Hi,
I'm getting back into working on Harley's. Just bought a '99 Fatboy. I bought a Black Widow 1500 lbs pneumatic lift and it arrived yesterday The lift is great looking, but the lift came DOA. Doesn't lift. Had a lot of air coming out of the back end of the cylinder where the piston is. Can the lift come with bad seals already? I don't know if air tool oil (adding it) in the air line and to the rear part of the cylinder will help or not. I need to ask the next question on those who have on of these lifts. Where do you get the replacement seals from. I have a set from the manufacturer, but there's no way to reorder just in case I have to replace the seals. I'm still under the 30 day return policy. I'm wondering if I should go to a Handy lift instead. Thoughts on how to get the lift to work? Any help is appreciated.
Marty6

 

My Handy lift has been rock solid and dependable every time I’ve used it over the past 10+- years.

I would return yours for a working replacement or refund before time runs out. These aren’t cheap nowadays.

I have no personal experience with Black Widow lifts but they are popular.

 

Brand new lift and it's not working? Definitely contacting them and have them pick that up.I wouldn't even bother messing with it.

I have a Handy and it's been rock solid since purchased last year.

Whether you get another or go Handy, that's up to you, but if I ordered an expensive lift and it was DOA, I would seriously consider my options.

 

Probably a fluke bad cylinder assembly. As stated, brand new…have them get you a new one.

 

I have a Handy and a Black Widow. I like the smooth deck on the Handy vs the tread plate on the Black Widow. My Handy is old and built from heavier materials.

If it is brand new contact the place you ordered it from. Does it lift with no load, empty table?

 

Good evening!

Thank you for your replies. I'm sending this back. It should have worked right off the bat. There's a lot and I mean a lot of air coming out of the rear part of the cylinder. The inner seal isn't sealing. I've added more tool oil and oiled the shaft. Nada. The table moves up about 1/2 an inch and that's it. The red locking bar is still up. All connecting factory ties are cut off. I don't get it. The Huffey air compressor is one I've had for years. it may be 8 gallons pushing 4.8 scfm but the table should have gone up. It's like it's stuck. I've lifted the table mind you by myself on the one end where the red plate goes. It doesn't budge. I've placed the table on its side and had the legs go out, but air still comes out of the cylinder at the back end.

If anyone has anymore advice, please let me know. I think it's time it goes back! I'm going to ask them for a full refund and they pay the shipping cost back since the table had damage on it before I got it.

A sad day for my 99 fatboy .

Thank you,

Marty6

 

Have you not contacted the Black Widow people about the issue you’re having? Good luck getting them to pay for shipping.

 

Update: The company gave me a full refund and told me to dispose of the lift. They didn't want it back. After sending the company the photos / videos of all the damage, I don't think they could have even sold it at a reduced price. I'll use a torch to fix the top if the lift is stable for use. Either something crashed into it during shipping or a forklift did the deed. I bought a pneumatic ring kit on line and fixed the barrel. The main 1 1/4" bolt was hand tight only when I got to it. I'm wondering if the overseas manufacturer hates bikers. The inner rubber ring on the opposite side was like shredded wheat. If the lift came undamaged and where to lift it was a dangerous situation ready to unfold. The large inner rubber seal was worn down. The barrel had no grease in it. There was a dab of grease on the end of the bolt when I unscrewed it. I only tried using the air tool oil back in late November / early December to get the lift to move 1/2 in up. I used my phone's video and made a couple of videos and sent that to the manufacture/seller here in the USA. I think during the 'testing' phase in China they ran it without any oil. The inner ring was completely foo barred. So, I got a new ring in there as well as a new outer ring. All the shafts on the lift are straight. I'll check the rollers tomorrow when I do another test on the lift. The rollers were not exactly on the rails when I got the shipping box. The damage look like a diagonal blade went through down to the back in where the roller on the left is. There's no external damage on the joints or welds....just the top of the lift.

Tomorrow I'll put a lot of tool boxes and heavy materials on the lfit to simulate the weight of my '99 fatboy. I was able to get the lift to go up and down without any weight or extra parts that came with the lift. I'll get the rest of the lift put together soon. Side ramps and the front wheel choke needs to be added.

If after all this and the lift still won't lift the bike properly and safely, I"ll torch it and make a side car out of it for the bike. Then look for a new lift. I'm only out $45.00 so far.

 

I've honestly never had any problems with it, so never had a need to get parts. I put a few drops of air tool oil in the hose every few months when I remember, and I've hit the wheels with some oil a few times over the years. That is the only maintenance it has needed.