Craftsman Professional Bike Lift

[Joyflyin]

I use the Sears Craftsmen yellow jack with our bikes & actually his EGC is easier to get level than my softail, but I try to keep the softail off the shocks. I haven't had any problem with it. Like it for the money.

 

[motor]

I own a craftsman "yellow"bike jack and find it to be a little unstable with a big bike on it .If you look at the construction,it only has two parallel support arms .Most others (even far cheaper ones) have four.I do like how light it is ,but i get nervous with my bike up very high on it .I ended up buying a direct lift ,whole bike lift.And purchased a scissor type platform jack to raise the bike off the lift for wheel maintenance.I believe if you do your own work a real bike lift is hard to beat .If i had no where to hold a full size lift ,i think i would be looking for a sturdier jack than the yellow craftsman .JMO

 

[Iceman24]

Scrounger; aluminum's lightweight, but flexes more so this jack will have more give than the steel one. You might want to exchange it w/Sears for the red jack or, if budget allows, go for J&S & PitBull b/c they have a wider footprint & will lift your UL evenly. Good luck!

 

[glider]

Scrounger; aluminum's lightweight, but flexes more so this jack will have more give than the steel one. You might want to exchange it w/Sears for the red jack or, if budget allows, go for J&S & PitBull b/c they have a wider footprint & will lift your UL evenly. Good luck!

An excellent point brought out here. Steel is a better choice than aluminum for a bike jack. The torsional rigidity of the aluminum cannot match the steel when you have 800+ lbs up on it.

 

[motor]

glider i agree with you that aluminum is far more flexible than steel.But do you also agree that with two additional supports the craftsman jack would be sturdier.Most,even cheap lifts have four supports that, by design has to be more secure than the yellow craftsman.The aluminum craftsman (which I own ) is like a cheap aluminum car jack with a few additional pieces.
IN MY opinion

 

[trike lady]

I had a Craftsman Motorcycle/ATV jack and I never liked using it with larger bikes, I'd use it with smaller lighter bikes. It seemed to feel like it wanted to sway when a heavier bike was on it. Prefer to use a lift table with wheel chock for heavier bikes, with a center jack and tie downs. Gave the jack away some time ago to someone with a smaller lighter bike.

 

[jayray]

I use the Harbor Freight lift table with their wheel chock (instead of vise). I strap it down and use a car scissor jack to raise the center if need be. Way stable and safe.