Pittsburgh Motorcycle Lift...Not Lifting

jmgatlin

jmgatlin

Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
74
Age
65
Location
Duluth, Minnesota
Bike
2006 ST1300
This is probably a simple fix for someone smarter than myself, so I thought I'd throw it out here.

i just got a Pittsburgh motorcycle lift from Harbor Freight Tools, and got a great deal as well... $299. I love this lift and have used it at a friends house. It's a great tool. I've set it up completely as instructed, put oil in the jack, followed the bleeding instructions...but I've got absolutely no lift going on. Nothing. Squat.

I'm sure I'm missing someone simple, and it'd love to figure it out. I know it could be a faulty pump, etc. but before I go that route, I thought I'd ask you all.

Any thoughts?
 
I believe that lift has a pedal to lower the table back down right? I think the valve that the pedal attaches to replaces the lowering screw. Maybe that valve is stuck open. There isn't much to those jacks, gotta be a leak somewhere.

While the red army surplus store's quality has gotten better over the years, in the end its still harbor freight and you might've just gotten a dud jack.
 
I looked at these lifts in the past but didn't buy one so I'm only going from my feeble memory here ...

There's not much to them tho, so off the top you're either out of oil, need to bleed the system (simple), or like was mentioned you haven't turned that thumbscrew in, most lift rams have one somewhere at the base of the ram - assuming this one has one. If you're out of oil or low you may have leaky seal(s).

IIRC there's a .pdf manual available at the Harbor Freight site. It should give you the "how to"
 
Thanks for the answers. Here's what I've got so far.

These are shipped with very low oil. So the first thing I did was fill er up. Secondly I followed the manual for bleeding instructions--hold the release pedal down while pumping the lift pedal several times to get the air out of the system. After that the manual says it ought to lift right up. Nothing happens.

There is no lowering screw, but rather a pedal as mentioned above.

My only other option seems to be that there is still air in the system. Does anyone know of another option for bleeding it out?
 
Alright, I got it working today! The ST has achieved lift-off.

I read a thread on another site that suggested fully extending the jack several times to work the air out of the system. And it worked. Now I can enjoy winter a bit more as I tinker on the bike. Thanks for the help.
 

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I've been looking at the #68892 HF cycle lift for several years now and finally picked one up today at $299+ tax, but won't assemble it until later this year.
The older I get, the more inviting a lift becomes. I'm retired now so once it is set up will stay in that location for the rest of my lifetime.

I doubt anybody at HF could answer what is the difference between this model and the #69904, ATV/Motorcycle Lift that they also offer.
I may call them anyway, just to see if anybody has any idea.
 
ST13Fred said:
I've been looking at the #68892 HF cycle lift for several years now and finally picked one up today at $299+ tax, but won't assemble it until later this year.
The older I get, the more inviting a lift becomes. I'm retired now so once it is set up will stay in that location for the rest of my lifetime.

I doubt anybody at HF could answer what is the difference between this model and the #69904, ATV/Motorcycle Lift that they also offer.
I may call them anyway, just to see if anybody has any idea.
Click to expand...
looking at the HF adds, the difference is left or right placed foot pedals.
 
jmgatlin said:
Alright, I got it working today! The ST has achieved lift-off.

I read a thread on another site that suggested fully extending the jack several times to work the air out of the system. And it worked. Now I can enjoy winter a bit more as I tinker on the bike. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Looking at your picture it looks like you don't have your safety bar fully pushed in . I saw a post on another board where your type of safety bar bent when the lift was lowered down hard. The writer had a vintage gold wing on the lift. Just be cautious and lower the lift onto the safety bar gently.

With that said, I have not had a problem with my HF lift in the eight years I have owned mine.

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ST13Fred said:
I doubt anybody at HF could answer what is the difference between this model and the #69904, ATV/Motorcycle Lift that they also offer.
I may call them anyway, just to see if anybody has any idea.
Click to expand...

I talked with a tech rep at HF and confirmed what I thought regarding the 2 lifts.

Any component change within the assembly usually will change the part number of the complete assembly.
The 69904 lifts 3" higher than the 68892, so may have a different part numbered hydraulic cylinder, but are essentially the same, down to the lift capacity and price.
 
One thing I did was to replace the tire chock. I picked up a Cycle Gear one that holds the bike up. A bit of a pia getting it back out of the chock, but I don't have to worry about the bike tipping on me when putting it on the lift.

The chock comes off easily for when I have front end work to do, two bolts are all holding it on.

Lift1.jpg

Next I'm going to pickup some cheapy straight ramps and make them removable extendors for when I ride the bike up or walk it off the lift, I'll have more foot contact with the lift.
 
I see they changed the location of the pedals on the lift you have as compared to mine. Mine are on the left too but at the front.
I always take my release pedal off so I don't inadvertently step on it. You will enjoy it for sure. There are much nicer ones out there but the HF gets the job done.
 
I had the same problem with the harbour freight lift but I finally figured out how to fix them. Forget the instructions in the manual it won't work, at least it didn't for me. The system is a closed system so holding the lowering foot pedal down while you pump the lifting foot pedal won't get the air out. Mine is the model with the plunger on the bottom of the bottle base. First make sure the bottle is full of hydraulic oil. Manually lift the deck of the lift up all the way and slowly let it down until it will hold itself. This could be halfway down or more. If you are working by yourself you can tip the lift on its side and open it up and then stand it back up again. Remove the removable wheel plate to access the bottle jack. Reach down through this opening to access the bottle jack. (Do not reach through the lift incase it drops suddenly) there should be a red cap on the square base below the bottle itself that says do not adjust. Remove this cap and there is a slotted screw. Losses the screw a turn or two and wait about 15 seconds. Close the screw and lower the lift. It should now work properly. I tried everything I could think of but this worked the first time. If the lift lowers too fast with weight on it then tighten the big nut on the release plunger. This will slow the lowering speed. If you tighten it too much it won't lowerer at all. Loosen the nut a half a turn at a time until it slowly lowers. Hope this helps.
 
My MANY thanks to 150glen for his procedure listed above to fix the Harbor Freight lift. He hasn't been on for over a year, so he may never see this, but thanks anyway!

After debating for several years, I finally bought one last week after seeing them on sale for $296. Today, I put it together and followed the steps in the manual for filling the hydraulic cylinder and bleeding the system but I could only get the lift to raise 12 inches or so. After checking and re-checking the oil level and bleeding the system at least a dozen times, I was not able to get it to raise any higher. (By the way, getting that rubber oil-fill plug back into the cylinder is a bear. Anybody have any tips to make this go in easier?)

After messing around with this for the better part of the afternoon, I had pretty much resigned myself to dragging the thing back to Harbor Freight and either trying another one or getting a refund... hadn't decided exactly which yet. As a last resort, I did a general Google search and happened upon the post shown above... and was amazed to see it was from ST-owners.com! I followed his procedure and was encouraged to hear some air escaping when I loosened the screw. (The one that was marked "do not adjust".) After tightening the screw and lowering the lift, I was immediately able to raise it all the way.

I haven't tried it yet with a load on it, but I'm hopeful it will be fine. The next step is figuring out how to attach removable side extensions so I can use it for the ATV or lawn mowers as well as the bike. Ideas anyone?
 
I guess I got lucky when I got mine as it's been working flawlessly... However it does lower a little faster than I like and if I try to ease into the lowering foot pedal sometimes it bounces a little during the last foot or so.

As DaveY stated, many thanks to 150glen for the info. I will adjust the lowering speed and see if I can get it a little slower. I guess it really hasn't been an issue cuz I haven't looked into it yet but it can be better so might as well adjust it.
 
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