A tiny bit more Harley stuff

[sherm]

About seven years ago when I had my Harley I designed and sold (in disappointingly small numbers) a jack for the Harley that would fit in a saddlebag. It was called the Porklift. For you West Coast guys' info I sold a few to Bartell's HD in Marina Del Rey. The high point of the Porklift era was a phone call I got from Jay Leno thanking me for the freebee I sent him.

Anyway, I gave up on the Porklift and was left with a small stash of them in my basement that I'd like to get rid of. Believe it or not the jack will lift the Busa too (front end easy, rear takes some doing).

I put some stuff up on my web site for all to see:
www.shermworks.com/porklift.jpg
www.shermworks.com/porklif2.jpg

If anyone is interested just e-mail me,
sherm@shermworks.com

Sherm

 

[Gixx1300R]

Sorry this will not work on the Busa in it's cuurent design because the Busa doesnt have a cradle frame like the Harleys do.Now if you could redesign it so a rod would slide through the swing arm pivot point on the Busa.That is where I raise my bike when I want to work on the rear suspension.

 

[viol8r]

I use a lift like the motorcycle shops use where the tire is clamped on a table that lifts up. I use a small screw type jack to lift the back of the busa, where the bottom fairing bolts on.
Sherm, how does the jack lift the front on the busa?

 

[sherm]

I'm not touting the Porklift as an Hayabusa lift, but it can work.

viol8r, If you look on page 80 of the owners manual, FRONT WHEEL REMOVAL, step 7 says to place a jack under the exhaust pipe and raise until the front wheel is slightly off the ground. I placed the Porklift under the exposed exhaust pipe and raised the bike. The point of lift is forward of the center of gravity so the front wheel comes up. To raise the rear wheel you have to push down on the front wheel and hold it there with weights or tie downs of some sort.

Gixxer1300R, the exposed section of the exhaust pipes act like the Harley cradle frame for the Porklift. They are not as wide apart as the cradle frame members but the raised bike is still pretty stable. I was thinking using the swing arm pivot for lifting and wrote Suzuki about it. Here is what they said:
"American Suzuki Motor Corp cannot recommend that the method you are suggesting be used to lift your bike in the air. To safely lift any portion of the bike it must be properly balanced and supported. A wheel stand would be more suited to lift the rear wheel off the ground."

Pretty vague but I decided not to persue it. Notice they didn't say the swing arm pivot might get damaged. Frankly I think that using the pivot like you do gives the most stable setup, and its pretty easy to do solo.

 

[OB_Cisco San Jose]

Sherm,nice and small jack for emergency use, I'm also working on a couple of ideas for portable jack for those long hauls and stuff. The main problem is to use light weight metal that is strong and also easy to use and can be broken down or put together fast.When I get a few protyo types I might post it on this site for guys to copy or improve on.

[This message has been edited by Cisco San Jose (edited 15 November 1999).]

 

[viol8r]

Thank you Sherm. I'll probably get a couple for my sons also. Happy to pay of course.

 

[sherm]

Cisco, the Porklift has a lot of aluminum. It weighs 7 lb and can fit in a saddlebag. Its strong enough to support the Harley with you sitting on it. I'll send you one at no cost for evaluation, just give me an address.

viol8r, I'll send you a no-cost Porklift for evaluation too.

added: Another feature is that it will work on uneven ground - the ground on one side of the bike can be a few inches higher or lower than the ground on other side.

[This message has been edited by sherm (edited 15 November 1999).]