Notes and Improvements:
Paint the pipe handle red. This might prevent you from accidentally falling over it.
Wrap some duct or electrical tape around the handle end of the same pipe for comfort.
Stapling or tacking down some old carpet over the lifting edges of the 4" x
8". This will keep the wood from removing paint from your frame each time you lift
your bike.
If you can not find a 4"x8", you can buy a 2"x8" 8 foot long and
cut it in half. Put the two pieces together, forming a 4"x8" and nail them
together. Better yet, use 2 1/2" drywall screws to fasten the two pieces of wood
together.
8 inch wide lumber is actually closer to 7 1/2 inches wide. Some bikes may require a
slightly higher or lower lift. You can use 2"x6" lumber for very low bikes, or
add a piece of 1"x4" lumber on the top raise the bike some. With a Sportster,
you can cut the 1"x4" into two pieces, leaving the required notched section for
the exhaust pipe.
The pipe will not thread all the way to the bottom of the pipe flange. Don't EVEN try
to thread the flange from the bottom up to save from counter sinking the flange.
Use a 4' long 4" x 8" and put two eye bolts in the wood about 3" from each
end so that they face the ceiling when the bike is on the lift. Now when you put the
bike up, take off your seat and use two nylon pull type tie downs to secure the bike frame
under the seating area to the lift at the eye bolts. Straddle the bike and pull them tight
simultaneously. The bike WILL be very stable. No more worries about the narrow Sporty
frame or the bike's stability while up on the lift.
When drilling the holes to install the pipe and flange, use two different size bits so
that the wood lends some support to the pipe and the flange doesn't take all of the
weight. This improvement is listed in the assembly steps.
Notes for Sportster owners:
The Sportster front exhaust header is lower than the frame tubes. Using the lift as
designed above would cause the 4"x8" lifting surface to put pressure on the
exhaust header. Therefore to lift the Sportster properly you'll need to nail a
1"x4" or 2"x4" to the lifting surface of the 4"x8". It
should be cut 28" long and aligned flush with the edge where you drilled the hole for
the pipe.
Additionally, because the Sportster frame is so narrow, for safety and security you
should purchase two 1" eye-bolts. These would be fastened to the lift so you could
run a strap through them and over the seat to keep the bike from falling on either side.
