I bought a Sears yellow 'cause I was being cheap. It's ok, but not as stable as I would like. I would buy a J&S or Pit Bull next time.

Sears yellow is awesome for my dirt bikes though!

 

I'd say go with the J & S. It is a total quality Jack.

Unless of course you want heavier duty, better stability, wider footprint. 24 inch jack height and grease zerks on all moving parts.

Then you'll need to get the Pitbull.

 

I would not drive 4 hours for a jack

 

Well said ftzoid! Can't agree more. I've owned my J&S for over five years. Use it more than I ever thought I would. No complaints and it has served me well!

 

I think this another one of those personal choices. It what ever give you the piece of mind. I bought the less expensive Craftsman Red jack in 2004 and have used it on 4 scoots so far. I hope I don't ever regret it but you never know.

I kind of look at it this way. If one of those more expensive jacks failed while your bike was on it, which I have heard of. Is the manufacturer going to cover your losses or damages? I would almost bet that it would be one of those, "well it looks like the owner wasn't using the equipment properly to the manufacturers recommendations".

I try to be extra careful with the Red Craftsman jack. No pulling, pushing the bike around. I always look at the jack itself to make sure there is no hydraulic fluid leaking. Unfortunately, it only has to fail once to learn to appreciate a better jack.

I'm surprised you didn't include the HD (94653-98).

 

I have the Craftsman Yellow.

Hasn't let me down yet.

 

My thoughts exactly. This is something you should only have to buy once in your life. I bought the Sears aluminum jack and took it back and ordered the J&S. The J&S is so stable that i can lower my bike without even touching it and the jack sets it back on the kickstand. Not that I practice this method but it was so stable that I did feel compelled to try it once.

 

I have had a Harbor Freight red jack for years and it was actually very sturdy. It was stolen last year. So I was looking at other jacks that were in the $400 plus range but I went with the Harbor Freight yellow jack a few months back. It is very sturdy, the jack does not leak a bit and it was only $65! I see it is now in the sale flyer thru March 25 for $60.

 

So if you ride 4 hours to bike week, how are you going to haul the jack home?

 

After buying my first J&S Jack there was no need to look for anything better. The first bottle started leaking after the first couple of lifts. It was replaced at no additional charge or shipping costs. A lot of thought went into the design of the jack for stability and it has safety lock bars when the jack is raised. Works perfect for my lowered wide glide. Watch their demo, the jack does perform like they show. It is a hands off operation and the bike will settle back onto the jiffy stand when lowered slowly. It amazes me with some comments by those that choose to use inferior jacks when raising their prized toys that required tie downs, etc to secure their scooter when raised.