That isn't the purpose of the lock holes.
Although there's nothing stopping you running a couple of nuts onto a length of allthread and using that as a 'safety', not sure I'd trust it mind.

 

Jim, I have one of the cheap Chinese jacks a friend gave me at least 15 years ago and have used it on at least 7 or 8 or more various Harleys. I have also used the orange rubber frame protectors from Harley and they work fine. You are really overthinking this entire thing. The jacks are simple to use and yes, I have had my wheels off while using this jack. I always put something under the remaining wheel to support the bike and I always strap the bike.

Having said all of that, why not just get some type of small extension pole to reach down when washing? Something like a swiffer so you don’t have to bend over so much. Or just sit on a roll around stool that puts you down at bike level when washing? And it that is too high, get something even lower on wheels like a furniture dolly and put a stadium seat on it.

No way I would spend big money on a jack just for washing the bike.

 

Couple of ways.

1. Bolt short sections (2-3 links should do) of chain across the two holes. Attach a Clevis mounted grab hook to the end of each. Use a ~3-4 foot length of chain between the grab hooks and lower the lift down onto them until they take tension.

2. A bolt long for the desired height, and a nut. Finger spin the nut down, slightly relax the lift to share the load with the bolt. This is probably the easiest, cheapest and quickest for holding it up high.

3. Long length of all thread and two nuts. More adjustability than the simple bolt of #2 above, but very tedious.

4. Chain with grab hooks that you set the hooks into the holes.

5. Come along with grab hooks, set into the holes.

6. Etc.


You've mentioned several times your difficulties with getting down onto your knees and such. That's likely not going to get any better. The high lifting capability of the Blue lift is probably going to help you a lot with the cleaning of the wheels and lower sections of the bike. I know you've said it doesn't matter, but I suspect you will find it greatly does.

 

Stratplexi and Foxtrapper: I appreciate the obviously experienced suggestions and advice! Unless my wife changes her mind, the Big Blue is out just because of the $1339 cost. I myself would pay the one-time very high cost, despite the fact that it is obvious gouging by the sole-source Canadian distirbutor, because it is a one-time hit that does bring me what appears to be a pretty good lift. But my wife just thinks the price is ridiculous and not a good fit for our retirement budget, and she is course rationally correct.

The HD / OTC jack lift is an obvious remaining contender. Its higher weight suggests it is at least built more robustly than similar-appearing jack lifts. It gets pretty much the same negatives mentioned in reviews of most (all?) of the jack type lifts, especially the high speed descent, but has one great specific feature: it's got the widest beam platform which enhances its ability to absorb sideways bike movementcaused by high torque nuts or bolts being tightened or loosened. And of course the black and Orange Harley colour scheme is always a crowd pleaser.



The TMG offers much of the functionality of the Big Blue, except that it only lifts to 18" versus 30", and I think I would want to strengthen its support beams by simply adding a 1/2" steel layer to the top of eahc beam. This lift has a 3" minimum height. Tthe Breakout has 4.5" ground clearance when upright, and 3.75" ground clearance when tilted on the sidestand, so there is "room" for adding a 1/2" of steel to the top of the beams. This lift is actually much more robustly built than the Big Blue, coming in at 119 lb versus the Blig Blue at 84 lb, so 42% heavier. More weight is not always an indicator of more strength, but it IS certainly a contributor to greater stability with a 683 lb bike on it.




The TMG's $649 delivered price is slightly less than half of the $1339 the cost of the Big Blue. It operates via a hydraulic cylinder, with an actual **** for descent (which IMPLIES some adjustability), so does not require using a drill to raise or lower the lift like the Big Blue. Having to use a drill versus a foot pedal is one of the DISadvantages of the Big Blue, especially during that trick "transition zone, on both lifting and descending, when the bike gets off or onto the sidestand rather abruptly. The Big blue website never says what its "foot print" is, but the TMG, at 36" x 36" footprint, also appears to have a wider floor footprint than the Big Blue, which means more stability when a wheel os rmeoved or added, or when a high torque nut or bolt is attacked.

There are no used Big blue lifts available to me, but interestingly, there is one brand new TMG still in its wooden shipping box, for sale at a discounted price, and I have sent an inquiry to the seller asking how that came to be.

It looks to me that the TMG, either new from the Canadian source, or new in the crate from the above seller, is a good buy versus the Big Blue, and has some advantages as well as one notable disadvantage (18" lift versus 30") versus the Big Blue. So it seems like the obvious alternative to the HD / OTC jack lift. The mast on the TMG, like the mast on the Big Blue, does NOT really impair access to the side of the bike, because the mast is not that close to the parts on the bike that might require access, due to the sloped angle of the mast. In fact, for most tasks, the HD/OTC jack lift would be a far more serious tripping hazard that comes out a LONG way from the side of the bike. And the TMG allows far better access to drains and other parts on the bottom of the bike than a jack, because its 2 suspended horizontal beams arefar smaller in total than the parallelagram structure of a jack lift.

On the quality assessment: The TMG is an unknown, with only one review online (that happens to be favourable), but the HD/OTC jack lift is known to have multiple quality workmanship and usage issues.

The TMG is looking like maybe the best way for me to go given my wife's rejection of the Big Blue pricing.

Opinions?

Jim G

 

You're comparing apples to oranges, a hydraulic lift v's a screw lift, a 35lb difference, most of that will be in the hydraulic cylinder.

Info is on the UK website;
https://on-bike.com/faqs
​​​​​​​

 

Thank-you, Mr. Longbeard! I had not seen that 80cm x 64cm foorprint spec for the Big blue. That is 31.5" x 25.2", which is a LOT smaller footprint than the TMG. And, you believe that a notable part of the difference in weight is the hydraulic cylinder versus the screw? I did not know how to evaluate the potential weight differences there. A 37 inch long solid steel screw SEEMS pretty heavy even without a large diameter (I don't see a spec for its actual diameter), but a quick math calculation shows that a 1/2" diameter screw weighs only "about" 2 lb, but a 3/4" diameter would weigh "about" 4.8 pounds!(The weight goes up with the SQUARE of the diameter). But I have no idea what the TMG hydraulic cylinder weighs.

Also, that Q&A section shows that the actual lift is 75 to 85 cm, depending upon the mount required for a specific bike. But all HDs use the simplest and lowest profile mount beams, which means you can lift HDs the highest. 85 cm = 33.5 inches, which is better than the 30" claim. Impressive height is attainable with the Big Blue, if you need or want it!

Jim G

 

It's been many moons since I disassembled an engine hoist such as https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cfc1...E&gclsrc=aw.ds , but I'd say the cylinder was a good 15 - 20 kgs at least

 

Wow! I had no idea that hydraulic cylinders were THAT heavy!

Jim G

 

The more I look at it, the less I like it. I personally would not buy it, based on some concerns I have. Bear in mind, I've never laid eyes on one, or used one.

This is totally unsupported and unbraced, and I think it's going to allow for a lot of sway of your bike.


The arms that go under the frame of your bike appear totally loose on the cross arm, and will probably rock side to side, letting your bike tip back and forth.


There is some very dubious structural integrity with regards to the arms that go under your bike. I strongly suspect they will sag, if not downright buckle and collapse under the weight of a heavy bike.

Look at the black circle. It shows these arms have only one flange. The other side has none, and in the manual (which I cannot download now), it shows the arm is completely notched through on the unflanged side.

So there are two hinge points on that arm, circled in red
There is only one piece of flat steel resisting that hinging, and that's the single flange on the outer side, circled in blue. It's completely unsupported and will easily buckle.



My opinion of the poor rear wheel mounts, which I pointed out previously, has not improved.

 

Looks like i was wrong, looking at comparable rams they all appear to be in the 10kg (22lb) + range