Harley Davidson lift

Porter

The Harbor Freight model - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
is the model I bought and use. It has M 8.8 bolts throughout. The welds are very good as is the construction.

The lift lines up (on my 2007 UC, centers of the lift pads) on the rear cross member and the other just forward of the jiffy stand frame mount.

You can get to the oil drain plug with lift but it is easiest if you have the lift enter from the left side of the bike so the bottle jack is out of the way. Then you have to rig up some sort of funnel to catch the oil and direct it to a container.

In the end, I found it easier to leave the bike on the ground to drain the oil. The bike is hot when I change my oil and that adds a little burn risk raising it. Once it is drained, I put the plug back in and then lift the bike after it cools a little. The lift makes it easierto change the filter and check the tires, critical fasteners, exhaust brackets and bolts etc....That's all part of my oil change procedure though. Same thing with the transmission fluid change. I do change the primary oil up on the lift, as the position of the vertical drain plug makes it very easy to collect the old fluid, plus the bike is level when you add the new primary oil (as per the manual).

Vegas Sam

I plan on going to Harbor Freight this weekend to look at their High Position Motorcycle Lift, lifts from 2.6" to 30" and comes with straps. Appears to be open access under the motorcycle for drain pans and such.

It sells for $159.99 but most of the current motocycle or automoble mags have an ad from Harbor Freight with a 20% off coupon. I'll be sure to check the grade of the bolts and look at the welds before committing.

Sam

wagsrk08

Sorry for the late response zyepod. With the J&S Jack Stand you can easily get to your oil, transmission and primary drain plugs. Your correct about the drip pan location. My drip pan I use does fit nice and snug in the framing while draining the fluids. It just depends on what shape/style of drip pan your using.

On a better note, I did buy earlier this year the J&S Jack Stand oil drain attachment ($34 I think) that lets the oil drain onto this attachment and into your drip pan. Less of a hassle using this and less chance of oil spillage. I've never spilled a drop using either method. Now the oil filter is another story.

The J&S Jack Stand is probably one of the finer investments tool wise I've purchased for my bike. I'm no ace mechanic but I do all my servicings, have changed both wheels, handlebars, etc using the J&S Jack Stand. And yes it wheels around the garage like in the video. I've yet to climb around my bike like a monkey while in the air. I'll leave that to the professionals.

J&S Jacks - Motorcycle Lift, Motorcycle Jack, Wheel Chock, Oil Pan Adapter - USA Made, Wisconsin

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NEWHD74FAN

Wagsrk08, if you want drip free oil filter change look here in member Self Help section...

http://www.hdtalking.com/members_tip...oil_catch.html

As far as lifts, the lower the starting height the better and there was a post that said it had 4.5" starting height is good. Just measure the two frame supports for the proper spacing and if you have special application like the Dyna, HD has special adapter blocks for 'em...

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PigSnot

Good feedback. Also looking at lifts, very interesting thread!
The specs list the Pad dimensions: 2-3/4" W x 13-1/4" L x 1/4" thick. Just wondering, with the frame channel at the rear being about 1-7/8 inches wide in the centre, and the flanges extending below the frame, if you're lifting with the channel flanges directly on the lift, and thus the channel being load bearing, rather than the frame. Or is a spacer used, say a 1x2 wood piece, which is really 1.5 inches wide, to catch the frame to carry the load? Or is the channel designed to support the bike when lifting? The J&SJack arms are 1-3/4 inch wide and would fit inside the channel.

mjb765

I am deciding between a J&S and a Pitbull. Has anybody used both or have an opinion??

glider

JMO between the two I would get the Pitbull.

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jerrybombard

I saw a pit bull lift at Biktoberfest.
Very impressive.
They had (of course) a full dresser up there and it was not going anywhere, and not stapped down either. It was really something when the guy giving the demo (he's on the website vid and quite a character) hopped up onto the bike's BACK seat, then had a guy stand on the right floorboard. The bike didn't budge. The even sat on the bike, started it and ran thru the gears.
The lazy susan attachment looks reall usefull, too.
If I recall, the show special $ was 399, lazy susan extra. I'm thinking of calling and seeing if they will still honor that price, web site has it on sale @ $469 or so. You might be surprised what they may do.

As far as changing the oils, why put it on a lift at all? The plugs are in the right places to drain the oils while on the jiffy stand. so I'm confused about that one.

I had by 07 RKC on the craftsman ATV/bike lift the other day, and when I stood back, I was concerned about had badly the lift was twisting. I have found that if I use the bikes crossmember on the rear rail of the lift, the back tire comes WAY up berfore the front. If I place the lift just ahead of the member, the bike lifts more evenly.

Fortunatly, I got the craftsman for free, so I won't feel bad about buying a new one.

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glider

In most cases you get what you pay for if you do the homework. I think I would pass on the lazy susan attachment myself. No need for it doing maintenance.JMO.

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billnapabill

Superlift makes one that advertizes a guy standing on the front wheel axel nuts then on the rear muffler tips, then sitting on the bike! It has stablizers that slide out and screw down giving the lift an approxament 5' square footprint.
I have a 1500# capacity hydraulic aluminum Motorcycle/ATV jack I bought from Sears, I like it a lot cuz it don't weigh a ton and works pretty good. I think I paid a little over $100 for it, if ya watch Sears ads you can find it on sale fairly often. It's great for that once in a while, all over, detailing and stable enough to do some fairly major mechanical work on. The only thing I would want if I had it to buy over again is some of those slide out stablizers.
Coupla things though, never leave your bike on the lift without the lock engauged and always use the tie down straps to tie the bike down to the jack.
Don't know if I'd like that manual screw thing, I like to keep both hands on my bike going up and especially down so it don't inadvertanly fall, just a thought.

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