lifting bike for maintnance

Have a look here courtesy of red thunder

 

I use the 'normal' Abba Superbike stand, comes with the spindle adaptor etc to lift the front off the ground if needed..... Not anything like as much as the Skylift though! Depends what level of maintenance you're planning I guess!

 

Me too for the normal Abba, being close to centre there's not a great deal of weight on the front wheel. Bike's only a few months old so haven't needed to change tyres yet, but on last bike I put a bottle jack under each fork leg and like you I have a handy overhead beam which I use with a ratchet tie-down strap around the top yoke or handlebar clamps.
Only slight criticism is that the Abba stand flicks the side-stand partially out of the way on the way up, so be careful to flick it back as you bring the bike back down.

 

https://oneup.com.au//content/big-blue-bike-lift

 

I should think it very much depends on the type of riding the bike is/has been subjected to, I had a SprintST1050 from new for 5yrs / 35k mls, BUT they were 95% dry miles. I did strip the eccentric hub once in that time (it did get quite stiff) and cleaned / regreased with CopperSlip on reassembly. Never touched the swingarm pivot or shock linkage and wasn't aware of any problems in that time.....
But the bike led a sheltered life and was kept well clean!!

 

I have the CNC Racing Extra Light Universal bar ends, mostly because I like the looks and they're inexpensive...not sure about availability for you though...

http://cncracing.us/byCat.asp?Cat=Crash Protection

 

How about some radiator guards? Stops the fins getting damaged by flying grit off the tyre and I think makes it look neater. I've got bar end mirrors, anodised brake reservoirs and levers on order from Santa.