[nitepossum]

Hi all, has anyone used a harbor freight jack on their vulcan 900's. I have the aforementioned jack and it works great on our c-50 boulevard, but when I attempted to jack up the 900 yesterday, it seems the motor is about as low as the frame rails and I was afraid the jack might be lifting against the bottom of the motor instead of the frame so i didn't do it,, anyone have any experience with this particular lift-jack and the 900?

 

[El Zorro]

A while ago I saw a discussion about this issue with the HF jacks and also some Craftsman jacks. The solution seem to be modifying the jack so it lifts the bike by the frame, not the motor. If you do a search you may be able to find a thread on this that had descriptions of how to add/position blocks on the jack to get it to lift on the right spot.

 

[spb1122]

I have the Craftsman jack. The easiest solution for me was using hockey pucks. I put one under each point of contact, and I'm lifting by the frame.

 

[nitepossum]

Ok, I was just wondering, but the hockey puck thing sounds like a good idea. I'll have to do a little research, Thanx.

 

[MrClean]

I use the sears one and it fits the frame but there are positions that you can put it on where it would hit the bottom of the motor but as mentioned in countless threads, its a cast motor not a thin pan and putting the weight on it doesn't seem to bother it a bit. Also, before I used a front wheel chock, also available at Harbor Freight, I would stick the kickstand up on a 2x4 to get the bike closer to level to slide the jack under. Really helps.

Folks will also point to the negative reviews of the Sears Jack which is essentially the same jack as Harbor Freight and Pep Boys just different colors. Evidently all of us who are happy with the jacks never right back and only a handfull of unhappy customers have. Don't worry bout it. Mines been working great for about 2 years so far.

 

[nitepossum]

Well, the frame rails of the bike will probably support most of the weight, even if part of the jack rail was against the bottom of the motor, I just didn't want to take a chance since that was the first time I used the jack on the vulcan 900. I may do a little more investigation and put something on top of the jack to make it fit the frame right.

 

[nitepossum]

I was wondering MrClean, what kind of bike do you have that you were referring to.

 

[pcarrell]

I have the Craftsman jack. The easiest solution for me was using hockey pucks. I put one under each point of contact, and I'm lifting by the frame.

I do sort of the same thing, except I use a couple of 2x4's lengthwise along the frame rails.

 

[MrClean]

I have a 900 but if you do a search on this very subject you will see the same response on 1500, 1600, 2000's I assume 1700's, Classics, Customs, LT's Meenies and Voyagers. I've read these pages for the better part of two years, it's a good source.

Fact is, I wish two stickys were at the top. Yes, the harbor freight and it's clones are good jacks to go and YES THEY ALL PUT OIL IN THE AIR FILTER.

Think we've had 3 of those threads just this week.

2x4's if they fit under (need 1x4's for the 900 it's too low). The hockey pucks too. But if you haven't had time see if you can't get on the lift. Some will fit the 1600 width but others you will have to add the wood to get across the frame. If you have to balance on the pan, don't worry bout it. Long time but last I knew missing member Rich Locklear used to say how he had his 1500 up on the jack balanced on the oil pan and frame most of a winter or something like that. It's cast not a thin pan.

 

[madmac]

Hockey pucks are the easiest thing to use and they have a little give to them as well. You can center-drill the pucks and attach to the rails very easily.

 

[V2K_CCTX]

+1000

 

[aaron5140]

i had my 900 sitting on the harbor freight jack for almost 3 months with no issues or wood or hockey pucks. The bottom of the motor was sitting on one of the rails but it didn't cause any issues.

 

[V-Twin]

That's what I believe the oil pan. I have lifted mine without anything and no issues so far.

 

[Bustcard]

My bike is lowered so I need to back the rear tire up on an 2x4 to get the HF jack under it. Other than that... its a good jack.

 

[nitepossum]

I want to thank everyone that responded to this thread, I am fairly new to all this stuff and just believe it's better to be safe than sorry. Just curious, how expensive are the hockey pucks? Anyway, I'll figure something out, I knew someone on here would have more experiences with this issue than me. Anyway, thanks again guys.

 

[MrClean]

You find em on the side of the rode in some north east states and ALL of Canada, but of if you live in a more sane state that sees curling as just a bunch of sissy boy drunks with brooms, you can get them at Dciks Sporting Goods for about 2 bucks each.

Actually, using them on a jack is probably the best use for the things.

 

[nitepossum]

Thanks for that info MrClean, I'll check it out. I appreciate the vast resource of knowledge on here.