[nitescan]

I'm wondering what kind of lift you guys are using. Being I'm a vertically challenged individual, I put a bestway lift "in" the floor of my garage so I could drive the ultra over it & raise it; rotate it 180 & I would heading in the right direction the next time I rode. Well this roadmaster does not have any frame under it, I'm kind of hesitant to raise & lower it just by the motor itself. The book says it's OK, just supposed to have a minimum of 12x12 square under it when you raise it. I have built a small platform & put rubber on top of it to put between the lift & the motor bottom & that works but I still have to cinch it down pretty good for stability. I was wondering if anybody might have the same situation & what kind of solution you came up with.
Thanks.

 

[pioneerscot]

Is lifting the road master different from lifting the chieftain ? I have seen several lift posts, with needed spacers and what not,hm.

 

[mjbenedict]

I have the same question. Some of the lines that run underneath would be bent or crushed if I lifted with my motorcycle lift. I think lifting by the engine would be fine though.

 

[Chas]

I have a table like at the dealerships as well as a Piitbull motorcycle lift. This is a very good lift for the weight of the bike and should handle any of your needs for the Roadmaster

 

[ndncowboy]

I have a table like at the dealerships as well as a Piitbull motorcycle lift. This is a very good lift for the weight of the bike and should handle any of your needs for the Roadmaster

But have you used the Pitbull to lift your RM? Do you use any spacers to ovoid crushing things? I believe that's what people are asking here. Sure the lifts will work but do have to do anything to make it work without causing damage since there are no frame members in the lift are.

 

[Chas]

Because I hav'nt picked mine up yet, If you look underneath the tubular frame, if there are no obstructions, all you need to do is center the bike on the lift or a little towards the back and it should stay. As I do with all Ultras or tourglides. I have never seen the underneath of the RM yet. Take a 2x4, run it across the frame of the engine. Does it hit anything? if not your good to go...

 

[mjbenedict]

Under mine you would be lifting by the engine but there are some lines run next to engine that might get crushed. Would have to be careful to center under the bike and miss these lines. There is no tubular frame under this bike.

 

[Bradfish]

Thinking some custom contoured wood blocks...need to fit up my lift also.

 

[Ralph L]

Here is a pic of a lift I built using 2"x2" sq. tubing 3/16 wall thickness with 8000 lbs ram from Princess auto . Total cost approx 350 and no problem lifting my Chieftain also has a removable rear section under rear wheel.table height is adjustable to 38",as I am 6' 6" so the taller table works for me, also has 4 swivel wheels for moving it around my shop.

 

[Chas]

Hey Bradfish, Your right! After talking to the dealer over the weekend, he said the same thing. You may need to get a couple of wooden blocks with grooves cut into them to put under the bike prior to lifting..I'm going to the delaer myself to check this out, so I can see what he's meaning..

 

[nitescan]

In my garage real estate comes at a premium, hence the bestway lift in ground w/the harley plate (18 x 24) for a platform. Problem being no matter what I used for lifting blocks under the Indian, it was always rickety, not solid. So what I did this weekend was made a 12 x 8 x 3/4 base, put about 1" of modeling clay on top of it, put saran wrap on top of that, put that on top of the plate, lifted the Indian making an imprint of the bottom of the motor. This morning I dropped off the imprint at a Tool & Die shop & they are going to make me an aluminum plate matching the bottom of the motor. Should make for a nice sturdy stable platform to raise with, w/out the need for worrying about it being in the wrong place or having to get down on my knees trying to position boards spacers & what not. The plus to this also is being away from the brake lines which was the major concern for me. I will post up pics when I get done with it. Hoping to be able to work on it this coming holiday weekend.

 

[Avanti]

Maybe after the shop makes this plate they would like to make a few more. Sounds like what I need on my old harley jacks.....I agree the boards and chair squares don't make it feel very stable.....

 

[nitescan]

Ok, well the clay model idea worked alright but the actual plate made from aluminum didn't work out so hot. So I decided to work on this myself making one out of wood. Here is a prototype, I will make one with the proper angles instead of the cut off shim stock you see here; black tabs on top of the blocks. This appears to be about a 8-10 degree slant towards the inside of the engine. I made some off the table saw & tilted the blade about 9 degrees, I did not use these because I was just trying to get the blocks all on the same plane under the engine, I will use them on the final setup. The left side of the engine has three slanted flats & the right side of the engine has two larger flats to lift with. Here is the mounting plate:

Nice & rock steady now, with no more tilting, no more shimming, no more movement at all!

Here is another one close up of the plate under the roadmaster.

I have always used a strap for safety, even on the Ultra Classic. Always tie down.
Thanks.

 

[armyvoyager]

Wow a flying RM...

 

[the doctor]

Ok, well the clay model idea worked alright but the actual plate made from aluminum didn't work out so hot. So I decided to work on this myself making one out of wood. Here is a prototype, I will make one with the proper angles instead of the cut off shim stock you see here; black tabs on top of the blocks. This appears to be about a 8-10 degree slant towards the inside of the engine. I made some off the table saw & tilted the blade about 9 degrees, I did not use these because I was just trying to get the blocks all on the same plane under the engine, I will use them on the final setup. The left side of the engine has three slanted flats & the right side of the engine has two larger flats to lift with. Here is the mounting plate: View attachment 4031

Nice & rock steady now, with no more tilting, no more shimming, no more movement at all!
View attachment 4032
Here is another one close up of the plate under the roadmaster. View attachment 4033

I have always used a strap for safety, even on the Ultra Classic. Always tie down.
Thanks.

Was your hydraulic ram installed be you it looks like a good lift it looks solid well done

 

[nitescan]

Was your hydraulic ram installed be you it looks like a good lift it looks solid well done

Doctor, yes I installed the lift myself. I have only a single car garage, so when I had the ultra classic, I would always have to back it out in a semi circle to get started straight, backing all the way out to the street on a slope, sometimes would result in a dropped bike. So I just kept researching ways to be able to drive in, rotate 360 & be heading in the right direction in the morning. I came upon this lift, it's made by bestway. I didn't want to spend as much for them as they wanted new, so I started looking for used ones, found a guy that had bought five of them in within hour & half from me in Joliet Ill. called him, made arrangements. Done deal!! 750.00 bucks, literally brand new. The install was cake!! It's in the ground 53 inches, its 6 or 6.5 inches in diameter & rated for 1800 lbs. They do have a platform for them but I like the small footprint of the plate, plus I like the idea that I can take both wheels off & don't have to have another jack or rigging to be able to do that. I do change my own oil & mostly do the wrenching after warranty runs out. I will probably be taking it out of the ground sometime this year & pouring another floor....Heated this time! Thank You for your comments!!

 

[nitescan]

Wow a flying RM...

That's funny Army!! Never thought of it.

 

[ndncowboy]

So are you indicating there is something that runs between the two large blocks and the three little blocks that will get crushed if I just stick my lift under a RM and lift? I don't have one yet but when I do get one I don't want to screw anything up.

Will that be a problem with speed bumps?

 

[nitescan]

So are you indicating there is something that runs between the two large blocks and the three little blocks that will get crushed if I just stick my lift under a RM and lift? I don't have one yet but when I do get one I don't want to screw anything up.

Will that be a problem with speed bumps?

injuncowboy, yes there is a seam that is about a 1/2" to 3/4" wide, runs the whole length of the engine bottom. This seam is where the two halves of the engine come together. You will not crush anything, but like on my lift when I did it the first time just trying out lifting the roadmaster, it almost tipped over on me, because all the weight was on this seam teetering the RM. Also running side to side, is where the bolt holes were molded, so the halves could be bolted together. These are also a pain in the ass because they stick down lower than the flat surfaces. These bolt molds & seams are why I had such a pain in the ass stabilizing the RM. Now, these flats get the RM located perfectly so there is no movement on the lift. If you use just a flat surface these seams & the very back plug beside the oil drain plugs will contribute to an unstable lift, this is why I made this wooden platform creating a face to face match of the underside. The space between the bottom right small block & the next one to the left will eventually get cut out, this is where the oil drain holes are located. Thanks for inquiring!

 

[pioneerscot]

injuncowboy, yes there is a seam that is about a 1/2" to 3/4" wide, runs the whole length of the engine bottom. This seam is where the two halves of the engine come together. You will not crush anything, but like on my lift when I did it the first time just trying out lifting the roadmaster, it almost tipped over on me, because all the weight was on this seam teetering the RM. Also running side to side, is where the bolt holes were molded, so the halves could be bolted together. These are also a pain in the ass because they stick down lower than the flat surfaces. These bolt molds & seams are why I had such a pain in the ass stabilizing the RM. Now, these flats get the RM located perfectly so there is no movement on the lift. If you use just a flat surface these seams & the very back plug beside the oil drain plugs will contribute to an unstable lift, this is why I made this wooden platform creating a face to face match of the underside. The space between the bottom right small block & the next one to the left will eventually get cut out, this is where the oil drain holes are located. Thanks for inquiring!

Thanks for posting this.
I'm going to have to do this as well, I did something like it as far as shimming, but I just used some scrap wood on my bull dog lift arms, not fastened to anything, and nearly had a disaster, when the weight ( like you say ) shifted from one plane to the other, then the bike was just kinda sitting sloppy to one side, lucky I had it strapped but that even came loose, so I quickly got it back on the ground b-4 it fell. Thanks for posting this.