Sears red jack modification
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Hate to get all newb here, but can someone dumb this down for me please. I've looked all over the internet and can't find what the problem is with Dyna frames and these jacks out of the box. I bought a Pittsburgh $80 special from Harbor Freight the other day, rolled the bike onto some cheap board I had lying around and put the jack under the bike. The only problem I had was leveling the bike, but I figured I'll get it after a few tries. Am I damaging the bike this way? I tried to find a diagram showing lift points, but all searches come back to modifying the jack due to an issue specifically with Dynas. What issue? Does modifying the jack make the bike more stable, or is it just so you don't need boards to raise the frame? Not trying to sound stupid, I just want to know what the problem is exactly that this mod is supposed to fix. If this jack mod is absolutely 100% necessary to prevent damage, fine, I'll do it. But I'm okay with a small challenge if it saves me more money, if that makes sense. Appreciate the feedback. Also, if there is something specifically under the bike that will break if put under the stress of the lift, such as the oil pan, please point that out to me so I don't make an expensive mistake.
#737
You're lifting the bike on the oil pan; the reason the bike isn't level is due to the frame extension that protects the oil pan. You need to use a correctly fitting lift to clear everything to properly lift a Dyna.
This is an image of my J&S lift, but you can see how you need to position the lift to safely raise a Dyna. The idea behind modding the Sears/HF lift is to get the lift arms further apart to clear the frame extension and the pan...
This is an image of my J&S lift, but you can see how you need to position the lift to safely raise a Dyna. The idea behind modding the Sears/HF lift is to get the lift arms further apart to clear the frame extension and the pan...
The following 2 users liked this post by TinCupChalice:
cvaria (02-03-2018),
Velocity Ray (02-03-2018)
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It's the frame extension and the oil pan that cause the issues with a Dyna when you're lifting it. With the Sears/HF lift modded as shown in this thread you can get the correct spacing between the lift arms to clear everything.
Even once you mod the lift, still use straps when you lift your ride. With a lift like the J&S, the bike is rock solid sitting on it, no straps; the modded lift, not so much
Even once you mod the lift, still use straps when you lift your ride. With a lift like the J&S, the bike is rock solid sitting on it, no straps; the modded lift, not so much
The following users liked this post:
Velocity Ray (02-03-2018)
#740
Somebody steered me to your post of the jack modification. I don't have a Sears jack, I have harbor freight and pittsburgh. So while the video makes complete sense on how to do the mod, I need to know the new measurements from inside the jack pads to inside the jack pads and from outside the jack pads to outside the jack pads in case the tube steel the pads are currently mounted on are different dimensions and/or the pads are wider or narrower from my jack compared to your Sears red jack. I hope you are still on here 9 years later to answer! Thanks in advance for your help.