What kind of motorcycle jack are you using?

Danase · 07-01-09, 07:05

For you guys that do a lot of motorcycle work, what sort of jack are you using? I need to pull the tires on my cruiser and don't have a jack. I had a set of stands for my sportbikes but those won't work on a cruiser.

Thanks!

TLMitchell · 07-02-09, 02:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danase

For you guys that do a lot of motorcycle work, what sort of jack are you using? I need to pull the tires on my cruiser and don't have a jack. I had a set of stands for my sportbikes but those won't work on a cruiser.

Thanks!

I used an imported jack from Sam's Club for a while and never felt real good about it. Comparable to the ones at Sears and Harbor Freight, a bottle jack eventually is going to let you... and your bike, down. Narrow footprint, cheezy hardware, not exactly want you want when you're struggling and wiggling things around trying to get an axle through when it's fully extended.

After seeing some techs use one I ended up with a much stouter lift from a Harley dealer. About 3 times as expensive as the el cheapos but it's correspondingly better construction and more secure. Instead of a bottle jack it uses a hand crank and mechanical lifting rather than pneumatic. Nothing to ever leak and all the nuts and bolts are Grade 8.

I don't know what you've got to lift or how high you need to go... you could very well get away with the cheap stuff. I'm lifting a 900 lb dresser and to get the rear tire from under the fender it has to go ALL the way up and stay there while I'm sitting on the floor trying to hold things in place while wiggling the axle through. I run a ratcheting tie down through the frame and tighten the bike against the lift before I raise it..... keeps things from moving around.

Pulling both wheels at once is a scary proposition with some of those narrow-footprint lifts. If I'm pulling one or the other I position the lift so it'll stay stable when the load shifts as the weight of a wheel is removed. Pull both wheels and if you center the lift it's going to want to tip as soon as the first wheel comes off.

What you need.. what *I* need, is a Handy table lift with a drop-a-way panel in the back. Just support the back of the bike with a small jack while you drop the rear wheel down the way the pros do. Kinda pricey for the part-time, shadetree wrench though.

TL

Danase · 07-02-09, 04:48

Thanks! I was looking at one of these: Pitbull lift details page
But for that price I could just pay to have the tires changed and not have a jack laying around the garage. I can do oil changes and stuff like that on the ground, that's no biggie. It's just the tires that I can't do, and I need new ones soon. LOL Thanks again!

smprince1 · 07-02-09, 09:30

For the price, this one is hard to beat.....

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Danase · 07-02-09, 11:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by smprince1

For the price, this one is hard to beat.....

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Those are really nice for the price but you can't pull the wheels off, you still sort of need a jack to get the wheels off while on the lift.

02zx9r · 07-07-09, 05:53

my roomate has one like the pitbull one you linked, but not by pitbull. He uses it on his Harley electra glide ultra classic no problems. I will look tonight to see what brand it is

smprince1 · 07-07-09, 07:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danase

Those are really nice for the price but you can't pull the wheels off, you still sort of need a jack to get the wheels off while on the lift.

There is a removable panel at the rear to allow removal of the rear wheel.

I can also get the front wheel off no problem. Of course, this assumes the bike has a center stand (as mine does).

Just FYI... good luck.

Danase · 07-07-09, 07:41

Thanks guys!
Yeah, my bike does not have a center stand so I'd need a scissors jack to get the front up.

rjstaaf · 07-07-09, 08:06

Pitbull is a reputable company, I don't know anything about their lifts but their stands are top quality...

I wouldn't get the Craftsman lift as I have seen a couple of threads over at Garage Journal about the safety catches failing. It is possible though those failures were due to misuse of the jack.

I wouldn't rest the entire weight of the bike on the safety catch alone if you can avoid it. Lift the bike, lower it down to the safety catch and then raise it again just so the hydraulics take at least some of the weight rather than relying on the safety catch alone...

rasmusmi · 07-07-09, 01:46

Craftsman Professional 1500 lb. Motorcycle/ATV Jack

This is what I use (w/tie-downs) on my 2009 Big Dog K9 chopper...works great!

johnp66 · 07-07-09, 05:25

i plan on ordering one of these this week

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Danase · 07-10-09, 07:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnp66

i plan on ordering one of these this week

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

If you get one let me know how you like it. The only problem I see with that is it doesn't look like, from that picture anyway, that it has a safety lever or whatever you want to call it. I just fear having the entire weight of the bike sitting on a hydraulic jack that could blow a seal. I had a jack blow a seal on a truck I was jacking up once.

EDIT:
Nevermind, I see it has some sort of safety pin now. I really like that thing. That would be perfect for me. Let me know if you get it and how you like it.