• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift

roborider

God? What god?
Just FYI that Harbor Freight has a nice 1000 pound capacity motorcycle lift on sale:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91764

The lift, seen at the link above, is $399. Store sale is $359. But, there's a coupon in Cycle World good till April for $279.

This hit my breaking point and I got one. I have the R12RT on it now, doing a full 36k maintenance. I have to say, it's great. Up, down, etc., just the height you want. And although not recommended, you can roll the bike on the lift out of the way if you need to. It has a panel that removes so you can take off the rear wheel w/o removing the exhaust.

I made some modifications with my MIG welder, but it works fine as is.

If you've been looking for one, let Santa know.

-Robo
 
Well they were pretty simple.

1) The lift has a safety lock bar that holds the bike (without the hydraulic jack engaged) at two fixed levels. I found the lowest level to be too high for me to work on the top of the bike (battery work, etc.) while standing. So, I welded an extension piece on with lower holes that allow me to lift and lock the bike at about a 12 inch level off the ground.

2) When you put the bike on the center stand, it pulls back so far you can't lock the front wheel. I made a slider so that I can put in on the stand, then roll it up to lock the front wheel. I just used those Teflon furniture slides.

3) It has u-bolts to strap the bike. I wanted two in the rear (instead of the front) and so I welded a U shaped piece of rebar in the back for this.

4) I didn't do this, but if you work on bikes with no center stand, you might want to buy the self locking front wheel chock (also 29-39 with coupon) so that the bike will be stable, upright, and securely held in place w/o a center stand. You could bolt or weld the chock to the base.

That's it. Nothing major.

-Robo
 
That is a pretty good deal! A gentleman down the road whom I do work for bought me a different one a few months ago so I would not have to lie on the floor and perform maintenance anymore. I do the work on all his bikes. I was a little proud to accept it, but it is the nicest thing since heated grips. I guess age may make us a little slower, but makes up for it with a little more wisdom.

I say work smarter, not harder!
 
One day I was lying on the floor of my shop, working on the underside of my airhead, when my wife walked in and said "Why don't you get something so you won't have lie on the floor when you do that?"
I gave her a big smile and thanked her for the suggestion. :dance

My HF lift purchase was the best money I ever spent on M/C maintenance.
 
weiss-on-lift.jpg
 
Me too:)

Got my HF Lift about 5 years ago now, with much happiness/smiles. A BEST buy, ever kind of thing! I took the wheel chock off mine and simple tie downs work for me, without a wheel lock in the front. All said is true with mine too. A HD Dealer happened to be right across the street from my HF Store and those guys were BUYING these lifts(HD Riders) as fast as the store got them in stock. I got lucky one day, walked into HF as one came off the truck and bought mine:). Thanks for some good MOD tips, as I may do some of that to mine. Randy:thumb
 
it makes all the difference working with the bike a eye level.
 
It does say that it is valid at the retail store. But, who knows, if you call them they might honor it (code 77392280). I checked and it is $90 to ship to NC, so of course you'd have to factor that cost in. It's a big crate, and it's heavy.
 
FWIW, in the shop at the mine where I did some research, there is a sweet hydraulic lift purchased from government surplus for something like $100.

Might be a more robust option to HF if you know where to look.
 
This hit my breaking point and I got one.

What I'm not clear on...are these available on-line only where you'd have to pay for shipping or can you pick one up in the store?

I'm going to need a bigger garage. I'm also looking at getting a Backyard Buddy 4-post lift for the P car.
 
What I'm not clear on...are these available on-line only where you'd have to pay for shipping or can you pick one up in the store?

I'm going to need a bigger garage. I'm also looking at getting a Backyard Buddy 4-post lift for the P car.

Most stores have several in stock. I picked up two at different locations when the prices came down on the website. You just need a pick up or a trailer and they will forklift it on for you.

The PO of my house had a 4 poster hyd lift in the shop...can't believe he didn't leave it for me...he restored Road Runners and had two in the shop when we looked at the place. Those lifts are really nice!
 
Back
Top