Hockey pucks work great for spacers between the jack rail and frame to make clearance.

 

I went home during lunch since my Dad was at my house and he helped me move it forward on the lift so the rails were not touching the shocks anymore. Thanks for the heads up!

 

This looks like its going to be a fun project.
I bought an abused 2007 Sportster 3 years ago and brought it back to life last Summer. Rode it for a few months then sold it. Now I got the itch again and seeing your project just made that itch worse.
I've already been on Marketplace checking out bikes in my area. Theres tons of low mileage Sportsters for sale locally, and they're fairly cheap.

 

Check out the website for TC Bros for some ideas of some wild stuff you can do with sportsters. They specialize in them and Dynas. I have considered buying one and making a rigid chop out of it or something at some point in the future. I think my next project is going to be finding an abused EVO motor I can get for very check and tearing it completely down and rebuilding it to learn more about the internals.

 

That would be a cool project. Evos are great motors. Simple to work on, bullet proof reliability, and still plenty of parts available for a decent price. Same goes for the Sportster version of the Evo. And since the Sporty has been around for 70 some years there are more aftermarket parts available than any other motorcycle I can think of.

 

The other good source for neo-choppers is Lowbrow Customs / Gasbox.

 

Riding and working on a Harley is therapy.

I have the same Craftsman lift. I don't like keeping weight on hydraulics. I just use it to get the bikes up and put them on a stand with wheels. You can push it around with ease. It is nice to have better access right up to the bike instead of working around the lift. Not very expensive either.

Looking forward to your project. Springer Softails are sexy.

 

I have bought some stuff from them and they are great to work with.

 

Definitely lowbrow customs. I am not a fan of TC Bros or Prism Supply

 

Lowbrow is the bomb