It is now a year after your video. I hope everything is still available as I think this is the best vid I've seen on the HF lift mods. I don't weld, so the only thing I would have to do is have someone weld that 1/2" bar to the plate, otherwise I am good to go with everything else. I see responses on here that elude to "keeping the manual foot pump action on because I need the exercise" crap. Well, you guys that want that, go ahead. This is a "mod" video and not a Jane Fonda exercise vid. Floyd, your mods are terrific and for what it's worth, my only added expense would be to re-build my one car garage into a double car garage! Thank you so much for the terrific vid.
Cool man, I like the idea of trimming away the front wheel lock for oil pan room and leaving the self ratchet straps loose to turn I or out for the type of bike. Gonna do these things on mine- thanks for sharing
Best video on modifying this lift... only other thing I'm doing is adding a foam tape to the underside to quiet it down when it slams at the bottom. Great setup, copying the auto ratchets and that wheel chock, thanks.
I have the Central Pneumatics motorcycle lift table from Harbor Freight that came with the air/ hydraulic jack. After about 12 years of frequent use, the pneumatic pump gave out and I manually pumped it up for about a year. For several years I had been toying with the idea of converting it to a hydraulic cylinder, similar to what's used in a log splitter. After about a year of hunting on line and through junk yards I came across a hydraulic pump unit for an automotive lift. I found a 2" cylinder with a 6" stroke that I thought would do the job. I fabricated a mount out of a 4" square steel tube (a little over kill there. 3" would have been quite adequate). That served as a cross member between the frame rails of the lift. I made a post out of 3 pieces of 5/16" X 2" bar stock sandwiched together and welded. I drilled one end to receive the clevis pin of the hydraulic cylinder. Then I centered and welded the post perpendicular to the square tube. The material for all the fabrication came from the local scrap yard. I had to weld the cross member onto the frame far enough forward for the rear lift arms to clear in the down position. That meant removing the rods for the pedals. The rod on the cylinder was much smaller than the ram on the old jack so I had to make a collar to thread on the end of the rod to make it fit into the cup on the V plate. The pivot rod for the V plate broke the center bolt twice so I drilled and tapped each end and bolted a fender washer to the ends to keep the rod in place. Once mounted and connected to the pump unit I rolled my 600# bike on the lift and hit the button to lift it. I found I had turned my lift into a catapult. It lifted the bike to the top in less than 2 seconds, and when it got to the top it jerked the whole assembly back about 4" along the floor. I had to slow it down. To do so I made a restrictor that I put in the fitting by the cylinder to restrict the rate of flow into the cylinder. I had to choke it down from 3/8" down to .025". That slowed the lift down to 8 seconds and kept it in place. The pump unit has a go switch to raise the lift and a lever to let it down by gravity. I installed a pedal switch on the opposite side of the lift so I can lift it from that side too. Since the cylinder has a 6" stroke and it only takes 4" to lift it all the way, I installed a stop switch to keep it from over extending. I put a 960# bike on the lift and it lifted it about a third of the way up and overloaded it and blew the breaker. I then installed a 2 1/2" cylinder which gave me plenty of force to lift a 1000# bike. I realize that this is a little more work and expense than the air/oil conversion done here, but I think it was well worth it. The only down side is if the lift isn't all the way up, and I want to lift it higher, I have to let it down, either on to the safety bar or all the way down. This relieves the pressure on the hydraulics and allows the motor time to spool up again to lift it all the way.
Here's the link to the video on the mods I did. th-cam.com/video/T6eHjhZNkXw/w-d-xo.html Here's the video on the conversion I did on my second lift. th-cam.com/video/YDfjtZN5AJw/w-d-xo.html @@waynenocton
Hey Floyd. Where did damn it Bandit go? Haha...Anywho I'm right in the middle of doing the "Wilcox Mod" as I type. Everything's going good, I have the jack bolted up to 1/4" plate wich is welded to a 1" tube (3/4" ID). The 1" tube is welded to the lower side of the horizontal center of the pump. I have a 3/4" rod slid through the tube as well as the frame rails at a 1/2" from the cross beam and 2" down the frame rail. I pulled out the center screw of the ram a 1 1/2" to fill the receiver cup of the lift. Gave'r a pump or two manually, she went up, let her down, pumped her up, let her down, well not all trhe way down since I still had my hand in there working pump handle. So I figured it was time to throw some air at it so I loosen the pump screw and let her down.... welllll she didn't make it all the way down. While I was giving the pump screw a bunch of left turns im hope that it would cure my problem I noticed that the table leg support straps where resting firmly on the pump handle. SON OF A....now with the pump handle in the scrap bin and another failed attempt to lower it, it looks like the receiver cup is bottomed out against the tottaly deflated pump and i still have 2"" of drop left. Any thoughts of were I might have taken the wrong turn on this install? Also to anyone else thinking about doing this mod there is a bolt on the bottom side of the air intake/ muffler housing that can be loosened so you can rotate it and get your air line out if the way of the falling table legs ...Don't ask me how I know this!. Floyd thanks for the inspirational vid and to everyone else don't let my little hiccup deter you from doing this mod.
The stock foot pumping jack works great and in my 49yrs of age, I can use all the "exercise" I can get from my lift, lol! One thing I don't need is to have to bend down every time I want to lower my stand. I like the foot levers! No air needed= no unnecessarily used electricity... Just seems futile to me, but that's only my opinion.
@@kristianestby1510 Humm thats a thought. I’ve actually made the system better than this video. 1/4” plate steel and 3/4” steel bar with locking collars on the end.
I have one of these tables with minor changes and repairs it meets my needs. Rather than do all those mods though I would just go ahead and purchase a more quality table with the sizzor lift system, and all the mods already on it.
If I get a 3/4 steel bar are the do you still use the 1/2 and 2 inch dimensions and do you have the top edged of the 3/4 bar on the center line of the jack? Great video. I've had two tables and took both of them back because the jacks failed..... After the table(s) sat in the garage over the winter they would no longer lift my harley (900 lbs) And will this work with 90 psi HF compressor?
Yes the measurements would be the same with the three-quarter inch bar, if you noticed in my video I had to put that second 8th inch plate behind my half inch bar, with your three-quarter inch bar you will not have to do that. 👍
Hey Floyd, Thanks for the video. This is just what I was looking for. Can you tell me the length and dimensions of the plate and bar (besides the thickness)? what was the grade and type of steel you used?
@@RodHalverson-y2s Hi, I just used 1/4” plate mild steel, cut to the size of the bace of the Jack, mine is 8” wide, by 5” tall, I did upgrade to the 3/4” steel bar.
Can you still fit a full size touring bike (ultra glide) on the lift with that wheel chuck? I’m looking to replace mine as the one that came with the lift is horrible
@@18wheelsandadozen6shooters5 I’m pretty sure you can, the biggest bike I have is a Yamaha FJR1300, it has a 68” wheelbase and fits with room to spare.
Great video. I figured there had to be a way to do this without cutting the existing framework. Do any of the measurements change if you go with a 3/4" bar instead of the 1/2" bar to mount the jack?
Great video. You did make me laugh though, when you asked if I would trust my life to my welds... well hell yeah, as compared to trusting my life the the welds of the 12 year old kid in China who built this damn thing. 😂😂😂
Hi, no I don’t think I would have needed the second plate had I left some of the tab on. I was planning on using a 3/4 inch steel bar and just could not find one in town when I wanted to do the conversion.
Nice job, thanks for sharing ! I'm assuming the 1/2" and 2" marks you refer too are "on center" ? Only asking because you mention welding the bar "below center". Thanks again !
Hey... An LT!!! Nice! That's what I ride. I have been wondering if this lift would support the beast. How stable is it up there? Any issues with it being so top heavy? Also, any issues loading the LT onto the table? Would like to see a video of how you do that. Great video, thanks for posting your good work.
@@floydwilcox2640 ok. I think mine is too far out. The lift doesn't want to go down as far as it did. Thanks for the advice, and putting the mod on here. It make it so much easier.
Hi, I secured the pump to the base plate using the two holes that were originally used for the return springs on the pump. Did that awnser your question ?
You mention others cutting and welding and that yours is the easy way. Yea, if their Harbor Freight lift is the same as yours. My Harbor Freight lift frame is different than yours. My lift doesn't have that cross brace.
Sounds like Steve-O is narrating the video!! Great information, very clear
It is now a year after your video. I hope everything is still available as I think this is the best vid I've seen on the HF lift mods. I don't weld, so the only thing I would have to do is have someone weld that 1/2" bar to the plate, otherwise I am good to go with everything else. I see responses on here that elude to "keeping the manual foot pump action on because I need the exercise" crap. Well, you guys that want that, go ahead. This is a "mod" video and not a Jane Fonda exercise vid. Floyd, your mods are terrific and for what it's worth, my only added expense would be to re-build my one car garage into a double car garage! Thank you so much for the terrific vid.
you could u bolt it in a pinch.
Great video and I like the low tech info, very clear and no BS.
Cool man, I like the idea of trimming away the front wheel lock for oil pan room and leaving the self ratchet straps loose to turn I or out for the type of bike. Gonna do these things on mine- thanks for sharing
Excellent work brother.
This makes more sense than a whole lot of other videos on the same subject. NICE!!
Extremely helpful!!! Thank you, I will be doing this to my lift now
Best video on modifying this lift... only other thing I'm doing is adding a foam tape to the underside to quiet it down when it slams at the bottom. Great setup, copying the auto ratchets and that wheel chock, thanks.
Great timing! I just bought a harbor freight bike lift! Thanks!
I have the Central Pneumatics motorcycle lift table from Harbor Freight that came with the air/ hydraulic jack. After about 12 years of frequent use, the pneumatic pump gave out and I manually pumped it up for about a year. For several years I had been toying with the idea of converting it to a hydraulic cylinder, similar to what's used in a log splitter. After about a year of hunting on line and through junk yards I came across a hydraulic pump unit for an automotive lift. I found a 2" cylinder with a 6" stroke that I thought would do the job. I fabricated a mount out of a 4" square steel tube (a little over kill there. 3" would have been quite adequate). That served as a cross member between the frame rails of the lift. I made a post out of 3 pieces of 5/16" X 2" bar stock sandwiched together and welded. I drilled one end to receive the clevis pin of the hydraulic cylinder. Then I centered and welded the post perpendicular to the square tube. The material for all the fabrication came from the local scrap yard. I had to weld the cross member onto the frame far enough forward for the rear lift arms to clear in the down position. That meant removing the rods for the pedals. The rod on the cylinder was much smaller than the ram on the old jack so I had to make a collar to thread on the end of the rod to make it fit into the cup on the V plate. The pivot rod for the V plate broke the center bolt twice so I drilled and tapped each end and bolted a fender washer to the ends to keep the rod in place. Once mounted and connected to the pump unit I rolled my 600# bike on the lift and hit the button to lift it. I found I had turned my lift into a catapult. It lifted the bike to the top in less than 2 seconds, and when it got to the top it jerked the whole assembly back about 4" along the floor. I had to slow it down. To do so I made a restrictor that I put in the fitting by the cylinder to restrict the rate of flow into the cylinder. I had to choke it down from 3/8" down to .025". That slowed the lift down to 8 seconds and kept it in place. The pump unit has a go switch to raise the lift and a lever to let it down by gravity. I installed a pedal switch on the opposite side of the lift so I can lift it from that side too. Since the cylinder has a 6" stroke and it only takes 4" to lift it all the way, I installed a stop switch to keep it from over extending. I put a 960# bike on the lift and it lifted it about a third of the way up and overloaded it and blew the breaker. I then installed a 2 1/2" cylinder which gave me plenty of force to lift a 1000# bike. I realize that this is a little more work and expense than the air/oil conversion done here, but I think it was well worth it.
The only down side is if the lift isn't all the way up, and I want to lift it higher, I have to let it down, either on to the safety bar or all the way down. This relieves the pressure on the hydraulics and allows the motor time to spool up again to lift it all the way.
Any pics or video of your mods?
Here's the link to the video on the mods I did.
th-cam.com/video/T6eHjhZNkXw/w-d-xo.html
Here's the video on the conversion I did on my second lift.
th-cam.com/video/YDfjtZN5AJw/w-d-xo.html
@@waynenocton
Thanks for lighting the way brother, you da man !
Hey Floyd. Where did damn it Bandit go? Haha...Anywho I'm right in the middle of doing the "Wilcox Mod" as I type. Everything's going good, I have the jack bolted up to 1/4" plate wich is welded to a 1" tube (3/4" ID). The 1" tube is welded to the lower side of the horizontal center of the pump. I have a 3/4" rod slid through the tube as well as the frame rails at a 1/2" from the cross beam and 2" down the frame rail. I pulled out the center screw of the ram a 1 1/2" to fill the receiver cup of the lift. Gave'r a pump or two manually, she went up, let her down, pumped her up, let her down, well not all trhe way down since I still had my hand in there working pump handle. So I figured it was time to throw some air at it so I loosen the pump screw and let her down.... welllll she didn't make it all the way down. While I was giving the pump screw a bunch of left turns im hope that it would cure my problem I noticed that the table leg support straps where resting firmly on the pump handle. SON OF A....now with the pump handle in the scrap bin and another failed attempt to lower it, it looks like the receiver cup is bottomed out against the tottaly deflated pump and i still have 2"" of drop left. Any thoughts of were I might have taken the wrong turn on this install?
Also to anyone else thinking about doing this mod there is a bolt on the bottom side of the air intake/ muffler housing that can be loosened so you can rotate it and get your air line out if the way of the falling table legs ...Don't ask me how I know this!. Floyd thanks for the inspirational vid and to everyone else don't let my little hiccup deter you from doing this mod.
Thanks for posting. This is an awesome project.
Excellent job, made the modifications simple!
love it dude...my breakfast bike,my lunch bike and my dinner bike lol.Awesome
I like that upgrade.
Nice job, excellent video, i too found myself with 5 bikes.....
Another thing I did was to add traction tape on the ramp and the trap door, that way tires don’t spin as I pull the bikes onto the lift. 👍
I used 60 grit sandpaper. put it exactly where you said
Thanks for taking the time.🙏
Thanks 👍
Proud owner of a 2004 Nicky Hayden sp2 here.
The stock foot pumping jack works great and in my 49yrs of age, I can use all the "exercise" I can get from my lift, lol!
One thing I don't need is to have to bend down every time I want to lower my stand.
I like the foot levers! No air needed= no unnecessarily used electricity...
Just seems futile to me, but that's only my opinion.
How about making a kit. Complete with stencils and selling it? I’d buy two.
@@kristianestby1510
Humm thats a thought.
I’ve actually made the system better than this video.
1/4” plate steel and 3/4” steel bar with locking collars on the end.
I have one of these tables with minor changes and repairs it meets my needs. Rather than do all those mods though I would just go ahead and purchase a more quality table with the sizzor lift system, and all the mods already on it.
Super helpful! Thanks for the video!
If I get a 3/4 steel bar are the do you still use the 1/2 and 2 inch dimensions and do you have the top edged of the 3/4 bar on the center line of the jack? Great video. I've had two tables and took both of them back because the jacks failed..... After the table(s) sat in the garage over the winter they would no longer lift my harley (900 lbs) And will this work with 90 psi HF compressor?
Yes the measurements would be the same with the three-quarter inch bar, if you noticed in my video I had to put that second 8th inch plate behind my half inch bar, with your three-quarter inch bar you will not have to do that. 👍
Appreciate you, cheers man!
Thanks bro! Big help. I guess I know what I'm doing on my day off!!
Thank you:) enjoyed
Looks well made , how thick is the steel on top ? Looks about 3mm from here. I'm after one. Not sure which but yours looks good quality.
Thanks man. I'm going to use your plan
This is great, thanks for sharing!
Hey Floyd, Thanks for the video. This is just what I was looking for. Can you tell me the length and dimensions of the plate and bar (besides the thickness)? what was the grade and type of steel you used?
@@RodHalverson-y2s
Hi, I just used 1/4” plate mild steel, cut to the size of the bace of the Jack, mine is 8” wide, by 5” tall, I did upgrade to the 3/4” steel bar.
@@RodHalverson-y2s
Email me at floyd1127@hotmail.com and I can send you some pics if you need them
Can you still fit a full size touring bike (ultra glide) on the lift with that wheel chuck? I’m looking to replace mine as the one that came with the lift is horrible
@@18wheelsandadozen6shooters5
I’m pretty sure you can, the biggest bike I have is a Yamaha FJR1300, it has a 68” wheelbase and fits with room to spare.
That cool, but it has never bothered me with a manual jack. The upgraded choke is probably nice.
Mine just kept leaking, the new set up doesn’t leak a drop.
Love the strap idea just ordered some
Nice thanks for cheering.
My problem is, is that I don’t weld. I have the grinder though.
Great video. I figured there had to be a way to do this without cutting the existing framework. Do any of the measurements change if you go with a 3/4" bar instead of the 1/2" bar to mount the jack?
Hi, the edge of the holes will still be the same measurements.
Great video. You did make me laugh though, when you asked if I would trust my life to my welds... well hell yeah, as compared to trusting my life the the welds of the 12 year old kid in China who built this damn thing. 😂😂😂
if you ground less of the tabs from the factory set up, do you think you would need the extra plate you wedged to take up the flex?
Hi, no I don’t think I would have needed the second plate had I left some of the tab on.
I was planning on using a 3/4 inch steel bar and just could not find one in town when I wanted to do the conversion.
Hello. Does the pneumatic boost for the lifting system make a lot of noise when operating?
@@snupapoc479
Not too loud at all, sounds like any other pneumatic Jack.
pit bull sticker on a Hf lift LOL! Nice Rc.
Nice job, thanks for sharing !
I'm assuming the 1/2" and 2" marks you refer too are "on center" ? Only asking because you mention welding the bar "below center". Thanks again !
Hi, no the measurements are not on center of the hole there at the edge of the hole as stated in the video. Hope that helps 👍
Thank you sir !
Glad I asked
Hey... An LT!!! Nice! That's what I ride. I have been wondering if this lift would support the beast. How stable is it up there? Any issues with it being so top heavy? Also, any issues loading the LT onto the table? Would like to see a video of how you do that. Great video, thanks for posting your good work.
Hi, no issues at all it supports it just fine, with the wheel chalk on itit locks the bike in place.
Nice
I did the mod, and have a question. Did you raise the threaded part of the jack any, or is it all the way in?
I did screw it out a couple threads just to get it in as much as possible
@@floydwilcox2640 ok. I think mine is too far out. The lift doesn't want to go down as far as it did. Thanks for the advice, and putting the mod on here. It make it so much easier.
Nice!
Did you have to fill the jack with oil to make it work sideways?
No I have never had to add oil in almost 2 years.
Hammer called engine guards, not crash bars
How did you secure the pump to the swivel base on the lift? the tube portion of the pump sliding into the swivel. Did it fit in stock?
Hi, I secured the pump to the base plate using the two holes that were originally used for the return springs on the pump. Did that awnser your question ?
@@floydwilcox2640 no, I mean the tube portion of the pump. How did u secure that to the swivel mount on the opposite side
I just unscrewed the shaft end and slid it into the swivel, yes it fit stock
Engine guards, not crash bars
why do you need the solid bar? can't you just shim off the original cross bar and mount it direct to that?
Because their has to be a pivot on the Jack so it mates up straight with The pivot arm on the lift.
You mention others cutting and welding and that yours is the easy way. Yea, if their Harbor Freight lift is the same as yours. My Harbor Freight lift frame is different than yours. My lift doesn't have that cross brace.
Yea this is for the older style of lift
Now sounds like you say 1 1/2". But you got 1/2". Just making sure for the 1/2" bar hole. Thanks
Hi, the 1/2” is where the hole starts, it’s what you need to clear the weld on the inside cross bar? Did that answer your question?
@@floydwilcox2640 Gotcha. So I got the new jack u got. And it doesn't work well on it's side. You have to put more oil in it. Thanks
@@summitdave8782 Humm that’s odd, I didn’t have to put any more oil in mine, maybe yours was just low from the factory
@@floydwilcox2640 Gotcha. Well I get oil and try. Thanks
#69 Nicky RIP
All the $ spent on upgrading these lifts, maybe just buy a better lift from the get go.
@@teewhy2602 I have $400 total in this lift, you can’t find a hydraulic lift for less than $1000. So I’m still way ahead.
Your not a bad welder, you not a good one either 😂
A grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain’t 😂👍