[berno56]

Last Saturday I broke down and went over to Harbor Freight in Fort Worth and bought one. I should have done it years ago. $349.99 and about 45 minutes to put the wheels, etc. on and you are in business. Once I got my bike on it, I actually got to see the bottom of my bike for the first time.

The wheel clamp on the front is kind of chintzy, but ir works. It has a slide out for removing the rear wheel if you use a frame jack or center stand (whatever that is). The foot pedals to raise and lower the table are adequate for the week-end mechanic. I immediately got out my torch and burned two holes under where the bike sets so I can put a funnel in the holes and run a hose to my oil drain can. I'm pretty f***ing lazy! I like to do things the easy way. The ramp needs some non-skid paint if it is wet. It was my first try and the bike wanted to slide all over.

Bottom line. I think it is a good deal compared to some of the other lifts I have seen. Harbor Freight stock no 91764. The thing weighs 450 lbs in the crate so get some beer and friends to help get it out of your truck.

 

[hardwork2]

I heard harbor freight had them. how high do they raise up the bike? and what is weight limit? After a couple hours humped up bent over cleaning the ultra i am forced to sit down and drink a couple cold bud lights. hopefully the new table will help. Planning on gettting 1 in the spring.

 

[michael101]

Thanks for the info....I'll have to go check that out.

 

[berserker]

Harbor freight and my bike are not two things I want to put together. Harbor Freigth has rep for cheap tools, good if only use once in awhile

 

[LE PEW]

After a couple hours humped up bent over cleaning the ultra i am forced to sit down and drink a couple cold bud lights. hopefully the new table will help. Planning on gettting 1 in the spring.

Yup, then you could put your cold beers on the table and drink them while still sitting down and cleaning the ultra at the same time. :cheers:
Sounds like a step in the right direction to me!

 

[adlerx]

Harbor freight and my bike are not two things I want to put together. Harbor Freigth has rep for cheap tools, good if only use once in awhile

I agree, I have alot of Harbor Freight tools, only ones I rarely use. I have one of there smaller lifts and it works ok but it is a real POS and if I were gonna get a table lift, I personally would spend an extra couple of hundred and get something else,,-2$en#e-

 

[gunnut]

I have the HF table lift. I upgraded the wheel vise to one from Viking Lift. The lift works great, no bleed off and it is very stable when raised.
Face it, if the table breaks, the only thing that could possible go wrong is the hydraulic cylinder would go bad. Cheap, easy fix.
For the casual user these are the best money spent.-2$en#e-

 

[berno56]

I agree that most of HF stuff is less than stellar quality. The lift is pretty good compared to some of their other stuff. The lift goes to about 30" and has a locking bar in 2 positions and has an advertised max gross weight limit of 1000#'s. When you use the bar, the table is very stable. The wheel clamp is truly ineffective. A replacement unit for the wheel clamp is a priority. Since I will only use this thing a few times a month, I feel it is a fair piece. If I was going to use one everyday, I would probably opt for something different.

I will spend the big bucks on bike parts. -2$en#e-

 

[Starbound]

Personally I thought the HF lift looked a little cheesy. I couldn't see putting my harley up on a lift like that, but that is just me. A year ago I purchased a www.superlifts.com ML1000. I paid around $550.00 for it. They are an exact copy of a handy lift and I have seen this lift right next to a handy and I couldn't see any difference. Great lift and good company to deal with. I did get a defective lift the first time, it would bind in the down position. I could put a floor jack under lift it an inch and it would go up, just not on it's own. The manager of the warehouse which is about 2 hours from my house personally brought me a replacement and even helped me unpack and assemble it before he left. Now that is customer service!! I know there are other lift companies out there and they probably make good lifts, but I am very impressed with my superlifts. Just thought I would pass this along.

 

[oaksmith]

This is a Direct Lift.......sells for about 6 bills, worth every penny!

 

[xkvator]

here's my .02
as a tool & diemaker, fabricator/weldor, machine repair millwright...i buy a lot of quality USA made tools...and look things over pretty good before i buy it. and i look for the best prices. i've bought some things from HF...never any power tools or wrenches.
i looked at Handy, Superlifts and others. Starbound is right about Superlifts being an exact copy. the guy at York that was selling them gave us a $600 delivered price & i would have bought one had i not talked to a few guys that bought the HF lift for $300.
I looked the lift over at the local HF store and ended up buying one.
I think it's a good deal for the price, and as berno56 said...if you were using it everyday in a bike shop, you'd probably buy a Handy.
i put my ultra on it and see no problem...it's stable
the front wheel vice is only adequate, but i'll fabricate a copy of the Handy's with material i already have.
if you buy one...you have 30 days to return it if you don't like it...and i would have if i thought there would be a problem
i also liked the Directlift...but i didn't like the shipping cost

 

[captainlee]

Harbor freight and my bike are not two things I want to put together. Harbor Freigth has rep for cheap tools, good if only use once in awhile

My son and I have 4 Harleys and we have had that exact lift for the last year and a half and use it alot. Never a problem.

 

[timbo]

I'm looking at getting a lift table eventually. Do you guys find that the Direct or Handy lift max height is high enough for you? I'm 5'8" and really don't want to have to bend my back to much if the lift is too low.

I know K&L makes a lift with front and rear drop down panels and has a max lift height of 48". Only drawback is that it's kind of pricey.

Just want to know if you guys are satisfied with the max height on your Direct and Handy lifts. I stay pretty busy in my garage/shop working on bikes and I've about had enough of rolling around in my chair stool and having the bikes up on a standard roll around bike jack. The back gets to aching after a while.

 

[chops]

The HF lift is routinely on sale for $299, and you can get a 20% off coupon bringing it down to $240.

I don't normaly buy hand tools from HF, but I did need a big breaker bar.
HF had a 24" china version on sale for $10, Lowes and Home Depot had their china version selling for $40.

I bought a small sandblaster on sale at HF, and the additional 20% off for $35. Works great.

 

[adlerx]

The HF lift is routinely on sale for $299, and you can get a 20% off coupon bringing it down to $240.

I don't normaly buy hand tools from HF, but I did need a big breaker bar.
HF had a 24" china version on sale for $10, Lowes and Home Depot had their china version selling for $40.

I bought a small sandblaster on sale at HF, and the additional 20% off for $35. Works great.

Chops, where do you find that 20% off cupon? I get the flyers and email updates but never a 20% off cupon......

 

[chops]

Adlerx I signed up to receive their email ads, and get a coupon about every 4 weeks. I never pay full price for anything there, cause most of it is not worth full price.

 

[DinosUltra]

I'm looking at getting a lift table eventually. Do you guys find that the Direct or Handy lift max height is high enough for you? I'm 5'8" and really don't want to have to bend my back to much if the lift is too low.

I know K&L makes a lift with front and rear drop down panels and has a max lift height of 48". Only drawback is that it's kind of pricey.

Just want to know if you guys are satisfied with the max height on your Direct and Handy lifts. I stay pretty busy in my garage/shop working on bikes and I've about had enough of rolling around in my chair stool and having the bikes up on a standard roll around bike jack. The back gets to aching after a while.

Timbo,

I have a table lift I bought from Viking Lift COmpany. It is a Handy clone. Max height is 30" which is plenty. Just take a tape maesure and measure 30" from the ground and you will get an ideal of the raised height. I was tired of laying on the garage floor. Bit the bullet and very glad I did.

 

[adlerx]

Adlerx I signed up to receive their email ads, and get a coupon about every 4 weeks. I never pay full price for anything there, cause most of it is not worth full price.

Dang!! I get their email, signed up for it! All I get is an occasional $5 off cupon......

 

[csoday]

Dang!! I get their email, signed up for it! All I get is an occasional $5 off cupon......

You have to be an HF Premium member.

 

[newultraclassic]

I'm sure that the Harbor Freight lift will work. When I bought my Handy Air Lift with vise and 13" extension panel some 8 years ago, there weren't any clones. I'm still glad I have it, though. It's bulletproof and I can buy repair parts in the event that I should need some in the future.

I've used if for everything from a 1967 Yamaha (350#), My Ultra (800#), to a 1994 Honda Goldwing (1,000#) and it's all the same.

When Harbor Freight starts stocking spare parts for their larger tools, they might be more interesting.

My 2 cents.