looking for plans for lift table

hi, i'm looking for a set of plans to build a lift table . thanks

 

I ended up buying a lift. I bought mine from harbor freight for $220 about a year ago was on sale .Its great to be able to adjust it to any height and when not in use you can pull a car right over it. I think it was the best piece of equipt i ever bought will never sit on the floor again to work on a bike

 

I agree with you Cutlass, setting on the floor in my case at 64 years of age is really SUCKING WIND as to say. I would like to know how you got a lift table at Harbor Freight for $220 since I have been looking at them and I don't see anything even near that price? I would say you really LUCKED OUT FOR SURE. grunt 007, 81'XJ750 Seca R, Mi.

 

i will keep an eye out for you i have seen them down to 279-299 range on occasion. I cant believe when they are not on sale how much they have went up in the past year from $399 to $499 if i find anything will let you know

 

just saw this if your interested . They are heavy takes a few people to unload
. I know what your saying . i have CMT and have had 3 operations on my feet and ankles since last August .
http://www.harborfreight.com/magurl4?hftref=cj

just looked add expired but will keep looking. They honored the 20 percent coupon on top of just got to be a sweet talker

 

Cutlass, Thanks for looking. I to am not in the best of shape after taking a mortar round in the leg and arm while in VietNam in the Marines. The second time I was hit it was with a rifle shot through my chest which blew two 6 inch holes out of my back but being 64 years old now I am doing better than many my age. Did you get the rack with the wide base or the narrow one? I have been thinking that even if I do get a lift I will still probably have to put a couple beams across my garage ceiling to lift the front of the bike while I take out the front forks to re-seal them. It's now looking like it will probably be next summer before I get my XJ ready for the road since it's looking more and more like I am going to have to go through everything before putting it back on the highway. It's fun though to be working on a bike again, been a long time since my last one. When I bought mine I neglected to think about it being over 30 years old and just what 30 years of setting around can do to a motorcycle, plus the previous owner I think should have never touched it from the signs of his past work. Some respect their bikes while others just mis-treat them with the concept that if it dies they will just go out and buy another one. Glad you were able to get your hoist, it should really make working on your machine much easier. Take care for now, grunt 007, XJ 750 Seca R, Mi.

 

I have access to one of the $99.99 lightweight ones..... very easy to use.... easy to work on he wheels too....

 

I bought one of those Harbor Freight lift tables about two years ago. I don't know how I ever made it without one before. Once you own one you can never go back to wrenching on the ground. I'm really glad I got mine

If I remember right it was less than 300.00 with tax

MN

 

I used one in my shop exclusively for more than 3 years. Pretty decent lift for the money. Like you I think I got it out the door for under $300. Seems like they've both raised the price and reduced the sales on it. Been a long time since I've seen it below $400.

I recently semi retired the Harbor Freight lift and added THIS one. The removable tail section (which is removed in their photos) is way nicer than the trap door on the Harbor Freight lifts. The wheel clamp is also much better. It's made in China too, which means like the Harbor Freight lift I needed to tweak a couple minor things to make it work well. At $675 I consider it a much better value than the Harbor Freight lift at regular price of $500.

Grunt - you don't need to strap to the ceiling to do forks on either lift. You simply put the motorcycle on backward (a bit easier on the Harbor Freight lift), put on the center stand then ratchet the rear down with a strap. Front end is lifted and you can easily do front wheel/tire and forks.

What is handy hanging from the ceiling is a couple bungee cords. You can unbolt the top bridge from the forks and steering stem, then hang the bars, controls, top bridge etc. from the bungee cords. They keep the Master Cylinder upright so it doesn't spill so no need to empty it either.

 

thanks for all the replies i mite just buy one . but i just love to fabercate things .

 

MiCarl, Hey, thanks for the info.. Here on XJ Bikes it just seems that all of you guys are just full of a world of serious, down to earth information regarding the XJ motorcycle. A friend of mine is into Harleys big time, one of the real Old School boys as to say. He has a mess of Harley's including one bike he built which is a trike with a 350 Chevy V8 in it. One of the best build ups of it's kind I have yet to see-to say the least. Either way awhile back he told me to just get rid of my XJ and buy a Harley. Needless to say I didn't take it to well since by being a member in XJ Bikes I feel I have found not only a wealth of serious info. regarding the XJ's but at the same time a crew of most of which I consider EXPERTS IN THE FIELD which do not hesitate to pass on to others the knowledge they have learned over the years about the XJ bikes. This is something today which is a very rare thing in this Country of ours and I value it greatly. Because of this I will probably never give up my XJ whether I ever ride it or not. It's worth it if nothing else to just have it to experiment on. Today, everything seems to have a high price tag on it but what few know is just how valuable a bunch of guys like all of you are in XJ Bikes when you are all so willing to share the what I call, TRICKS OF THE TRADE WITH OTHERS FREELY. Keep up the good work in here, it is true value which is priceless to say the least. grunt007-XJ 750 SecaR-81' Mi.

 

MiCarl, By the way, you never said what your new hoist is or where you purchased it? grunt007, XJ750SecaR, 81, Mi. Skip this , I found the place but then there is shipping charges on top of the price from what I see. That could be quite a chunk more $$$
grunt007

 

I did not buy the wings for mine. I just didn't need the xtra room. Xj fit nice on it. One of the other things i really liked about it is there is a lip on the side edges if you drop a bolt it usually doesn't make it to the floor. Like micarl says the front wheel clamp could be better but it really does not bother me i usually have the center stand down and really don't even need to strap it down. He is also right about pulling the forks. I pulled mine just strapped the back end down and used a jack stand under the front of the frame just to be on the safe side. Here is what an xj looks like sitting on it. I have restored this bike on the lift, a virago and there is a honda on it now.

 

Cutlass That sure looks like the lift I got from Harbor Freight. Is that where that one came from?

 

Plans lift

 

yup got mine about 1.5 years ago from them very happy with it bought it for $ 279 and talked the manager into taking the xtra 20 % coupon i had so it was about $ 220 + tax. I have really got some really good deals from there there is a retail store 10 miles from me. I got my Flux core mig from them. I wanted to try and see how it works. Works great I have built headers welded frames with it for small jobs its perfect. I need to sell my brand new stick welder dont think i will ever use it now lol

 

Thats about what I paid for mine. I also like the air power lift or the manual foot pump if the air compressor is off. Nice having two ways to use it.

MN

 

I did not opt for the air. I always seem to either trip on the line or melt it when cutting or welding. But it would be nice if you raised and lowered it a lot

 

Two guys I know use ex Hospital beds, only had to make a ramp and a front wheel clap

 

Yeah, shipping can be an issue. I spent a day on the road to get mine.

Yes, that is nice. Fluids, bolts and tools tend to stay on the lift. The only reason I don't add a lip to the other one is I've got the ATV wings for it.

 

After my post, I got to thinking. Someone making his own lift could incorporate all the best features. Even buying one it might be nice to know which features to look for. Thought I'd share some thoughts having used several different models:

- L clamp is much preferable to the little clamp on the Harbor Freight table. It'll actually hold the motorcycle upright while you strap it down. It's also easier to use. The Harbor Freight style clamp can cause lots of acrobatics getting a motorcycle without a center stand tied down without tipping.

- The fully removable tail section is very nice. probably easier to build than the trap door too.

- The higher it'll lift the better. 30" sounds like a lot, but is a bit low for working on the lower engine. 40+ would be ideal.

- The lower it gets to the floor the easier it is to get the bike on. Unfortunately this is often related to how high it'll lift. I've seen a picture of one built into the floor which would be first rate provided it goes up high enough.

- If you put wheels on it they need to be under the end away from the ramp. The Harbor Freight lift has the wheels under the ramp end and pushing a heavy bike up the ramp will cause the lift to slide. There are adjustable feet on the other end, but the weight of the lift isn't enough to keep them from sliding with a touring bike or heavy cruiser on the ramp.

- If you're not going to have extensions for ATVs and Lawn tractors consider an up turned lip on the edge. It is really handy to keep stuff from dropping to the floor.

 

You can buy the l wheel clamps easy. I have even considered pinning my front clamp and drilling another set and buying the type like you see on a lot of trailers where you drive into it locks when you drive into it.
I believe the reason they only go up 30 inches is so you don't jack thru the roof . I have a 27x 24 oversized garage i have to be careful when i jack mine up all the way the mirrors and handlebars will touch the garage door when its up 10 inches more and i am sure it would hit the roof. There are a lot of people that wouldn't think to look while jacking I really don't think he will be doing extensive work on it just on his bike to keep from sitting on the floor. It sucks when health problems make it hard to sit or get up and down on the floor i should know

 

I have most of the supplies to build a "tipping table" style stand,. where the table IS the ramp. Requires 2 people to operate. Still need to work out the wheel clamp. Cost = minimal.

 

I'm with Time, after a lot of thought, having one end fixed in the elevated poss'is way the most stable, holding the bike upright is the poser, the front wheel clamp is fine untill you want to pull it.

 

Cutlass, First of all, your pic, nice looking RESTORATION to say the least. Next, you said that you put a jack under the front of the frame to be safe? With the exhaust pipes running down below the frame, how did you use a jack under the front of the frame with out damaging the pipes? I have wondered how this could be done with out removing the exhaust pipes-do you know a trick that I don't? Probably eh?
I have to set in envy of you guys with your bike lifts. Maybe one day I will have one but with the weight of them I think I will have to buy one where I can pick it up to avoid shipping charges. You guys which have been in this for quite awhile are any of you in the business of restoration of the XJ's and selling them? I was just wondering due to all the knowledge you and others in here seem to have. Actually many of you would appear to have more knowledge in this field than many mechanics I have talked with that work for a living on motorcycles???? grunt 007, 81' XJ750 SecaR, Mi.

 

strap the back of the bike down .Slip a jack stand under the front of the frame you can even put a few 4x4s under the pipes its just a safety for some reason the straps pop it wont fall over when the forks are off. You can see in the pic how it was tied down shocks around the lift and to the other shock. I attached another pic you can see you dont have to raise the front much to get the forks out.
I used to restore bikes or buy fix and sell but not any more you can click on the link in my signature a few of the bikes i have had the past few years. I am going to start collecting older interesting bikes as a hobby. I have to have another garage built just having a hard time talking myself into getting it done i am out growing my garage . I retired last year very young and i will go nuts if i dont have something to do

 

Cutlass, Whow! I like those polished forks on that bike in the picture. I was never a believer in the lower forks being painted black. Guess I'm just old school? Must have taken you a bit of time getting them stripped and polished to shine like that. Nice! grunt007, 81XJ750SecaR, Mi.

 

I would say a few hrs a fork what was the pain was the back wheel. rough cast solid wheel i think i had about 20 hrs in it sanding the lines off and polishing

 

Yeh, some of those parts were never meant to be pollished.

 

Well, Cutlass, were those forks to begin with on an XJ? They sure look fine, by the way what did you do about getting the black paint off if they are off of an XJ? I want to eventually do the same to mine and I am sure it was a lot of work but look at how beautiful they are now )))) I talked to a man today that works in an Auto Zone store about XJ Bikes. I had noticed that he had a nice Harley and then I found out that he also has a I think 82' XJ so I told him about XJ Bikes and gave him the web address. He said he was coming to the web site tonight to see what it was like. I bet he will join also )) How guys really ever get to truly enjoy their bikes when they pay some one else to do all the work on their bikes is beyond me. Once again I guess I am just to much of an Old School fan of sorts. Right now most of my time is tied up repairing the farm equipment around here. I thought that I would have had my bike running by now but I ended up wasting to much time waiting for parts for it that I ordered through the local bike shop. Like the so called shop manual I ordered for $100 which took three weeks to get here only to find out that it wasn't worth a ten dollar bill. I'll never make that mistake again for sure. It's a learning process for sure when you have been out of motorcycles for as long as I have. Either way-I'm sure impressed with you forks for sure. grunt007, 81'XJ750 Seca R, Mi.