Hey Kevin 714, I bought my lift yesterday and bought the cheap bolts but everybody seems to be using the grade 8 so I guess I will go exchange tomorrow.

I was thinking about reinforcing the inside of the lift plates too but then I thought that you probably do not want to torque the bolt down much because you need it to rotate as the lift goes up and down so I don't see the benefit?

 

Don't torque the bolts.

 

Damn...never thought about that.

Thanks!

 

Did this mod today to my red sears jack for my 03 fxdl. Worked good
But still had to roll it on to 1" thick wood so I could get it all the way under.
Doesn't matter to me better than using the HD jack adaptors. Thanks Vic

 

I put the grade 8 bolts on and have the 1/2 spacers needed for everything to clear. I also cut off the middle of the rubber pad on the right lift arm so that the clutch cable would not get squeezed - just enough room now. It seems to work well, if anybody has any failures - I hope you will let us know!

 

Just a note:
You can also do this with the harbor freight jack.
It does make a difference.
I did my sears that way but left the HF the same.
I use a stand a lot so the jack has to slide in the stand.

 

Ok,

This thread was what got me started with my own lift modifications but I ended up somewhere else with mine,

Went to home depot a bought a few things:

A galvanized steel fence post
Rubber mats

Pictures are pretty self explanatory

 

I think the whole point was to NOT have to use the HD adapters......

 

You are right, but first I needed to trust the lift, and since I already own the adapters, I guess I worked out a solution to maximize my investments

All i can say is the lift is very stable compared to stock, maybe I have over engineered things a bit....

 

It looks as if you have to run the bike up on blocks to get enough room to slide the jack under?