+1 on the Harbor Freight lift! I recently picked up a Harbor Freight lift a few weeks back to replace a Big Red lift that I've had for years. The Big Red lift, as it aged, started wobbling like mad.

The Harbor Freight lift is easy to maintain and, thus far, is an improvement over my previous lift! It may not last as long as a J&S or Pitbull lift would but I'm still hoping to purchase a lift table at some point in the future...

 

@mjs1185: sweet! I could definitely use a free one, lol. I think I found their facebook and am definitely entering this contest. http://www.facebook.com/jsmotorcycle...43103275748075

 

I have an aluminum craftsman jack. liked it better than the steel. Sure it wobbles some but I have never used it to do much work to the bike. Mostly to wash/wax it. I have a table if I want to do other stuff to it. Buy what works for you.

 

Love my J&S jack. Customer service for me was outstanding.
No straps needed, can sit on while its on the jack if I wanted too, very sturdy product.
Pitbull seem to be a fine product also from what I have seen. I look at it this way, most times u get what u pay for!

 

I got a 1000lb service lift off amazon just strap it down it cost me a few hundred but i love it it lifts 31" high.

heres the link for it check it out <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=honda11...1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

 

Who says someone has to be a "brand fanboy" because they spend a extra on good tools? That's what a jack is. Good tools will allow you do your job more efficiently and generally will last longer. J&S is an awesome jack. It's amazingly stable and if I need to move my bike across the garage floor while up on the jack, I can easily do it without worrying about the bike falling over. Have kids, or dogs? Leave your garage to take a **** while your bike is on an unstable jack and have a kid or dog knock into it. I don't have to worry about that. No bragging rights, just a good tool that makes life easier. Nothing wrong with that.

 

I need a jack too, right now I'm using a bar but this only gets the bike up about 6 inches and i'm breaking my back. I agree paying nearly $500 for a jack is crazy, it's a bottle jack and some rails. The harbor Freight jack seems like a decent gamble, no way in hell I can justify $500 for a jack.

 

That's my home shop , there's more pro tools in there than some of these guy house cost bench is only 12 ' long .
Been a professional wrench turner making a living at it since I left home at 17 , not a subject I take lightly . I KNOW TOOLS whats quality , what overpriced bullshit and what's junk , my home tool set you see in that picture is better than some so called pro's shop boxes .

10 yrs ago they was a difference in all the import junk coming into this country and decent tools , those lines have faded to the point of obscurity with a lot of that stuff now and brand name jacks being one of them . 90% of all the stuff sold out there is China made and if it isn't and has that made in the USA tag on it the materials used like the steel & bottles jacks are still China , so what's the difference beside slight design differences and price tags ? Hum ?

Anyone relies on a jack to keep a bike up in the air and stable is an amateur asking for trouble and Murphy will oblige sooner or later . Any jack can and will fail thats one of the first tenets taught in safety classes .

I've used them all I personally like the infamous Sears yellow aluminum jack everyone hates , difference is I don't leave the bike on it !!! You use a jack to lift something not support its while working on it !!! Lift the bike then use a stand to work on one . For what the popular fanboy toys cost , you can buy both a decent jack & stand and be well ahead of the game . Personal choices , I'd suggest a little research outside of the drum beaters and better education if you want to make truelly informed choices .

 

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Well, can't disagree with any of you but after doing research to fit my needs and space limitations I popped a big wad for the Pitbull with all the bells and whistles--- air over hydraulic to raise it, unstable to rotate and work on both sides in best light and limited space, very high lift, etc. I love it and I really doubt it is going to fail and cause the bike any damage. Yeah, I'm not pleased with the Chinese jack and know that is what I'll have to replace, but what can you do? See there any US made pistons? This is what suits me and you all are welcome to do what you feel is best. By the way, Twisted, your shop is beautiful.