[ndnjak]

I want to purchase a motorcycle lift. I have looked at various ones from Handy, Titan, Weaver and a few others. I would like to hear from anyone who owns one as to the plus and minuses of whichever brand you own and also any tips that you wish you'd done differently if you could have. So far my list of "haves" is:

minimum 1500 lbs capacity
adjustable wheel chock
rear tire drop out


Things im on the fence about:
Side rails
air vs hydraulic foot pump ( dont know which one is better)
a "work" jack? (what would this be used for if bike is already on lift??)

I am also not opposed to buying a used table but in my area, there are not many offerings, so if anyone has one for sale and youre within a reasonable driving distance of NW Illinois...PM me, please

 

[Baron58]

You could always take a trip on the wild side and get one of these...

1000 Lbs. Steel Motorcycle Lift


I mean their good enough for Indian....LOL

 

[customgaragework]

Check out texudeo dist they are an importer that actually sells lifts to some of the a dist you listed. They will sell direct as well. You can get a handy lift copy for under $1800. I did the sides on mine and glad I did, way more room to work with and much more comfortable putting bike on lift. Handles the chieftain's and my wing like butter.
Best of luck

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

 

[ElliottHD]

I use a Harbor Fright foot pump lift. I have an upgraded front wheel chock on it. I'll have to check the brand. I also installed two quick zip style ratchet straps. Works great. I have used different foot pump and air lift setups and I promise you the front wheel chock is the secret sauce on these. If you can roll the bike up and have it hold steady without worry while you strap it down, you're all set. All that other stuff is just personal preference. I mean, It's just a table that goes up and down after all.

 

[NDN]

You could always take a trip on the wild side and get one of these...

1000 Lbs. Steel Motorcycle Lift


I mean their good enough for Indian....LOL

What Wheel chock are you using? I bought one of these from harbor freight but the stock chock leaves a lot to be desired and was not very steady. Do you know if you can get side panels, I had to create side extenders to get my Chieftain loaded. Is this kinda wobbly when at height? I have been a bit nervous with a 1000 lb up on the lift at height.

 

[dieselgman]

I suppose there are many valid answers to this question. First, will you be using it every day? If it is in constant use, then the small deficiencies that the cheaper lifts have will be much bigger issues. The feel (extra safety and capacity) of the good quality heavy professional lift speaks for itself. If used constantly, I would expect much better life and results from the pro level tool. If you have the budget and use the tool a lot, buy the best.

 

[dieselgman]

If you go Harbor Freight, choose their heavier lift - 1,500 lbs rating.

 

[Baron58]

What Wheel chock are you using? I bought one of these from harbor freight but the stock chock leaves a lot to be desired and was not very steady. Do you know if you can get side panels, I had to create side extenders to get my Chieftain loaded. Is this kinda wobbly when at height? I have been a bit nervous with a 1000 lb up on the lift at height.

That is a Harbor Freight wheel chock you can add.

Motorcycle Wheel Chock

 

[NDN]

I suppose there are many valid answers to this question. First, will you be using it every day? If it is in constant use, then the small deficiencies that the cheaper lifts have will be much bigger issues. The feel (extra safety and capacity) of the good quality heavy professional lift speaks for itself. If used constantly, I would expect much better life and results from the pro level tool. If you have the budget and use the tool a lot, buy the best.

I dont remember the model lift I ended up buying, but it was on sale about 6 months ago. I bought it and put the bike up on it and when I got it to height it just seemed tippy so I will be adding some out riggers on it. Basically I use it to detail the bike and maintenance. I have a pit bull lift that I just got the Indian updates for and have used it for years. I prefer that the bike is not on a lift and try to ride as much as I can, which has been a bit limited this year due to an ankle injury. So the lift is for my use only and it is OK, its just not a full time lift for anything and had I had a shop I would get a better one.

 

[ndnjak]

I suppose there are many valid answers to this question. First, will you be using it every day? If it is in constant use, then the small deficiencies that the cheaper lifts have will be much bigger issues. The feel (extra safety and capacity) of the good quality heavy professional lift speaks for itself. If used constantly, I would expect much better life and results from the pro level tool. If you have the budget and use the tool a lot, buy the best.

I guess when it comes to buying tools, I subscribe to the theory "buy once, cry once"...So as that relates to lifts, I want one that will last my lifetime and provide good service. My initial thoughts on budget were around 12-1400 and I wanted something Made in the US within that budget. I am not opposed to up or down depending on quality. Handys are about 2k base price and Titans and Weavers are a little less

 

[Baron58]

I guess when it comes to buying tools, I subscribe to the theory "buy once, cry once"...So as that relates to lifts, I want one that will last my lifetime and provide good service. My initial thoughts on budget were around 12-1400 and I wanted something Made in the US within that budget. I am not opposed to up or down depending on quality. Handys are about 2k base price and Titans and Weavers are a little less

Totally get it, just was being a little funny. Many trash the Harbor Freight jacks, just kind of funny to see them in Official Indian Motorcycle Videos.

 

[HyeHog]

The only advice I can offer you.....from experience.....is that if you get "too light" a jack/lift, and you have a heavy cruiser like I do (Chieftain) as you roll the bike onto the beavertail ramp to get your bike onto the platform, the lift will "plow" forward, even with the (tiny) front stabilizer jacks in the down position. That was with a Titan lift.....probably similar to HF lift. So I ditched (sold it for what I paid for it to a guy who will use it for LIGHTER sport bikes) it and purchased an air lift from Revolution (www.revolutionlifts.com) and have never looked back. Get it with the SIDE panels, so that you have plenty of LEG room to plant your feet down on the platform until you secure the bike. Now oil and tire changes are a piece of cake. Nothing against HF or some of the cheaper brands.....but you get what you pay for......as we all know in life!!!

 

[J Backlund]

You could always take a trip on the wild side and get one of these...

1000 Lbs. Steel Motorcycle Lift


I mean their good enough for Indian....LOL

I have been using that Harbor Freight lift table for years. It's served me well, and has lifted my Vintage, Classic, and Kawasaki VN2000, among all manner of light, and mid-weight machines....BUT! I was never quite comfortable lifting the heavier bikes on it, regardless of the table's lift rating.

These days, If I was going to be launching our new GL1800 up in the air for service, I'd buy a heavier-duty lift than the HF table. I would not be happy seeing a $24,000, 800+ lb. motorcycle tumbling off a a failing $400 Chinese lift.

 

[ElliottHD]

Now here is where it sounds like we're different. I bolt mine to the floor. I go all the way up on it all day. The garage would have to tip over.

 

[IndySF]

I have the Harbor Freight lift, 1,000 lbs rated, the front tire clamp was a joke, put a wheel chock on the lift just like the one in the video above with the Scout. Have had it for over a year now, worked on several bikes on this lift, it has never let me down. Strongly recommend a scissor type of jack that you can raise the rear of the bike with, for when you want to do exhaust work, detail the rear end when cleaning day comes, works great to be able to rotate the rear wheel to clean it. I use hockey pucks between the scissor jack and the motor, so that I don't pinch a brake line or any sensors. Park my Springfield on it when not in use for maintenance or repairs. Works great. One side note, I made some wood platforms that go alongside the lift for stability when putting a bike on or rolling one off.

 

[VFRcanada]

I have this one from ATV Lift, Atlas XLT, Includes ATV/UTV Width Side Extensions & Dolly It is rock solid. no wiggle at all. Highly recommend it.

 

[STEELDRIVER]

I have this one from ATV Lift, Atlas XLT, Includes ATV/UTV Width Side Extensions & Dolly It is rock solid. no wiggle at all. Highly recommend it.

Second this recommendation, I use this same lift, I used the old HF air/hyd for 10 years and switched to the atlas a couple of years ago, made me realize how poor of a design the HF was, but I will say for the money the HF lasted and worked for those 10 years.

 

[RiderJohn]

I have this one from ATV Lift, Atlas XLT, Includes ATV/UTV Width Side Extensions & Dolly It is rock solid. no wiggle at all. Highly recommend it.

This is a great price. I might have bought it if I found it when researching lifts in 2013. However, I've sure loved my Handi Lift feature that has front and back drop downs. Using the optional scissor jack I've removed and changed both tires at the same time. Here is a recent photo of the front drop down in use while I cleaned and waxed the wheel. It appears that the tire is touching the deck but it isn't. That is controlled by how high you jack the scissor lift.

 

[STEELDRIVER]

That's a really nice feature.

 

[TigerGA]

I bought a table lift a few years ago, after a lot of research. Except for Handy, which was the most expensive and made in the US, all the others are made in China. Mine is a Quality Lift rated for 1,000 lbs. and it is more than adequate for my RM. I looked at my local HD shop and they were using Handys rated for 1,000. If you'll look carefully, you'll find a lot of these lifts are exactly the same, even though they are branded by different companies and painted various colors. For the weekend wrenching warrior a Titan or similar will be fine.

If you have RaceDeck or an epoxied garage floor, you may want to buy a lift that has the metal tracks for the rollers to move on - most of the lifts have rollers that roll on the floor, which over time is going to leave marks on a finished surface.