The CB1100 Community Forum

Was cleaning both the CB and the Guzzi the past few of days and spent a lot of time on the concrete floor of the garage and finally had enough. At work for the past 3+ months I had a coupon laying on my desk for the Harbor Freight motorcycle lift at $299.00 and made up my mind I'd try it. I don't usually buy tools unless they're stamped with Made in U.S.A but decided to give this low tech unit a shot. At the store they used a forklift to load it in the pickup and I hauled it home and unloaded it myself sans forklift. This table uses a hydraulic jack. I think earlier versions had an air pump that could be hooked up to a compressor and then raised. For simplicity I like the jack better. Even though the Lift is rated at 1,000 pounds I wouldn't feel comfortable putting a full dressed Harley at 850 pounds on it.

The good: 1) No damage in the package (flat wooden crate) and not missing parts. 2) Comes mostly assembled. Took about 15 minutes to put the parts on it that required tools and it was straight forward with no frustration. 3) Raises very high. 4) Can be used as a sturdy worktable for other projects when the bikes not on it. 5) Easy enough for me to move around my garage. 6) I can push the CB or the Guzzi (150 pounds lighter) on the lift in it's lowest position allowing me to use it for long term bike parking thereby saving floor space in the garage. 7) The safety bar that you put in place once the table is raised and that will keep it from lowering unexpectedly is what I would call ROBUST. 7) The price at $299+ tax.

What could be better (keeping in mind the price range it's sold at and that it came from China). 1) The table surface (platform the bike sits on) could be wider. While I didn't have issues with stability once the bike was on it, the platform is kind of narrow when straddling a bike. Searching on the net you see all kinds of mods folks have done to address this issue. The easiest being making wooden platforms for both sides to put your feet on. 2) The clamps sides for the front tire could be larger to provide more contact surface with the tire sides. Again, looking on the internet you see all manner of options to address this. 3) Takes quite a few foot pumps to get it to full height. 4) The welds. They weren't done by a union member that went through a mandated apprenticeship and it shows. They weren't ground down to remove splatter or make them aesthetically pleasing before the unit was painted. But, I looked it over pretty good and didn't see any obvious areas I was concerned with.

For the money I certainly feel it was worth it and can address the farkles to enhance it easily. Will be nice to clean/work on the bikes standing up or in a chair and not have to get so low on the ground anymore.

Awesome. I've had thoughts of buying that exact same lift in the back of my mind for a few months now. You may have just pushed me over the edge.

Very nice 1TB V7R! I loved my V7C but couldn't tolerate dealership incompetency when it came to parts, service, etc. The CB1100 replaced it.

I've had one for a couple of years. Do it cause you won't regret.

I have one. Word of caution, the pump comes almost dry. YOU MUST FILL THE PUMP WITH THE PROPER FLUID OR IT WILL FAIL QUICKLY.




2014 CB1100 DLX
2013 CB1100 Std
1990 BMW K75 RT

I've had one of these for 12 months now and it is superb. When there is no bike on the stand it makes a super work bench and it takes up no space because I just park a bike on it. Excellent bit of kit.

Had one since 2004. The weakness is the Honda 50 front wheel clamp. I was thinking of cutting off the clamp completely and using a good cheap wheelchock.

You can now change oil standing up! Awesome at that price. Anyway, you can get a nice wheel chock from cycle gear and I bet you could bolt it right in there.

(03-12-2016, 10:19 AM)Jeff the CB CBX guy_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Had one since 2004. The weakness is the Honda 50 front wheel clamp. I was thinking of cutting off the clamp completely and using a good cheap wheelchock.

That's a great idea, I'm going to do that.

I bought a HF wheel dock when I got the lift and bolted it to the lift. Works a charm.

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Good buy, friends have them, had mine over 10 years