I got a Harbour Freight jack that a friend modded by putting steel, pivoting casters at all four points...he welded plate steel squares to the jack frame corners and then mounted the steel castors to the plate...works great! I can rotate/move the bike in any direction on this jack. He was buying the jacks new from HF, modding them, and then selling them for $125/each to our biker friends.
I have a HF lift table too. You can get them on sale for $300. Not pushing the HF brand, but they're plenty good for our occasional use. Using both covers a lot of ground for cleaning/maintenance/wrenching. They pay for themselves after 1-2 jobs you'd otherwise have the dealer perform....same goes for tools...
I would also take a look at the K&L MC550 Multilift it's a really solid lift. You can roll it around with your bike in the air no problems The MC460 Shop Dolly is really slick as well. Jack your bike up, drop it on the Dolly and you can roll it around to work on it or to keep it out of the way. I have one on the Dolly in my shop as we speak.
whats the best motorcycle jack to use to service and clean my bike?
Seems like it would kind of depend on the level of service being done. Just changing fluids, cleaning wheels, etc. I could not see the need for more than a basic Black Widow Steel Motorcycle Jack. I found it gets in the way at fluid change time much less than my lift. Takes up a lot less space as well.
However, if you are doing something more substantial, than these lifts probably are more applicable.
If you want a lift that you can wheel around, get a better model like the J&S jack. For just putting the bike in the air and not moving it, the Harbor Freight works fine. Removing both wheels is tricky, but if you pay attention, block the bike, all will be well.
Right behind you.... I have a Pitbull also, very happy with it. Buy a Pitbull or J&S... don't play around with the cheaper jacks, you are lifting a $20-$30,000 or more bike.
Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything, because in general, people want CHEAP!
I bought a Pitbull air-assisted jack when I bought my Road King in 2007 and have been very happy with it. Made in USA (not that I particularly care, but many do), grease fittings all over, and unbelievably stable. Their website at least used to have a video of a bagger on the jack, raised, with someone on the bike trying to wiggle it around. I did the same thing to make sure they weren't kidding.
They weren't. I use this jack for all the service on my Road King and Ultra. Never a concern with anything tipping or falling. Between the two bikes I have over $40K, so the money spent on the Pitbull jack was insignificant.
As i have a harbor fright jack at work for moving rolls around. I see how cheep it is . What is a better choice out there that will not break the bank, and also to store the bike on.
10-28-2016 | 11:53 AM
