I stand corrected. The Sears is not cast aluminum, rather galanized steel. I removed the lower plate and now see what's going on. One of the arms, though not bent, is engaging at the very edge of the plate risers. The riser and arm are woefully worn. I was surprised though at how inconsequential, how shallow the stop-risers are. I'd have designed them to be more substantial to guarantee the lock. Whatever.

To those using this jack, I hope you many years of good lifting! I do suggest you fully tighten the handle when "up" too. If the jack does fail on you, at least it won't be catastrophic.

Is this what we're talking about on this forum when referring to the J&S?

http://www.jsjacks.com/products.htm
J&S Jacks Big Wheel Motorcycle Lift $339 +S&H

Tkx!!

 

I've had my Yellow jack over 2 years and use it plenty. Never had an issue and just checked the riser and lock plates and looks like the day I unboxed it. Me thinks you got a defective jack.

 

Me too. Works for me!

 

Exactly.

A common design "feature" of the less expensive jacks.

 

Ive had my red jack for 10 years now-no problems

 

+1 on the Pitbull. I wouldn't trust my bike to anything less. You really DO get what you pay for!

 

When I bought my J&S a couple of years ago they were giving a 10% discount if you mentioned you heard about it on HDF when you made the order. But they stopped doing this shortly after I ordered mine.