K&L sells a good one but it's pricey, when I decided to make my own. Several versions out and they all priced way over what you are getting. Look close at the build materials in the pictures and actual footprint dimensions before deciding.
The K&L also only lifts to 15". Again, there may be a manufacturer message in that 15" self-imposed manufacturer limit for this type of lift.
Jim G
Last edited by JimGnitecki; 07-20-2024 at 08:44 PM.
The K&L also only lifts to 15". Again, there may be a manufacturer message in that 15" self-imposed manufacturer limit for this type of lift.
Jim G
Suspect their dolly height limit is due to the footprint size, length is adjustable, but width is fixed and a bit narrow from my experience. Playing with various jacks and dolly designs over the years I've found 13-15" high to be the sweet spot overall working with them. Higher doesn't add anything, unless you add a larger footprint. I build mine 22" or 24" square for the base footprint on the casters, 14" high, a 5.0 earthquake the panhead on the dolly didn't move while my shovel was almost bouncing up off the kickstand.
Love my Harbor Freight lift, added side extensions with some kindorf and she’s a beaut Clark. Had to modify the linkage but with some fittings and kindorf from work, I’m under $700.00. And it works perfectly.
Obviously, welding is not my profession but it holds. Poppy is a little sloppy…
Love my Harbor Freight lift, added side extensions with some kindorf and she’s a beaut Clark. Had to modify the linkage but with some fittings and kindorf from work, I’m under $700.00. And it works perfectly.
Obviously, welding is not my profession but it holds. Poppy is a little sloppy…
Those side extensions on either side are a vital addition. Without them, if you have a short inseam like I do (29" at most), once you have ridden the bike onto the lift, your feet can't come down onto the lift because the primary case and the exhaust make the bike too wide, and they can't reach the floor because the floor is lower than the lift! The extensions give you a reliable surface to place your feet on, so you can keep the bike upright, and the traction surface on the extensions keep your boot soles from slipping. Nice work on that.
@BlueridgeXL , I'm surprised to see the oem dock still on there!
Minor but useful tip I learned about those tiedown points, run the nut all the way up on the threads, use a nylock nut on the underside, just fully engaged.
Then the tiedown drops down low unless you've got a tiedown hooked into it.
@JimGnitecki , I've a 27" inseam, and can reach my toes down to the raised lip on the deck. Up on the lift isn't really the spooky step, it's going up the ramp with the front wheel, and the first few feet of the deck. Then your feet are high, and you don't want to stop. Some folk use boards or decking along that length where their feet are. But, as long as you go up the ramp with alacrity, you'll be ok without them. You can also walk the bike up while standing beside it.
@BlueridgeXL , I'm surprised to see the oem dock still on there!
Minor but useful tip I learned about those tiedown points, run the nut all the way up on the threads, use a nylock nut on the underside, just fully engaged.
Then the tiedown drops down low unless you've got a tiedown hooked into it.
@JimGnitecki , I've a 27" inseam, and can reach my toes down to the raised lip on the deck. Up on the lift isn't really the spooky step, it's going up the ramp with the front wheel, and the first few feet of the deck. Then your feet are high, and you don't want to stop. Some folk use boards or decking along that length where their feet are. But, as long as you go up the ramp with alacrity, you'll be ok without them. You can also walk the bike up while standing beside it.
Yeah you are right about getting up the ramp and not being able to touch anyhting with your feet. I have found that with the WIDE version primary case on my Breakout (because of the wide rear tire and the wide swingarm it requires), and its right hand exhaust system, I can get my feet onto pavement, but if I had the bike on a tabletop lift, no way, unless the tabletop lift had side-extensions on it.
As for pushing the bike up the sloped ramp to get it onto the table lift, I cannot do that. I have trouble just getting the bike into the GARAGE from the sloped driveway if I have the engine off (like right after washing it in the driveway), let alone a ramp! And of course, after a bike wash, the undired water on the pavement makes footing pretty slipppery.
And finally, SOME bikes can be ridden up a ramp "with alacrity", BUT a Breakout with its combination of very long wheelbase (because of the raked out front end) and low ground clearance (4.5" from the factory if the bike is held level, and less than that if leaned while you push it from beside it), can have you finding yourself "bottoming" the frame tubes at the point where the ramp meets the lift. If that happens, you are going down sideways despite your best efforts to prevent it. And THAT is a prescription for both bike damage and serious personal injury when the bike lands on top of your lower body. Calculating in advance whether or not you have a shallow enough ramp angle to prevent this requires some careful measurement and proficency with trigonometry. Not for the faint of heart!
Jim G
Last edited by JimGnitecki; 07-21-2024 at 08:45 AM.
I have owned several Harbor Freight lifts over the years and welds haven’t been a problem. I still have the first one I bought, so old it was painted yellow, and it still works fine. In reality, hard to beat for the price. I do like the idea of a dolly for long term, the problem I have with the ones I see on Amazon is they don’t have locks on the wheels for braking on slopes.
I would get the HB lift that works for you. If you don’t trust it to hold the bike up while you wash it, get a dolly too. Still way less than the blue lift.
07-20-2024, 08:42 PM
