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choosing a good lift (jack)

Smitty, my husband picked up the Sears aluminum lift last month. He liked the looks of it much better than some of the others in the same price range. It came with 2 straps, the wheels were better quality, and I think he liked the way it locked, more options etc. Also, it had a one year warranty, where as the others we were looking at only had 90 days. We have also been lucky with Sears products, and if there was ever a problem, easy to work with.

I hope to use our lift tonight. I'll let you know.
 
I bought the J&S lift. You just slide it under your bike while it is on the kickstand and lift. It needs no straps but I will throw one over when
changing wheels just for peace of mind. If a jack has a cross brace in the front of the lift bars it is no good. I've seen a friend monkey around
with a lift for 10 minutes trying to angle it in just right to avoid the kickstand. Also some so called motorcycle jacks are to high to slide under a bike.
The J&S may cost a bit more than some but it is a solid, easy to use for one person and the stability is excellent. I even use it on my lawn so I can work on my bike in the sun.
 
I've got the Craftsman plain model, the red painted one. I got it several years ago and have used it many times with my 86 fxrs.
It's easy to maneuver around, but there is always a bit of an issue with sliding it enough forward to avoid the kickstand but not too far forward to be at the edge of the frame's upward curve. I never had a problem with it slipping. I've been comfortable removing both wheels at the same time with the bike on the lift. Also, the release tends to be jerky. It's a hydrolic, and the release is attached to a pedal. I find that I have to tap the pedal carefully to keep the bike from dropping like a stone.

Haven't tried it on the RG yet, but I'll surely check all bottom clearances first.

There's a lot to be said for the non-hydrolic jack lift. I'd think there'd be a lot more control when lowering the bike. Probably wouldn't be too hard to convert one to the other.
 
Smitty, I finally used the lift jack, I liked it. Easy to use, I didn't move the bike, I was a little nervous since I was the only one there most of the time. We figured this jack would fit our needs. We only plan on doing general maintenance. Hubby is planning on getting a lift table for his shop soon so he can put the lawn mower's & 4 wheeler on ti too. We may advance from there.
I was pretty nervous using the jack by my self since I was unfamiliar with it, but I did fine. BTW, the nephew is doing much better, I'll send you an update this weekend. Thanks!:s
 
I bought one of those big red motorcycle lifts from Pep Boys and I keep thinking of the saying I always use which is "Quality is remembered long after price is forgot" This lift was under $60.00 and seems real unstable with my 08 Ultra Classic on it. I left bike on it the other day when I went out for parts, And for some reason the locks didn't engage and I am so glad I left the kick stand down cause lift leaked down (2 Hours) and when I came home bike was sitting on it's side stand. :dknow
Now,
Since yesterday was my birthday, I decided to spend some money on myself and Bought a really nice Kendon motorcycle lift.

Kendon Motorcycle Lift - Stand-Up Motorcycle Maintenance Lifts - Sport Bike, Street Bike and Chopper Lifts

This one has a rail and you drive the bike on and front wheel goes into chock that holds wheel. It has 4 tie down points and lifts bike to nice level for cleaning and maintenance. It is narrow so you can work around bike and it stands up so when you are not using it, you can put it in the corner of garage. I picked this up at my local bike shop on sale for $565.00 . I guess it might be considered overkill but it was something I just had to have...:bigsmiley8:
 
Just a heads up on lifts here. The lifts with the narrow rear wheels in the rear and the wide front wheels are a bit tipsy compared to the lifts that have the both sets of wheels widely spaced.:hii
 
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