Harbor Freight sale

[snackbauer]

January 10-12.

I found some coupons while reading a Rider magazine in the Dentist's office. I congratulated the receptionist on their choice of reading material and she told me to take it home.

Visited my local HF store, and picked up a $21 wheel cleaning stand and a free DMM. Anyway, it was something to do on a Winter day.

 

[garyahouse]

So, what's a DMM? And where's the pictures?

Gary

 

[Justin]

So, what's a DMM? And where's the pictures?Gary

Digital Multi Meter. I think I have two of those freebies. Nice to have one to throw in the bike toolkit

 

[bwv]

Digitial Multi Meter

Edit:

Timing is everything

 

[snackbauer]

So, what's a DMM? And where's the pictures?Gary

Digital Multi Meter. I think I have two of those freebies. Nice to have one to throw in the bike toolkit

Exactly. I don't like carrying a nice meter in the toolkit. To get the freebie, you have to spend at least $10. Hence the purchase of the possibly POS wheel cleaning stand. I'll probably never use either one. But, like I said, it was something to do.

What I'd really like is the bike lift, but didn't have that much cash in my pockets.

 

[Bugnatr]

Harbor Freight is great for getting those tools where you don't need the best and they always have some free item with the purchase. I did buy their 25.00 mc wheel chock and it works great in my trailer. Held the feejeer and now the wing just fine.

 

[Justin]

Harbor Freight is great for getting those tools where you don't need the best and they always have some free item with the purchase. I did buy their 25.00 mc wheel chock and it works great in my trailer. Held the feejeer and now the wing just fine.

Harbor Freight tools are great for anyone that is not a pro, IMO, or doesn't require low tolerance/high precision stuff . It's the same stuff the big box stores sell. They just don't pain it blue and call it Ryobi or whatever.

 

[leedavis]

Harbor Freight specialty tools like spring compressors, hub pullers and such have gotten me through many maintenance tasks. If not for Harbor Freight versions of these tools I would have been really stuck both for availability and cost. I love the place.

 

[Chiefblueman]

Be aware the free DMM is good for basic trouble shooting but may not be very accurate if you're looking for exact values. For instance when checking voltage at the terminals of a fully charged battery the HF meter read over .5v low compared to a Fluke DMM.

+1 on the wheel chock. Works great on my HF trailer!

 

[ionbeam]

Be aware the free DMM is good for basic trouble shooting but may not be very accurate if you're looking for exact values. For instance when checking voltage at the terminals of a fully charged battery the HF meter read over .5v low compared to a Fluke DMM...

Which HF DMM? I bought a 'disposable' DMM for ~$7 then tested it on the lab bench at work and found it to be quite accurate.

This meter has a back light so you can read it in low light & dark is currently on sale for <$6, item #92020 is the model that I bench tested and found to be accurate on the functions that would be used by the average shop guy. The meter lead terminals on the meter itself were a weak point, after plugging and unplugging the meter leads the solder on the circuit board fractured. A quick reflow with my solder iron and all has been good since. The meter leads use a miniature banana plug and are not compatible with most other meters.

Different brands of DMM will measure running voltages that differ due to the way the DC scale handles the electrical noise on the motorcycle's electrical system. When the engine is off all the DMM should be pretty close.

 

[snackbauer]

Ok, since I had designated the wheel cleaning stand as "possibly a POS", I thought I'd give it a fair trial.

The stand:

First test victim:

God I love this bike.

First victim front wheel:

That went fairly well, not needed for the back wheel but definitely usable on the front. Actually, jacking up the front, which I have been doing, is probably just as easy. So the stand is not a POS, since it does what it says it does, but maybe not needed for the FJR.

Second test victim front wheel:

and rear wheel:

Now this is where I'll be using the little stand. I haven't found a way to jack up the little Vstar yet. This thing doesn't hold a candle to the FJR, but it's really a fun bike to putt around on, and my wife will actually ride pillion on it. She says the FJR is too tall.

The DMM is already in the tool bag. I carry quite a bit of stuff in there and a disposable yet functional DMM is a welcome addition.