Hello,

I just got my Deluxe less than a month ago and I would like to clean my whitewalls. I'm new at bike mechanics and have never worked on one.

I figure the best way to clean the whitewalls would be to put in on a bike jack lift. I bought one but haven't used it yet and wanted to make sure that everything goes smoothly in lifting the bike and safely bringing it back down.

Do you need to shim the top of the jack where it mates with the bottom of the frame because that cylinder keeps the bottom from being completely flat? Or can I just safely put the jack under the frame and just safely lift the bike without worries from the bottom of the frame or that cylinder from getting damaged? Lastly is there a mark somewhere on the frame where we can put the jack at or maybe a center weight balance mark?

Thanks in advance!

 

You can lift the bike without shims, the trick is to find a balance point with the bike on the jack. What I found works well, once you find the balance point, use white paint and put a dot on the lift arms of the jack so you know how far to push it in under the bike, then another on the cross brace between the lift arms and this you make in line with a reference point like a seam in the heat shiels so you can hit the mark every time when you use the jack without trial and error. Don't forget to strap it down and use the locks on the jack once you get the bike up.

 

Thanks for your advice. You mentioned strapping it down, how is this done? Is that part of properly lifting a bike on a floor jack? Remember I'm new with bike maintenance.

thanks again...anyone else like to add some tips?

 

I have the Sears lift, as many here do. This lift has 4 points to tie down the bike, one on each end of the lift arms. I'm pretty sure that most bike jacks would have something like this. My lift came with ratchet tie down straps, but if your's didn't you can get them at any hardwars, auto store.

On my ultra, I place one tie down attached to the front lift arm, from there it's up behind the left foot rest, over the neck of the bike just in front of the tank resting on the frame, then down the right side, by the right floor board and attach it to the front right arm of the lift.

On the back end of the lift, I attach it the same way to the lift arms, but put a folded/rolled towel over the seat so the straps don't run the seat or the paint at all.

If your lift has a safety lock (like the sears) use it. Just hold the bike steady when you raise it up and down as once the weight is off the jiffy stand the bike will lean/fall away from the stand toward you. I like to stand on the right side of the bike, hold the throttle with my right hand, left hand on the passenger arm bar.

Hope this helps.
Joe

 

Thanks a lot Joe and TC. I should now be much better prepared with more confidence in using the bike jack to safely perform this maintenance task.

Happy riding guys!

 

One thing you need to do is make sure you don't place the jack directly on the shocks. On Softails, they generally sit just a little lower than the frame. On my Standard, I put my Craftsman lift just ahead of the shocks on the frame and the bike lifts OK. To get the jack to slide freely under the bike, I roll the front tire up on a 2x6 and put a 2x6 under the side stand.

Like has been said, once you get it to the right height, make sure you tie down the bike to the jack on both sides. I put one end of the ratchet ties on my highway pegs and the other end on the jack tie down brackets.

On a side note, with the bike lifted at this position, I can drain the transmission, oil tank and primary. Removing the oil filter is a royal pain.

 

Thanks for your advice "oldgeezer" !

 

Usually with the lifts they give you two ratchet straps to secuer the bike to the lift after you raise it up for added safety.