Harbor Freight High Position Motorcycle Lift

[bluesdog]

I bought one of the relatively inexpensive hydraulic/pneumatic lift tables on sale @ 50% off a couple of years ago at Princess Auto.
There's no way I can just safely roll the bike up solo, so I have to ride it on, and it's too narrow for secure foot placement. Rolling the bike off isn't a problem.

At first I placed a 6" X 6" beam at each side, which worked OK, but those damn beams are rather heavy and cumbersome, so I constructed a couple of long, skinny 'bench'-like things from scrap plywood. They work pretty good, but still take up too much space, and it's still a bit hairy riding the bike up onto the table.

I plan to design and build a front wheel lock/support on casters, which, when connected to my portable electric winch will allow controlled loading of the bike onto the table.

(I'll post pics once I make the thing)

This winter I built an overhead stand, similar to the famous pipe stand detailed elsewhere, which fits either on the floor or on the table, and allowed the safe raising of the beast, and removal of the centre stand for suspension pivot lubing etc.

That HF lift, plus an overhead stand, would work quite well, I believe, and be more secure than the lift alone.

See picture post 2. Build your self a set of out rigger boxes as I have. I ride my bike up on my HF table lift as that is it normal parking spot. 20 bucks in wood and deck screws. An hour or so with a electric saw and a couple of beers AFTER the sawing is done. This should fix your problem of getting it up.............on the lift.

The out rigger boxes are 4 ft long, one foot wide, and 7 1/2 inches high. You can make them as long as you want. They give you a place to put your feet. Getting on and off the bike and while putting it on the center-stand.

Thanks chuck, but that's basically what I made after ditching the beams. The outriggers work OK, and since I used scrap plywood and the two long side pieces left over from the lift table's shipping crate, cost me perhaps a couple bucks at most for the glue and hardware.

As good as they are, they don't address the issue of having to ride the bike onto the table. I park in the basement, and dislike eau d'feej permeating the entire house. Also, I don't like running the bike for only a couple of minutes and then shutting down w/o a full warm-up.

So, unless I can train the dog to pull the bike while I steady it, (he's a big guy!), call a neighbor each time I need to put the bike up, or take lots of steroids, I'm gonna have to use some other controlled method the doesn't require riding the bike.

I plan to modify my wheel chock by adding some stabilizing cross pieces and casters, so it will be fit on the table between the raised edges along the sides, and pull the bike onto the table using my power come-along winchy thing.

 

[Mudslide Miller]

Sorry Twigg, but that's just downright scary looking!! I'll stick to the centerstand for my rear and my Harbor Freight dirt bike jack with spacers and a block of wood to clear the headers to get the front off the ground. I know you and others say the headers can be the lifting point but I don't even like that idea. I'm old too, but I'll still crawl around the garage floor if I have to.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I understand why you want the bike higher. It just looks like an accident waiting to happen. I hope it isn't and that it performs the way it should with no expensive or injury inducing whoopsies...

 

[Twigg]

I understand why you want the bike higher. It just looks like an accident waiting to happen. I hope it isn't and that it performs the way it should with no expensive or injury inducing whoopsies...

It performs exactly the way it should.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I understand why you want the bike higher. It just looks like an accident waiting to happen. I hope it isn't and that it performs the way it should with no expensive or injury inducing whoopsies...

It performs exactly the way it should.

Very happy that it does.