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H.F. Steel VS Aluminum Jack

Re: New SE comp

I have both the Sears 1000 lb jack and the one listed below from Harbor Freight. The one below is by far superior and handles all my needs easily and it is compact in size but huge in ability, highly recommended.

Lightweight Aluminum Motorcycle Lift

Item # 94715 Manufacturer: Central Hydraulics
Central Hydraulics

Only: $199.99

Sale: $169.99
 
I appreciate all the input. I know the Harbor Freight units are Chinese (a definite negative), but as I am retired, cost is an issue. Also, the small footprint and light weight is important to me. I have to fit an SUV, small auto and my Harley in a 2 car garage so it is really tight.

I also realize the J&S is superior, it is what my friend has, but as I do only a lttle maintenance at my place, it is hard to justify the price (I'd rather use the $ to go to Bike Fest).

Back to my original question, the ATV/Motorcycle is now on sale for $59. Is the aluminum worth twice the cost? ($119).
 
If you have ever had a jack fail on you, whatever you are working on gets awfully heavy if you are under it at the time of failure. I'd pay a little more and net regret it later.

Gator
 
Support hardware is an investment based on how often it is used for the amount of time, money and materials it takes...verses that same money for the "focus of our affection".

That said, I do not use my HF lift that much, and I would rather spend my money on the HD stuff to improve my ride or my gal or making the house a home and staying healthy. How it feels or bragging rights for the best tool for a job just are a bit lower on my priority list...! So the HF lift for $52 out the door was fine with me. I do not have a need for using it to convert my bike into a "roller" over the weekend or use it for long periods of time...so it fits my needs just fine.

Yes, I like the Sears heavier yellow lift even better, and yes you can climb on the bike and bounce around on it, but $179 MSRP or may be $159 on sale; it is still a stretch based on my use. Just do the math and weigh your options...it's your hard earned cash to slam on the table to close the deal...no buyers remorse here! :p
 
I had a friend of mine (who owns a Gold Wing) give me a Craftsman motorcycle jack that another guy (who owns a Shadow) gave him. Seems they both said it was too high to get under their respective bike's frames. It's the red one from Sears that sells for about $100. It didn't fit under the UC either, but if you simply drive the bike up on a pair of cut 2x4 scraps, there is no problem. Read the customer ratings and the jack didn't fare to well. Seems like 1. Sears doesn't carry replacement parts, 2. The foot valve plunger seems to break easily leaking oil all over the place when it does. I lifted the UC this weekend to do a much needed cleaning of my rear rims and tire with no problems. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
A couple of years ago, I bought the HF steel jack when it was on sale $69 + tax. On advice from the forum I upgraded the crossmember bolts to SS.
Went to the local HD shop and got a tech to demonstate lifting a bike on a similar jack, back to the house, tried it out..piece of cake, although the decent rate spooked me a little, I did strap the bike down before lifting. It sure comes in handy for cleaning the rear wheel.
 
jimharvey1 said:
I had a friend of mine (who owns a Gold Wing) give me a Craftsman motorcycle jack that another guy (who owns a Shadow) gave him. Seems they both said it was too high to get under their respective bike's frames. It's the red one from Sears that sells for about $100. It didn't fit under the UC either, but if you simply drive the bike up on a pair of cut 2x4 scraps, there is no problem. Read the customer ratings and the jack didn't fare to well. Seems like 1. Sears doesn't carry replacement parts, 2. The foot valve plunger seems to break easily leaking oil all over the place when it does. I lifted the UC this weekend to do a much needed cleaning of my rear rims and tire with no problems. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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I returned my "red" jack from Sears and bought the "yellow" one instead. The yellow one does go lower than the red and fits easily under my Ultra. Also, there were quite a few negative reviews on the red jack so I figured why throw my money away. It is a good jack and serves me well. I have no complaints with it.
I never heard of Pit Bull or J & S jacks before reading our forum otherwise I surely would have considered either one of them.
The way I see it, why fool around with your $$$ pride & joy on a cheap, unstable jack? It ain't worth it IMO.
 
R_W_B said:
I have heard that the HF aluminum jack sways under weight, don't know for sure, just been told that. I have the steel HF jack for bout 8 months now. Works great. You will have to make your own decision though. You can see the HF jack in use (along with the Dyna pad mod) in my profile albums). If you have plenty of money, the J&S jack is the cadillac.
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I herd the same thing, Steel all the way
 
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