Did I read that right that the lower tube unscrewed from the cap?
What didn't you like about the direct lift Mike. I've been looking at bike lifts lately and will be getting one before I start in on my project and DL was in the running.
Thanks Cam
Yes Cam, the upper tube unscrewed itself from the top cap. Don't ask me how as I have not seen that before. When he was telling me about it, my first thought was that the lock screw and top cap came loose from the upper tree and allowed the vibrations to back the upper cap out of the tube. However, when I checked the upper tree last night everything was tight which means the upper tube actually backed out. Again, I have not seen that before.
As for the Direct Lift, maybe I'm just being overly critical as I know many people have them and love the Direct Lift, especially over on hdforums.com, but I bought it because it was a lot cheaper than the Handy lift and I wish I would have just bought another Handy instead.
Everyone has their own opinions and many like the fact that the Direct Lift is made out of diamond plate whereas the Handy is smooth 12-gauge steel. I do not like the tread plate and much prefer the smooth plate. People on the HDforums seem to like the tread plate design for two reasons, first because they are not as slippery. I have never had an issue with my Handy being slippery or where I felt it was unsafe. Second thing they comment on is the tread plate design keeps parts from rolling or falling off the smooth table finish. I don't lie parts loosely on my table, that is why I have parts trays/pans so that isn't an issue.
Lastly, and maybe this was just mine, but it didn't seem anywhere near as smooth in operation that my Handy does. I had taken it apart over the years and checked for binding, burrs or anything else causing it to hang up or be jerky with the only thing I didn't tear into being the cylinder itself. Raising and lowering it was nowhere near as smooth as my Handy lift.
Sorry to rag on the Direct Lift but I was just not impressed and lived with its defaults (at least in my eyes) for the past ten or twelve years but I had enough and sold it to replace it with the new SAM 2 that Handy now has released.
Sorry for the long explanation to a rather short question. I'm sure it is just me because a lot of people love their Direct Lift Pro Cycle motorcycle lift tables and maybe I'm just being too picky. I thought I would throw mine up for sale and if it sold I would replace it with the new Handy and it sold rather quickly.
Don't take my word alone on it though Cam, if you can find someone in your area that has one go and put your eyes and hands on it and make see for yourself, then compare it to a Handy. In my eyes there is quite a difference.
My wife had just gotten home and was sitting on the steps talking with me. I had mentioned that I'm too young to have friends my age start to pass away due to health issues.
