Performing the sears red mod doesn't affect clearance if your bike is lowered. By lowering your bike, you have made certain concessions.

How would you think the mod is questionable? It's not like we're lifting baggers that weigh in excess of 900#. With a grade 8 bolt, lifting the dyna will be no problem at all. Even a grade 5 bolt would handle the load.

I have left my bike (650lbs) jacked up all the way for over two weeks without one issue. I think your apprehension is merely you. For me, spending $350-$400 on a jack wasn't/isn't an option. If you're going to spend that much on a jack, why not spend the same cash on a full lift table.

 

For me I can think of quite a few reasons. First is space. I can throw the jack in the corner of the garage and out of the way. Second, a good table will be at least twice what the jack cost and you still need a way to get the bike off the table for front end work. Third, I can throw the jack in a trailer if we take the bikes somewhere. Fourth, I can put the bike up on the jack and wheel it where I want for winter storage. I will get a table eventually when I start another bike project but for now the jack is perfect for what I need.

 

well it gave a little clearance which is great. The pads were on top of the arms with a 1" spacer on the underside of the pad that rested on top of the arm. Now the pads are an in inch lower because they are parallel with the arms. I have the bike sitting at home in full lift position with no straps and it seems perfectly stable and i doubt it will be a problem. And the bolts don't seem to have any bend to them at all which is fine.

The apprehension is that the original setup had the weight displaced directly on top of the lift arms with the spacers under the pads baring the load and a stabilizer bar connecting the two arms via the pads. Having cut that bar out it could, in theory, allow for independent movement of the arms if there was a "loading problem" (see: i'm a couple beers deep and rush the thing under the bike wrong). Also, now instead of having the weight burden held by those spacers under the pad, the stress is on the holes in the pad bar where the bolt goes through which is considerably thinner and not originally designed to bare the full weight.

Again, it isn't a problem now and might only be a problem in theory later. And yeah i can deal with rolling my bike on to a piece of wood to compensate for the lowering. For the money and the frequency i will need to use the jack, it's great; that's why i got it. And the modification video was certainly an awesome idea. Could i possibly forsee some time in the future where i might want to have a better jack that is a bit easier to use and more versatile? Sure, but i also would prefer air tools that recoil from the ceiling and a garage that has the set up and full parts stock of a harley dealership.

 

The thing is, the mod moves the pads on a horizontal plane so you do not gain any height clearance UNLESS you drilled new holes that allow the pads to sit lower. I don't remember there being that much material available to do such a mod and you'd also have to contend with the top of the lift arms sitting below the top of the lift pad as well.

 

I've moved my bike around while on my modded sears jack. Again, I saved about $250. I certainly wouldn't go slinging my bike around the storage space while on the modded red jack. I take my time and use smooth movements.

I agree the j&s seems to be a quality piece of equipment BUT I just don't see where the added cost between the sears/harbor freight jacks and the J&S other than one is made overseas and one is made here. I mean, it's still just a frame with a small bottle jack.

A lot of folks don't have the extra $300-$400 to spend on a jack.

If you're going to mention high end jacks, the Pitbulll should also be mentioned. I believe it's built similar to the J&S and is about the same price. Never used one but my bud in Ohio has one and swears by it. He's even used it to lift a bagger or two as well, without issue.

 

Oh I'm with you man. I bought the Sears red jack when I got my '06 Bob way back and used the hell out of it for the last five years for my road bikes, dirt bikes, and atvs. For the money it was definitely a great jack. It had seen better days so I donated it to a friend and wanted to upgrade while I was getting a new one anyway. I know the J&S is quite a bit more but luckily I'm single with no kids so I'm willing to forgo a few nights out at the bars to make up the difference in cost.

The Pitbull is very nice as well. When I looked it was about $100 more than the J&S ($439) so figured the J&S would be the best balance of quality and cost for me.

 

I use the Aluminum Craftsman jack with Dyna jacking blocks and had my bike in the air for well over a month while it was apart this winter getting all the powdercoating done and there were no issues. The jack works well and I didn't have to modify a thing on it.

I also get my lowered bike on it solo, i.e., by myself and without any help.

 

In all the posts about how horrible the lift adapters are, you sir are the very first that seems to actually like them. Would you like a backup pair? lol I'll send mine.

 

Sure, I'll take them. Seriously though, no problems with the lift adapters. Maybe somebody got a bad batch or something? They do what they are designed to do for me. I have no problem using a 2x4 or some other means to level the bike out on the jack but the adapters have never given me a problem. I didn't know they gave anyone else a problem until reading this thread.