[Street doc]

I am thinking about buying a Jack for my Wing. I got it narrowed down between the Black Widow Model and the Harbour Frieght Model. They both are about the same as far as specs goes and only $10.00 difference in price. They both can handle up to 1500 pounds. My question is that has anyone used either one of these and if you have is it worth the money? The prices are around $100.00 for the Black Widow and $90.00 for the Harbour Frieght. I would appreciate the input.

 

[dirtdobber]

I have the harbor freight jack, yellow. since you did not mention which. The yellow 1 is good enough for what I use it for. I always have a bike on it or have a bike on the stand.The release pedal operates backwards to almost all the others. You push the release pedal all the way down to lower it slow.
hope this helps
dd

 

[YellowbirdPete]

I also use a harbor freight yellow jack they work well and i use mine a lot. If you decide to purchase one i would recommend buying the extended warranty. I had to take mine back the jack went bad, no problems with the return. This happens a lot with harbor freight products but for the price i think its worth it. Most all the other jack out there are imported from china your just not told that until you get them home. I believe the jacks sold at sears are the same just painted red.

 

[greektome]

I am assuming that since you lifting your bikes with harbor frieght jacks that it is ok to lift the GW by the motor? I am new to this bike and have excellent lift but always lifted the HD's by frame and the thought of lifting the bike motor makes me nervous. Is this common with the GW?

 

[trike lady]

This is what I prefer to use. Goldwings and trikes cost too much money. I had an inexpensive atv/motorcycle jack that a friend gave me, he didn't like it when he used it to lift the Wing. I passed it on to someone else, as I had no use for it.
Tie your Wing down on a professional lift table. Safest and best way in my opinion.

 

[Coach Sal]

I have a 2008 GL1800 and I am thinking about the harbor freight jack to remove the wheels. Have you removed the wheels with the jack? Will the jack raise high enough to slip out the rear wheel without removing the seat and amp?

 

[sr71]

I am of the opinion that the "Black Widow" is aptly named. The Harbor Freight jack should be called the "Yellow Peril"?? If you are going to be doing your own wrenching on your Wing get a jack/lift made in the USA. J & S makes a good jack as does Pit Bull. The former being slightly less expensive than than the latter. I did not say cheaper because many mistake that for the quality of the unit . Both are equally well made.

 

[greektome]

I am of the opinion that the "Black Widow" is aptly named. The Harbor Freight jack should be called the "Yellow Peril"?? If you are going to be doing your own wrenching on your Wing get a jack/lift made in the USA. J & S makes a good jack as does Pit Bull. The former being slightly less expensive than than the latter. I did not say cheaper because many mistake that for the quality of the unit . Both are equally well made.

well that certainly answers my question. I am sure glad I came across this web cite. I have an excellent jack, made my ryder equip mod. 707, that I almost sold as I was leery about lifting the bike by the engine or headers. I almost made the mistake of selling. You have saved me that mistake. While more expense, about 450.00 it is actually more versatile than a table and with the optional wheel stand it is great for removing wheels. Plenty of vertical lift, about 30" and still gives access to bottom of bike for oil changes and such.
Thanks again for all the help.

 

[YellowbirdPete]

When i lift my wing i put the jack right on the egde of the center stand so you don't crush the coolant tank. The other end of jack is on the headers no problems, if its going to be in the air long i use jack stands on each side for extra support. Use my jack to remove the rear wheel and for inspections every other week.

 

[barkman49]

I have a sears lift and I put my 1200 on it all the time and have had on problems just make sure you tie it down with the straps provided

 

[xhdrider]

Like Greek, I have a very good lift that worked well on the HD, lifting by the frame, but I have hesitated to use it on the Wing because of a lack of two good frame contacts, and also less need for it on the Wing with the centerstand which works well for wheel cleaning. Under the Wing, all I see is the rounded belly of the motor with frame members actually located above it. No flat full contact with the edges of the bike that I see.

 

[flashie]

I am of the opinion that the "Black Widow" is aptly named. The Harbor Freight jack should be called the "Yellow Peril"?? If you are going to be doing your own wrenching on your Wing get a jack/lift made in the USA. J & S makes a good jack as does Pit Bull. The former being slightly less expensive than than the latter. I did not say cheaper because many mistake that for the quality of the unit . Both are equally well made.

Is this based on having used ether one? Or You just saw a picture?

 

[vproven]

What, no mention of motorcycle lifts made by Handy? They make a solid lift and worth every penny, or is that dime? It amazes me to no end how cheap, frugal, foolish some motorcyclists can be. Spending in the vicinity of $20 big ones or more on a bike and looking to save pennies on accessories. "Penny wise, dollar foolish," I say. You generally get what you pay for. While not an absolute, it typically holds true. Get the best lift you can afford.

 

[dirtdobber]

What, no mention of motorcycle lifts made by Handy? They make a solid lift and worth every penny, or is that dime? It amazes me to no end how cheap, frugal, foolish some motorcyclists can be. Spending in the vicinity of $20 big ones or more on a bike and looking to save pennies on accessories. "Penny wise, dollar foolish," I say. You generally get what you pay for. While not an absolute, it typically holds true. Get the best lift you can afford.

After spending the $20 big ones we have to save our penny's to have any accessories ya know.
Just because it costs more doesn't mean it's better. If I was going to spend a considerable sum on a jack I would go ahead and get a lift.

 

[vproven]

There is nothing wrong with saving here and there. But there are places to save and places not to. After you drop your $20 big one bike because you were using an el cheapo jack, then ask yourself how much did you actually save and was it worth it.

 

[dirtdobber]

I used a red sears jack for several years, then the pump went out. Got my monies worth.
I now have a harbor freight that I paid $59 after the discounts. It does good. If I need to use the jack I only use it to put the bike on my bike stand that I made. I rarely use it with the Goldwing. I use the center stand to clean the wheels with. If I need to remove the rear tire I use the lift, front tire I use the center stand and a bottle jack.
Yes the pit bull and others are really top notch.

I can't see that much money for a jack when there are other means to do it at a lower cost.

each to their own.
dd

 

[BladeRunner]

Lift table.

I have been looking around for a decent lift table off & on for some time. I finally committed and got a nice new table from Ranger lifts just last Thursday, they sell all kinds including 2 & 4 post car & truck lifts. It wasn't cheap,but, I expect it will outlive me; It's an RML750HD, it came with full side extensions, and 3 different ramps, it can be used for ATV's, sleds & lawn tractors. It's 7.5" lowered & goes up to 43".
The "only" thing it doesn't have that I was looking for, is a drop section on the front;( it does have one @ the rear) I have seen a few that have that feature,but, they were all over $3500.
It's rated @ 1650lbs, but, in the owner's manual it says 1500 lbs..hmmm. This thing IS heavy! It has 4 retractable casters to move it if you want. The shipping weight was 734lbs!!
Any bike I put on it will be very safe. It also has 2 poles that fit at the rear, you can use straps to support the back of a bike or whatever you want with the wheel(s) off. It's air over hydraulic w/ a foot pump AND an air pump that runs the hydraulics.
It's built like a "brick shit house".

 

[gsalerno]

I own a 08 GW & a 03 HD low rider i do all the work on both bikes. i got a harbor freight 1000 lb cap. motorcycle lift on sale with a 20% off coupon for $240 and tax.i"ve had it for 2+years. i use it to do everything with it even wash them on it. getting to old to bend over that much.