means it covers structural and hydraulic components for a year longer than the Triumph, Dannmar, Atlas and Rotary tables. On a foot-pump table with no air motor to fail, that coverage is mostly about the cylinder, the pump and the locks.

At 215 lb the GS-ML1500 is 10 lb lighter than the Triumph NML-1500 despite having no air motor, which means the difference is in the frame and deck. It is the heaviest foot-pump table in this group by 25 lb over the Forward FML-1500 and 30 lb over the Dannmar DML-1200. A heavier frame on a scissor table shows up as less deck flex under an off-center load, which matters most when a builder is leaning on a breaker bar with the bike at full height.

Assembly is a two-person job of about two hours; the two lock bars need adjusting so both seat at the same stop. The table is a permanent installation on level concrete, with a footprint of about 4.5 by 2 feet plus working room.

The case for: no compressor, no air lines, no water in an air motor, no $150 to $300 added to the price, and a table that works the same in a shed without power. For a builder who lifts a bike, leaves it up for weeks of work and lowers it, pumping effort is a rounding error and a foot pump is the simpler tool. The tool tray mounts point at that buyer; they accept side trays and extensions that keep hardware and tools at deck height through a long build.

The case against: an 850 lb bagger raised to 36 inches by foot is a few dozen strokes with real resistance at the top of each, and a rider who does it every weekend will not enjoy it. The Challenger CML-1500 at around $699 raises the same bike under a held pedal. So does the Triumph NML-1500 at around $599.

At $799 the foot pump is only defensible if the buyer has ruled out shop air. If a compressor is already running impact tools in the garage, the GS-ML1500 is the wrong table at this price, and the sections below say which is the right one.

The Challenger CML-1500 at around $699: 1,500 lb, a 54 by 25 inch deck, 7 to 37 inches, air-hydraulic, one lock bar with a check valve and tie-down points, 245 lb, three-year warranty. For $100 less it has 2 inches more deck in one direction and 1 in the other, an air pump, the same warranty and one lock bar instead of two. With a compressor, the Challenger is the better table.

The BendPak ML-1500 Pro at around $899: 1,500 lb, a 56 by 26 inch deck, 7 to 37 inches, air-hydraulic, dual lock bars with a check valve and tie-downs, 275 lb, three-year warranty. For $100 more it has the same two locks and warranty, a bigger deck, an air pump and BendPak's dealer network. A shop should pay the $100.

The Greg Smith GS-ML1200 at around $649: 1,200 lb, a 50 by 23 inch deck, 8 to 35 inches, foot pump, one positive-lock bar with a check valve, tray mounts, 195 lb, two-year warranty. For $150 less it does the same job for bikes under 800 lb with one lock and a shorter warranty. Riders with cruisers rather than baggers should consider it.

Buy the GS-ML1500 if the bike is a heavy cruiser or touring model, the garage has no compressor and will not get one, two positive locks and a three-year warranty matter, and the table will be a work platform for long builds where side trays at deck height earn their keep. For that builder it is the best-built foot-pump table in the category and there is no close second.

Skip it if there is shop air. The Challenger CML-1500 at $100 less has an air pump and the same warranty; the BendPak ML-1500 Pro at $100 more has an air pump, the same locks and a bigger deck. Skip it for bikes under 800 lb, where the GS-ML1200 saves $150. And skip it for trikes, which need the ML-2000.

Our recommendation is that the GS-ML1500 is a table for a buyer who has already made the air decision. Made one way, it is the best choice. Made the other, it is $100 too expensive for what it lacks.