Looking into purchasing a motorcycle jack to do some maintenance And detail work and also to store the bike on in the winter. From what ive read about jacks and dynas is they dont mix very well. I havent been able to get time to run over to where my bike is stored to see what the frame is exactly like. Are the older dynas like my 98 superglide have the same weird frame design as the new ones? And any suggestions on a good jack, i know everyones like the j&s but their out of my budget right now. Thanks. Here's what im workinh with.
The $300 lift table from harbor freight works pretty good. I dunno how others here feel about those, but i feel pretty good about mine. Changed the wheel chock to the self-locking one hf sells for $40(32 after coupon) and moved the tie down anchors forward, and it easily lifts and holds my ultra.
Sure beats being bent over working on stuff
A harbor freight motorcycle jack will work but it's a bit wobbly for me.
You can make it a bit more stable by moving the lifting arms apart but it you do that you will have to trim a bit off so that the arm clears the tie down ring.
Last edited by texashillcountry; 10-25-2018 at 03:55 PM.
Reason: spelling
I just purchased the HF jack for mine. I can get it lifted and strapped and feel confident it will not fall. I did order the lift adapters and will try them out as there is a bit of a gap on the back left corner.
I've come to really like them. They allow you to get a solid foundation under the bike, and work around anything that might be in the way. They work really well.
The cons on them is they take longer to get the bike off the ground (you have to work the bike up little by little, front and back, over and over) and once it's up, you can't move it.
A harbor freight motorcycle jack will work but it's a bit wobbly for me.
You can make it a bit more stable by moving the lifting arms apart but it you do that you will have to trim a bit off so that the arm clears the tie down ring.
I have the Harbor Freight one for my Dyna as well. Using the pic that Studlintsean posted for description purposes, all I did was move the bolted on left "pad" that contacts the bottom bike frame rails under the tranny to the outside of it's normally bolted position (they come with that lift pad bolted to the inside on both sides). I kept the right one in the original mounted position. It will fit "just right" for my frame by not contacting any drain plug bolts on the left pad and the right sits a little before the up swing in the frame. Holds the bike up nice and stable. I don't even use that T bar handle thingy. YD
I just slide it under the bike until it contacts the jiffy stand (pushing the jack under the bike from the right side). I have thought about moving the brace that hits the jiffy a little to allow more of the jack to fit under both frame rails centering the jack evenly, but it seems to work OK the way it is. YD
Last edited by Yankee Dog; 10-25-2018 at 04:49 PM.
Are the lift adapters that HD sells still needed for the older dynas?
I don't use the lift adapters for my 1994, just made the slight re-positioning of one of the lift rails modification that I mentioned in my earlier post. Works fine, clears everything, and is very stable. YD
For a $119 online order with pickup at Sears you can't go wrong with the Craftsmen..... No need to adjust anything and I never use tie downs... Very stable, the bottle jack is smooth when letting down and it rolls very well on a decent floor...
I had a Harbor freight initially and when assembling, the perch for the bottle jack was not welded on in the proper positron and would not allow the jack to fully lower. It would not fit under my bike.... That was the last Harbor Freight anything I've purchased.....
Very Nice Dyna, by the way........ Clean.....
Last edited by 98hotrodfatboy; 10-26-2018 at 05:55 AM.
I have been using the same red Harbor Freight jack/lift since about 1998 on my 1997 Dyna. No adapters, works just fine. If the bike is going up there for a while, put a couple of straps on it. No pics of her on the lift, but here is picture of my Road Glide during major surgery about 5 years ago. Every bike I own goes up and down on that lift.
PS for things like fluid changes, I have a Condor. Works great on the bikes with oil pans, roll the bike into the Condor and it hold her upright. Enough room to slide an oil pan underneath and a little easier then doing it on the jiffy stand. Great for Dyna and Roadie.