Well, I did mine yesterday afternoon. Little bit of pain, but not really that much. More 'adjusting' than anything else.

Took my handy-dandy $9.95 cutoff tool (Harbor Freight) fired up the air compressor (Shears) and cut the connecting bar. Being AR, I decided to grind the razor-sharp nubs and paint the bunks where I cut the bar, then took a trip to Ace-is-the-place.

No Grade 8, 6" bolts so I went with the 1/2" Grade 5. Had to drill out the holes. Pretty easy. I guess the original bolts were 12mm. Very little drilling, but it had to be done. I thought the bolts were bending a little bit under load, but that could be an optical delusion.

The back bunk was uncomfortably close to the oil pan so I put in a couple washers to use as spacers. A little less than a 1/4" worth, I'd say. Still kinda close, but I'm 99.99% sure it's not hitting it. Had to reverse the right front bolt so it wouldn't hit the kickstand spring.

Jacked it up and noticed the clutch cable was being caught between the engine case and the front bunk. There's a little bit of a gap between the frame and the bottom of the engine but I still didn't like it. It was being pinched pretty good. So I used a plastic cable tie to tie it off to the frame and it still wasn't clearing the bunk. It would clear the lift bunk if you pulled it to one side and jacked the lift at the same time (my neighbor came by and pitched in for a minute) but what I'm looking for is a 'one-man' lift where you don't have to get momma to help with -- Anything. Or corral the neighbor. So I put a bungee cord on the clutch cable and attached the other end to the highway peg mount. Seems to clear, but you still gotta watch it.

Still not crazy about being as close as it is to the oil pan. Might consider putting in another couple washers (one on each bolt) but I don't know. The further out you place the bolts, the longer 'reach' you have on the bolts, it would seem to me the more mechanical advantage (in this case, maybe 'dis'advantage) and stress is placed on the bolt.

Anyway, it seems to be okay for now. Pretty sure. It sure beats the hell out of driving the bike up on a 2X6, putting the dyna adaptors on, mo-dikkin around with their placement, tilting the bike up to get the jack under it, more adjusting of the dyna adaptors until finally throwing your hands up in the air and walking away from it.

Oh yeah, I tried to figure out the shear strength of a Grade 5, 1/2" bolt with the load moved out so that it had 4" of leverage placed on it. Forget about it. I probably should have gone to another place to get the Grade 8 bolts. But I'm thinking the Grade 5 should be good for at least a 1,000 lbs. Or -- Maybe not. I'll just keep an eye on them.

Great mod, Vic. I was starting to think I had to spend four or five hundred bucks on a usable jack. Not any more.

 

That's what I've been saying all along.

I'm not as technically minded as you seem but I've left my bike jacked up for like two weeks and the bolts held up fine. We're lifting at most 700lbs wet. If I felt the need to move the jack while the bike was lifted, I lowered the bike down as low as possible to lower the center of gravity but I have moved it while it was fully lifted and as long as I made smooth movements with the jack the bike was fine. I'm a rebel and don't usually strap it down unless I was removing some serious weight like a rear wheel that may throw the balance off enough to cause a problem.

I did initially use grade 2 bolts but did upgrade them to grade 8 just to be safe.

I don't think I would extend the distance between the two pads much more. I try to keep them fairly close to the same width as the jack. Will keep it a bit more stable. I too have a problem with the clutch cable getting sandwiched. Haven't thought much about a solution to it. Maybe attach a small piece of 1x2 to the lift pad just were it contacts the frame, so you'd gain an extra 3/4" clearance. The cable wouldn't be sandwiched, and I feel the jack should still slide right under the bike. I'd double-check that though.

"Mo-dikkin around' perfectly describes that whole process.

 

Vic: Maybe attach a small piece of 1x2 to the lift pad just were it contacts the frame, so you'd gain an extra 3/4" clearance. The cable wouldn't be sandwiched, and I feel the jack should still slide right under the bike. I'd double-check that though.

Excellent idea but for some reason (that I'm going to explore) my jack barely fits under the left side of the frame. Had to lift the ****-end of the jack once to get it to slide under and even then, the pad is touching the bottom of the left side of the frame. So if I gotta put a piece of wood under it......??

It does 'seem' like the jack isn't collapsing all the way. Could be my imagination but I was tired after being in the garage for a few hours. Cloudy out, figured it would be a good time to work on the jack. Wrong! Within in minutes, I felt like someone had poured two cans of 30 weight on me. Humidity. Fun stuff.

I looked at the pictures you posted a few pages back. Looks like you've got a tie-strip on the frame. Is that for clutch cable? Also saw your clutch cable and how it was clearing. Mine just doesn't have that kind of slack in it. Dunno why. Maybe because yours is a Wide Glide?

In any case, if all I gotta do is hook up a bungee cord, I'm not gonna get too worked about it. At least for now. It seems to be working. And a lot better than the original set up. Talk about a Rube Goldberg machine!?!!? Dyna Adaptors, I mean.

Sheesh.

 

Grendel I used some fairly large diameter 3/8" nylon spacers between the jack arms and bunks as you called them, gives just the right amount of space to clear all that stuff and go under the bike in just the right spot.
I tried 1 side first, then added them to both sides, just because I like things easy. Been that way for dozens of uses now and now issues with the spacers.
I also picked up some cable clamps for the frame and clutch cable, those are going on soon, like you my cable always seems to want to go where it shouldn't be.

 

Get a small piece of 1x4 to put the jiffystand on, that will give you the clearance you need on the left side. I always park mine on that because I have a wood floor in my little garage and wanted it to protect the floor from the stand.

 

Like what we have on the downtube to hold the clutch cable in place? I can't imagine they're all that expensive. Hmm...


Yea, it's my clutch cable. Not a very good solution unless you just zip tie the cable out of the way for lifting purposes and then just cut it off when you're done. Zip-ties are cheap enough to waste one every once in a while.

I'm in the process of losing my storage/work space (long story; it's in the off-topic forum). I'll see if I can take a measurement regarding the left side and the lift pad just for comparo.

 

Yes, like the ones used above and below the adjusters. You can get chrome ones, if chrome is your thing, on ebay for about 10.00. Just make sure you measure the tube diameter BEFORE you order them.

 

Vic,

I did just that, cut it all the way out and I don't notice any difference. FYI, my 09 FXDB is not lowered and I still have to roll it up on 2x4". Thanks again for the great idea. The only reason I bought this lift is because of your idea.

 

Has anyone done the "mod" to this jack from Sears?

 

Looking at the yellow jack, it's design doesn't make it conducive to this mod IMO. Reason I see is because the lift has one point that is used to extend the lift plates (where your bike sits). The red uses a sort of scissor-style to accomplish the lift. Two points on each side.