motorcycle lifts

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by taylor65, Jun 23, 2014.

  1. taylor65

    taylor65 New Member

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    Im looking for anyone on here that has had some experience with the shop style lifts. I have been thinking of buying a lift/table from harbor freieght. Its only about 300 with a coupon. But i wonder if the price is to good to be true. I have heard that handy lifts are really good but they are over double the price. So im asking if anyone has some advice on what they have done. Thanks
     
  2. REEK

    REEK New Member

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    I've been eye balling this lift for a few years. The thought of not crouching and kneeling would be great. The reviews were the only thing that has kept be from jumping on it. Several negative reviews on the long term durability of the lift is concerning. considering some of the other harbor freight "disposable" tools I've bought, I can see how they could be credible. So I just bought their little $30 rolling stool and sit on that while working on my bike.

    I have a 4 post car lift in my garage. Trying to figure out a good/safe way on how to rig this up to lift my bike.

    If you do end up getting it, post up a review.
     
  3. taylor65

    taylor65 New Member

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    I had made a stand or table out of wood at my old house. It will spoil you once you do work on your bike when it is about 18 inches up. Oil changes are a breeze as is cleaning and just about anything you do to your bike. The only problem with the fixed height of a homemade stand is having to use a ramp to get bikes up and down. It is easy with a dirt bike but it gets a little nerve racking with heavier street bikes. So i gave it away and decided my next lift would be adjustable and much easier to get bigger bikes on it. I never even had a close call getting bikes up and down on my homemade one but just the possibility was enough to scare me. Thanks for the advice
     
  4. Outboard John

    Outboard John New Member

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    My friend purchased that lift from HF earlier this year to work on his BMW Rt 1200. The only problem we have had with this one is the metal horseshoe shaped parts on the wheel chock (front wheel) were shaped and welded a bit out of shape which made the bike a little stubborn when we went to roll it back out of the lift. We should have noticed it during initial assembly of the lift; other than that the lift has been invaluable to him. Upgraded front and rear suspension, and there is an awful lot of Tupperware on that bike!
    John
     
  5. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    I've got the HF lift and I love it because I can now sit on a stool, or stand, and work rather than squatting or laying on the floor. I've had it about 5 years and it gets used quite a bit. It sits low enough that I can park the truck over it when it isn't being used.

    I have the manual foot pump and that's kind of a pain, but being able to sit down to work on the bike at eye level is well worth the hassle of pumping the thing up to height. I've used it for several different bikes including my VFR and my son-in-law's HD Street Glide. The stand has the removable plate so you can drop the rear tire down for easy tire removal.

    No issues to speak of other than it will bleed down some over time. That could be the pump since the pump shaft was bent when I bought it. I got it for less than $250 because of that. I took the pump apart, straightened the shaft and it works okay now.

    It's not perfect: it could be wider so it would be more stable when at it's tallest height. I've never felt like it was in any danger of falling over. An air operated one would be really nice, but for what I paid I'm very happy.
     
  6. taylor65

    taylor65 New Member

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    Thats good to hear. I just cant get over the price at only 300 with a coupon. The next closest is a sport lift from handy at 829 without the shipping cost from iowa. It may have free shipping but i doubt it. Where the harbor freight i can pick up locally. But i know once you work on your bike elevated it is hard to crawl back around on the floor. Thanks again
     
  7. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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  8. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    Without a doubt that is a nice lift, but for occasional use it makes no sense for me to spend $1000 when I can get something that works almost as well for less than 1/3 the price. I can buy a lot of tires and R/R's with $700. If I was a professional or even a semi-professional I would probably spring for the Handy lift. Or if I wasn't such a tightwad. :eagerness:
     
  9. pdxfj

    pdxfj New Member

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    I've had one for a number of years now and have had no issues with it. Like "FJ12rydertoo" says, it will bleed down after quite a while, but for the price its not a big deal to me. They include a locking bar to put into place if you need to keep a bike in the raised position for a long time.

    Instead of using the questionable wheel clamp that comes with it, I bought a wheel vice and installed it. The vice holds great and keeps bikes totally stable. I've had my FJ1200 on it, the VFR, Ninja 250, Shadow 1100, Ducati's, etc on it. My back and body are much happier working on bikes at a normal height.

    Just don't step on the front of the table when it's in the full down position. Back end will lift right off the ground.

    Grab one for the price, get a vice, and you'll be very, very happy with the purchase.
     
  10. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    Yeah, the front wheel clamp is pretty tacky. I actually bought a cheap HF wheel chock to use instead of the clamp. I've not gotten around to installing it yet though. And yes, you're right about the back end coming up if you step on the front. Kind of startles you you the first couple times.
     
  11. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    Its all good, I looked a long time for a lift on CL, I found one for $450, I also ended up overheating my Jeep when I was hauling it home too :frusty: Had the damn thing hanging oot the back with the hatch open. I looped a coolant hose and was able to get home with no incident. If your patient you can find stuff, Every time I look at my latest Interceptor, I am shocked I got one, now I gots "two" of them.

    I do need to drill holes in the front chock in order to accept a larger rear tyre when I back dat bitcn on there, it is a two person affair though and sometime I don't trust my father to push on the headlight. I still like using a rear/front stand on the concrete for certain things. Cheers
     
  12. Meatloaf

    Meatloaf New Member

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    I personally wouldn't recommend the 1000lb motorcycle lift that they have listed on their website. I looked at it in store and found it to be wobbly and lacking quality all over the place. It felt very unsafe to me and not something I would trust my bike to sit on. That being said, they used to have a SECOND model which was of much higher quality and had a 1200lb rating. I did purchase this one. If you can find it, I would highly recommend it as it is every bit as good of quality as what you will find in most bike shops. I have found a picture of it below in case you stumble upon one locally.


    [​IMG]
     
  13. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    The lift pictured above is not the one I have. However the HF 1000 lb. lift is the one I have, but not that one. I'm assuming that the picture is for a HF lift?

    This is the one I have:

    HarborFreightLift.jpg
     
  14. taylor65

    taylor65 New Member

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    Meatloaf how much more did you have to pay for the 1200 pound lift? I can clearly see it looks much more stable. Thanks again everyone
     
  15. Meatloaf

    Meatloaf New Member

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    I think the MSRP was $600 but I managed to pick it up for $400 after tax due to on sale + 20% off + extra off since it took 6 weeks to get in store. I good friend of mine is part owner of Ducati Indianapolis and I have another good friend who owns 35 Motorsports. I've worked with them for years and as I said, it is every bit as good of quality as theirs.
     
  16. Quinvg

    Quinvg New Member

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    Motorcycle lift - my experience

    Hi there - I hope I'm not too late, but I went through the same hassles ... Then saw a center lift made by Bursig, a German firm. Nothing quite like it but pricey. I found a substitute and I will say that this center lift has no equal. If you're like more info or we a video of my vfr1200 on the lift, just send me a note to qvg@me.com
    Cheers
    Q
     
  17. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    Doesn't exist without pictures. :sleeping:
     
  18. Meatloaf

    Meatloaf New Member

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    I have a friend with a center lift for his Ducati but I don't see it working with the 6th gen VFR. I've not paid enough attention to the 7th and 8th gens to know how well it would work.
     
  19. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    I think I know what a "center lift" is, but I could be mistaken. How about a brief description. I was thinking it was like a scissor lift table.
     
  20. Meatloaf

    Meatloaf New Member

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    There are two types I've seen.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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