Motorcycle Jack

[GirlnAgarage]

I'm in the market for a hydraulic motorcycle jack. I got a new to me dual sport, weighs in about 300-320 fully fueled. It's lowered, only about 7.5" of clearance at the skid plate. My current step-on-the-lever lift won't work for it, so I'm looking at this style below. I do need it to work as a stand as well so I need it locking for safety. I do need it to roll in the event I need to maneuver a bit in the garage.

Anyone have experience with this type?

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641776_200641776

 

[kabinenroller]

I had one of those and gave it away. I have a platform lift for major stuff and a hi-bred hydraulic jack for normal cleaning etc. I would recommend the hi-bred style. I have found it is very useful for dozens of other projects.
Jim
An example:

 

[DFB]

I'm in the market for a hydraulic motorcycle jack. I got a new to me dual sport, weighs in about 300-320 fully fueled. It's lowered, only about 7.5" of clearance at the skid plate. My current step-on-the-lever lift won't work for it, so I'm looking at this style below. I do need it to work as a stand as well so I need it locking for safety. I do need it to roll in the event I need to maneuver a bit in the garage.

Anyone have experience with this type?

As long as the max lift height works for you it will do all those things you listed. Just make sure you ratchet strap the bike down to the lift and especially if you want to move it around some jacked up.

There are a few brands of those lifts and some designed with a wider and longer frame for larger, heavier motorcycles. I have had a Blackjack (which is now PitBull) for more than 20 years. It will get my HD dresser up enough to easily get the rear wheel out from under the fender.

Quite a considerable different in cost though.

 

[M6erfan]

Those lifts are OK, just keep in mind the they sway a bit from side to side so yeah, ratchet down your bike.

 

[kabinenroller]

My hibred Jack does not sway side to side, I lift my Triumph Bonneville with it and it is steady as a rock. I do use a strap if I am doing work on the bike, for picking it up and spinning it around in the shop I have not needed the strap. I also use it to move my Messerschmitt’s, it works perfectly.
My platform lift is one of the handiest tools I have ever purchased, motorcycles, Messerschmitt’s, ATV, Lawnmower, etc. it has been invaluable.

 

[M6erfan]

My hibred Jack does not sway side to side, I lift my Triumph Bonneville with it and it is steady as a rock. I do use a strap if I am doing work on the bike, for picking it up and spinning it around in the shop I have not needed the strap. I also use it to move my Messerschmitt’s, it works perfectly.
My platform lift is one of the handiest tools I have ever purchased, motorcycles, Messerschmitt’s, ATV, Lawnmower, etc. it has been invaluable.

Hmmmm... my friend has a shop with one of thise C'man lifts and it does sway a bit with a relatively lightweight dirtbike on it. It's not horrible but worth mentioning I thought.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

I had one of those and gave it away. I have a platform lift for major stuff and a hi-bred hydraulic jack for normal cleaning etc. I would recommend the hi-bred style. I have found it is very useful for dozens of other projects.
Jim
An example:

I went and checked out $169 https://www.harborfreight.com/1500-...e-lift-63397.html?_br_psugg_q=motorcycle+lift which is similar to the one you posted. I really liked it. It was well put together and looked solid. The platform was wide, the jack worked smoothly and I liked the positive safety lock as it increased in lift height. What I didn't like was that it had no tie down anchors and no way to lock the jack in place, like swivel locks or landing gear bolt to extend to the floor.

While there I checked out their version of this $99 but $69 w coupon https://www.harborfreight.com/1500-lbs-capacity-atvmotorcycle-lift-60536.html Great idea, nice and wide, low. However it looked like POS put together with cold bubblegum welds that a 6th grader in shop class could do better. No way.

I also stopped by northern tool to check out $109 https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641776_200641776 It looked better than the thing above. I liked the foot pedal pump so I can holdthe ike while I'm lifting it, and foot pedal down so I can still hold the bike. Materials were decent and didn't feel flimsy. The locking bar was not as positive feeling as the Pittsburg jackup there, but it seemed to hold. It did have caster locks. What I didn't like was when I put the platform all the way down, it didn't sit even. It tilted away. IDK if that was because it was the floor model they had zip strapped to the rack so the full ROM was hampered. Or?

I was really wanting that lift style above but that Pittsburg was really nice. I'm gonna take a couple days and think about it.

As long as the max lift height works for you it will do all those things you listed. Just make sure you ratchet strap the bike down to the lift and especially if you want to move it around some jacked up.

There are a few brands of those lifts and some designed with a wider and longer frame for larger, heavier motorcycles. I have had a Blackjack (which is now PitBull) for more than 20 years. It will get my HD dresser up enough to easily get the rear wheel out from under the fender.

Quite a considerable different in cost though.

That's an impressive demo lol Unfortunately that Pitbull is way out of my range for home use. Looks stout though.

 

[M6erfan]

That first HF lift you linked to can use tie downs. They go over the bike and attach to the front axle and rear grab handle of the lift. Like this...

 

[2oolhound]

I found the NT type too short of a lift. They're great for removing wheels but just too low for most other work. The platform lifts are the way to go with a smaller screw lift on their deck in case you want to lift a wheel up.

My bike is 400 lb and the NT type jack is rated for 1500 lb so I stretched one to get a 30" lift out of it.

 

[DFB]

I went and checked out $169 https://www.harborfreight.com/1500-...e-lift-63397.html?_br_psugg_q=motorcycle+lift which is similar to the one you posted. I really liked it. It was well put together and looked solid. The platform was wide, the jack worked smoothly and I liked the positive safety lock as it increased in lift height. What I didn't like was that it had no tie down anchors and no way to lock the jack in place, like swivel locks or landing gear bolt to extend to the floor.

While there I checked out their version of this $99 but $69 w coupon https://www.harborfreight.com/1500-lbs-capacity-atvmotorcycle-lift-60536.html Great idea, nice and wide, low. However it looked like POS put together with cold bubblegum welds that a 6th grader in shop class could do better. No way.

I also stopped by northern tool to check out $109 https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641776_200641776 It looked better than the thing above. I liked the foot pedal pump so I can holdthe ike while I'm lifting it, and foot pedal down so I can still hold the bike. Materials were decent and didn't feel flimsy. The locking bar was not as positive feeling as the Pittsburg jackup there, but it seemed to hold. It did have caster locks. What I didn't like was when I put the platform all the way down, it didn't sit even. It tilted away. IDK if that was because it was the floor model they had zip strapped to the rack so the full ROM was hampered. Or?

I was really wanting that lift style above but that Pittsburg was really nice. I'm gonna take a couple days and think about it.




That's an impressive demo lol Unfortunately that Pitbull is way out of my range for home use. Looks stout though.

Ya you don't need a PitBull lift
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I was down to the motorcycle shop today and there is an mostly unused jack lift in the corner up against the wall. I looked and was surprised to see it was HANDY LIFT labeled same as all the table lifts in the shop. It had a wider wheel set than the usual generic clones that seem to be sold just about everywhere. I searched online but can't find anything about that particular one though.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

That first HF lift you linked to can use tie downs. They go over the bike and attach to the front axle and rear grab handle of the lift. Like this...

Thanks for confirming that. I saw I could use the front axle to some degree but the rear I was uncertain



2oolhound,what is the yellow jack you've got next to the NT red one?

 

[2oolhound]

That's the same jack but I stretched it. I still have my main platform jack deep in my garage for heavy work like removing engines etc but the yellow one can be easily carried out to the driveway and the bike lifted to a comfortable height for lighter quick tasks like adjusting tappets or timing etc. In hind sight I wish I would have re-mounted the wheels along the sides for a wider stance and better stability but I still prefer it to the shorter version.

 

[driftpin]

Looks like that extended version could be used to place the bike onto a 2x4 frame platform, and then use a small jack if needed to lift the bike at either end, for removing a wheel.

Apart from having good lighting in my 2-car garage, a 15+ cfm air compressor, and plenty of 120/240 V outlets, a Handi-Lift motorcycle lift was something which I wanted. I have one, and it makes work on the bike much-more easy to perform.

I have one of these jacks like you are describing, though I don't use it much, the Handi-Lift is what I roll the bike onto for work. If you're looking for something like the smaller lifts pictured here, I think I'd look for a wide-base, and if you're working where things aren't even and level, a way to keep it from tipping-over or rolling down a slope. Putting 600 lbs 2-1/2' into the air is a leg-breaker, or worse, if it isn't stable. Fuggedabout the damage to the bike!

FYI, the smaller jack I have, which has two boomerang-shaped arms which index-into stamped tabs on the bottom frame, to lock a height setting, had one of the boomerang-shaped arm's square tube ends mushroom-out, where the square steel tube was supposed to contact the spaced tabs. I had to use my flux-wire welder to build-up some bead on the piece, to ensure that it would bear the load of the hydraulic cylinder being transferred to the arms.

A long-time acquaintance who works at a local shop, uses one of these to lift nearly-any bike to change the rear tire.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0196PAZ1S/?tag=atomicindus08-20

He's a former Yamaha dealership mechanic, a roadracer, and to watch him zip through a tire change is fun to watch, he makes it look easy, the mark of a good mechanic, in my opinion.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

I ended up with the red one from Northern Tool. It had more features I needed. I've already got it together and the bike up. Probably the last thing I may do is add some threaded rod hand knobs for anchors so it locks into place when I really don't want it to move. It has locks on the swivel casters but it still moves a little bit.

For now though. It's good. I gotta fix that front tire.

 

[2oolhound]

Good move, those jacks are always handy to have around. A platform jack is the way to go for more in depth work on your bike. A lot of people just make one out of plywood and 2x4's which is ok but there are some really reasonably priced one on the market. I paid $125 for an old used one but you gotta be fast for those deals.