Motorcycle lift,s, Harbor Freight

[tadtl1]

Hi ,
I made the mistake of buying the forty dollar motorcycle lift, MANUAL for the rear wheel from HF, that lift is only for liteweitht bikes, such as motorcrossers or something. My eleven, cant be moved up with that thing at all. AVOID for any kind of road bike.
Another item, a hydraulic lift, went for about eighty bux, listed as a jack for atv and mcs, I bought that about six months ago, and it was such an assembly problem, ended up taking it back, either there was something missing or some other problem that wasnt apparent to me.

I did buy a lift that does work from them though, its the whole bike lift, retail , about four hundred bux, I bought the pedal lift, not the automated one. One warning, DO NOT ROLL THE BIKE OFF THIS LIFT WITHOUT RAISING THE SIDESTAND. Dont ask me how I know this. They warned me when I left the store, that this is not a lift the operator can walk on or ride the bike on, THEY ARE CORRECT. DAMHIKT either. I got it for the bargain price of a bit over three hundred bux with coupons, its worth that,, but heed the warnings. Oh, and one final warning, the cylinder leaks fluid, if the cross bar isnt used , the weight of the bike cant be left on the hydraulic cylinder , it must be put into the steel bracing bar.

[xswilly]

if your handy, go to this website and check itout

http://www.afabonline.com/table_lift_plans.htm

the guy sells plans
but if you study all the pictures you can build one

I did
and it lifts a full dressed xs11
no problem

[scooteraddict]

well it looks like i will be building another lift
i built one out of wood and black iron pipe for my scooters
the plans i looked at for that one showed a motorcycle on it but i wouldnt trust it
but i do like the looks of the metal table lift with wood work top

[Deathdeelr]

I bought the air/hydraulic one from HF last year. I use the safety bar but I have no problems leaving weight on it. I left my wife's V-Max on it for almost six months while I was rebuilding the motor with no ill effects. Take a look into the cylinder. If it's creeping I'd repair/replace it. Other than that it was worth every penny. Finally I can work like a normal human instead of the hunchback of Sussex County.

[natemoen]

Never thought about building one myself. All the more reason to buy myelf a nice welder!

[crazy steve]

Never thought about building one myself. All the more reason to buy myelf a nice welder!

Keep in mind material costs won't always be all that cheap; unless you can pick up some stuff very cheap or free, you'll find that buying is only slightly more $ than building. Steel isn't cheap.

With that said, I do build some items, particularly if what's available is a bit too 'universal'. But I'm not going to spend a whole weekend building something to save $20...

'78E original owner

[Geezer]

I thought the Harbor Freight lift was too flimsy so I bought a Pro-Cycle lift. It was more expensive but it's better than lifts that cost twice as much.

Admittedly I was censoring going back to turning wrenches when I bought it and I've only had one paying bike project on it but I'm still happy I spent the $650 (with shipping) for it...

Geezer

[Prothec]

Is this the lift you got from Harbor Freight?

A friend and I grabbed a display model maybe a couple months ago for about $200. It was missing the foot pedal, but everything is in good shape.
We have yet to do anything with it, but it was more for my friend's husband who has been in Afghanistan for the past year.



Edit:
We were thinking about rigging a detachable extension to fit his '67 Triumph chopper.

[tadtl1]

yes that is the one

Hi Pro,

Yes that is the lift that I bought, am happy, doesnt leak at all now, but I do use the safety bar that comes with it. As above, if you back your bike off that, with the sidestand down, very unpleasant things happen. haha.

[je2wheeler]

I also have the whole bike lift from HF. I got it used at a yard sale for $75. The guy I got it from said he had never had a problem with his GL on it. I have left my XS11 up at max height for days without any problems. With the outriggers down just enough to clear the front casters, I ride my XS on and off with no problems. Two things to note though, can not pump it up with my bike on the side stand, to unstable, and when I put my XS on the center stand the first time it slid back six inches and would only slide forward on the c. stand until I used a tie down to hold the c. stand. Fixed that problem with a self adhesive nonskid pad also from HF. There is a hatch at the rear to help in removing the rear tire, but I riveted it down to forgo any problems.

[kwats]

I have the same lift. The only complaint I have is where they mount the eye bolts for tie downs. I mounted tie down bolts further forward on the deck and use camlock tiedowns instead of ratchets. A small hydraulic jack is useful on the deck from time to time.

[Prothec]

Has anyone thought about trying to fit a pneumatic ram?

My friend who originally bought it gave it to me because they were given one of those small lifts that slide under the middle.

I need to rig something up for a lever to operate the hydraulic ram so I can use it....