I ordered it on March 26, so a little over 5 weeks to get it delivered. I suspect the delay is Covid related. A quick overview of the process, and initial impressions.
Why: My warranty expired and I've been investing in a number of upgrades to the bike. My main service contact at the HD dealership no longer works at the dealer, and they price gouge regardless so just that time to service the bike myself and do what I can to save some $. I'm getting a little older (48), so crouching and moving around on my knees is less comfortable. I only looked at USA made lifts, and Handy is pretty widely recognized as being top tier. Thus the Handy lift (got it in blue - can't remember if that increased the price).
Ordering: I ordered directly from the Janco/Handy website. The website is kinda dated and has an 90s feel to it, but it did the job. Received an immediate confirmation. $1,456.00 for the lift, $206 for the cycle vice and $331 for the lowboy scissor jack. Interesting enough, they did not add sales tax (I'm in Washington so typically I expect it even when buying from out of state companies). Not complaining though. Didn't really price shop. A big purchase so wanted to deal with the manufacturer directly.
Shipping and Customer service. I followed up on a ship date a few times. Handy was very responsive, often emailing back same day or the next day. So a positive there. Was hoping to get the lift sooner, but not really complaining as I understand that it is a little tougher. I ordered the scissor jack and vice after my lift order via email only. They just added the price to my card. I chose the drop option at an additional $30 fee. Well worth the money as the lift is @$@#$@#$ heavy. Everything packaged well, no dents and the guy who dropped it off right into my garage with a power lift. He did leave the wooden pallets which is a pain as I have to get rid of them on my next dump run, but first world problems I guess.
Putting it together. Did I say this thing is @$#@$@# heavy? Ideally two people would put it together. My GF was at the dog park and I was eager, so I just put it together myself. The instructions are laughably bad, but it is fairly intuitive so not a big deal. Took a lot of effort just to get it in position because it is so heavy. I put it on a plywood sheet as I just installed some Racedeck tile flooring and wasn't quite ready to test it to the limits now. The lift is only 2 feet wide so doesn't take a massive amount of space. Careful when you maneuver it as you can accidentally put the lift on the air compressor cord.
Fit and finish. I can't imagine a lift being better made. Even the detachable ramp is heavy (25 pounds probably). The steel is solid, paint job is clean, and just put together well. Makes you happy to buy a quality American made product.
Performance, issues, concerns. If you have a touring bike, IMHO you need two people to get your bike up on the lift, which could be a big turnoff for some. Took me about 2 seconds to realize that the lift sits kinda high off the ground, and no way could I just roll/walk my Road Glide (w/o tour pack) up the ramp. My garage is probably angled slightly, but no way I could get it up there myself.
Like an idiot I did something stupid - I rode my bike up the lift. Not the first time I did something stupid, and won't be the last. I was able to do it - I duck walked it up, my legs hugging the derby cover and other side. I probably grew a few white hairs and I was constantly telling myself how stupid I was for doing it. Lift was stable but little room for error. Once in the vice I carefully got off the bike, using a shelving unit to balance myself. With one hand I kept the bike straight and I tightened the vice with my other hand. DO NOT DO THIS. Again, I was stupid and impatient, and won't do it again until I can put in some self made side ramps for balance (which are rock solid). Vice is solid and worked well. I tied down with heavy duty (1000lb rated) SmartStraps around the forks (one complaint is the lift needs more tie down options).
It appears to have one gremlin. The air hose end appears to leak, like it is missing an o-ring or something. See pic below. I'm using a 2.6 gallon porter air compressor, and while firing it up I could hear the leak out of the tip of the hose attached to the handy. I tried tightening it but no dice, still could hear and feel air. Is this normal? I was still able to raise the bike, but the lift goes down slowly unless you latch it properly. I'm gonna call Handy tomorrow and inquire.
The safety latching system works really well (even with my air issue). Bike goes up and down smoothly with confidence. My garage is only 10 feet high so I'll only be using the first two latch set points. You can make your bike go up extremely high.
BTW the lift does not have holes configured for the HD chalk. Not a big deal for me as I'm using the Handy vise, but I checked the chalk. I suppose I could have drilled holes in the lift to accommodate my chalk.
All in all very happy, though concerned about the leaking tip on the air hose. Hoping an easy fix or maybe I'll need to Magyver it. Pics below.
The left black hose is the one attached to the lift. Air is coming out between the thin brass and the large brass (rotating the hose doesn't tighten or loosen). Maybe missing an o-ring or something but air is definitely coming out (but not enough to not allow me to use the lift).
Let me know if you have any questions as I'm happy to answer. I'd recommend this lift to anyone who doesn't mind needing two people to put up a touring bike on it.
My garage isn't even a full 8' high and I can lift my bike up all the way with my Handy lift table
My garage isn't even a full 8' high and I can lift my bike up all the way with my Handy lift table
I posted earlier that I bought several lifts when a Dealer closed a satellite shop. The Handy Standard and the SAM lift I kept have a max height of 35", the Handy BOB Lift has a max height of 40". I really wanted the extra capacity of the BOB, my SAM is an older model and rated at 1K#. Our bikes sitting in the floor chocks are 58.5" in height so that puts me at 93.5" , 2.5" to spare with my 8' ceiling, add the extra 5" in height for the BOB and my poor memory it could have been expensive.
WH your bike looks great on that lift! Look into the retractable tie downs they make it a little easier. I use the IMMI F103745 with the floor mounting bracket F16777. I bolted the bracket to the lift and left it a bit loose, double nut the bolt and that allow the strap and bracket to rotate. https://www.imminet.com/wp-content/u...g_2020_Web.pdf
Hose looks to be a JIC fitting type (unscrew it and it will be like a cone shape ish). No o-ring in those, they will most likely need to send you a new hose.
Nice lift though. I ride mine up onto my lift, but I'm braver than I am smart, plus its usually just me. Building removable sides would help a lot with that.
I ordered my Handy during the leap day sale at the end of Feb. and it got into town on June 9th. I ordered a red one so at first I had to wait for the lift to be powder coated red, then a slight delay on the side extensions. I'm sure the COVID stuff were part of the delays as well.
I ordered my Handy during the leap day sale at the end of Feb. and it got into town on June 9th. I ordered a red one so at first I had to wait for the lift to be powder coated red, then a slight delay on the side extensions. I'm sure the COVID stuff were part of the delays as well.
Nice. I think I saw this on GarageJournal? You post there?
BTW, great looking garage. Like it. Handy fits right in with the red.
05-06-2020, 06:40 PM
