harbor freight stands

[backinthesaddleagain]

Originally Posted by Momaru

After buying a socket set, a torque wrench & several other tools at HF and having half of them break inside 6 months, I don't trust anything they stock.

I took a chance on a 6p metric socket set. Figure most of the items in that set would be torqued to less than 20 ft lbs and for $8 I would take the risk.

[coffeecandy]

Originally Posted by Momaru

After buying a socket set, a torque wrench & several other tools at HF and having half of them break inside 6 months, I don't trust anything they stock.

I honestly think that you could find something on craiglist cheaper than you would at any other store. For instance, I bought a Matco battery charger (normally sells for like 300) for 35 bucks. I had to wait and keep checking craigslist but it worked out for 35 dollars. Some guy was selling his 60 gallon Air Compressor for 150. I should have pick this badboy up and sold my 30 gallon for 100

Anyways I wouldn't pick up that stand if i had to pay for it reason because there are no wheels to be able to roll the bike forward or backward. It's pretty much stationary if you had to remove the rear tire.

[tjkamper]

Yeah having the wheels are a good thing, plust I think it might be harder to lift without wheels.

[almost40]

It has wheels on it.

[darthnip]

i love HF for those oddball tools you need once in a great while. if i need somethign for a specific use and wont probably ever need it again but maybe once or twice it makes more sense to me to buy from them and save a ton of money. i did buy the big lathe/mill combo and i use it alot and im very happy with it. sure its not a CNC super precise setup, but i have those at work, so it was great for my home garage tinkering. the one in muncie indiana have very helpful employees, and i was actually surprized by that. they have always been very helpful and have even given me replacement tools on stuff and never even asked when i bought it or asked to see a receipt or anything. of course on tools im going to use a lot of i buy better, but for one or two timer type of stuff, you cant beat the prices.

[ztrack157]

I have these stands they're pretty good and no spools required. with the optional paddles of course

[coffeecandy]

Originally Posted by almost40

It has wheels on it.

I see NO wheels on it.

[tjkamper]

yeah! Where's the beef?

[backinthesaddleagain]

they are small urethane wheels.

[Alex]

It says wheels on it in the description here:

Linky.

Smooth rolling wheels and extended grab handle for extra leverage allows stand to be easily used by one person

[coffeecandy]

WELL I never.....

[jr.]

my dad bought this stand to he has a cbr 1000rr and he had to buy some spool things and turn them upside down and it worked wonders on the ease of cleaning the chain

[n4v1n]

Just to let you all know, you must use this stand with spools, the paddle adapters (sold separately) do not lift the bike up, all it does is keep the bike straight and level, but the rear wheel can not be turned for lubing chain etc.

[coffeecandy]

Originally Posted by n4v1n

Just to let you all know, you must use this stand with spools, the paddle adapters (sold separately) do not lift the bike up, all it does is keep the bike straight and level, but the rear wheel can not be turned for lubing chain etc.

I stand corrected. Horrible even with wheels except if you got spools for your bike

[almost40]

Wheels are inbetween the aluminum, right where there supposed to be.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by coffeecandy

WELL I never.....

well, then... maybe you should.

[n4v1n]

The quality of the stand is great though. I like it so far and the bike is extremely stable on the stand. This is definitely WAAAAY better built than those generic red or black colored ones on ebay (search "swingarm stand", you'll find a shitload for about ~$42-$50) it's a much better alternative imo. Yes there are wheels and they work well. I think it also looks cool; for 39.99 it's great.

[Bsmith]

Originally Posted by coffeecandy

WELL I never.....

That could explain a lot.

[coffeecandy]

entertaining thread. i LOL'ed ...time to unsubscribed

[CZroe]

When storing a bike on stands to prevent tire-shaping, is it OK to lift the front tire while the handlebars are turned/locked? Otherwise, with the front wheel straight/unlocked, I could imagine lifting both wheels and then having the whole bike blown over by the wind.

Originally Posted by n4v1n

Just to let you all know, you must use this stand with spools, the paddle adapters (sold separately) do not lift the bike up, all it does is keep the bike straight and level, but the rear wheel can not be turned for lubing chain etc.

You mean that it doesn't lift high enough? What is your suspension adjusted to? Would this one do the trick? I like that it can be converted to a front fork stand.

[n4v1n]

Originally Posted by CZroe

You mean that it doesn't lift high enough? What is your suspension adjusted to? Would this one do the trick? I like that it can be converted to a front fork stand.

Yea it doesn't lift the bike high enough for the wheel to rotate. MY suspension is stock.

[tc3jg]

Ive got the stand went and bought it today Id say its a nice stand makes my bike look fast lifted up on it lol

[CZroe]

I got mine for $32.xx after coupon.

Regardless of what's been said, build quality is ATROCIOUS. That isn't to say that it won't hold your bike up, but the paddles sag and pieces have to be flexed to fit and assemble, etc. One of the bolt screws had metal filling in the malformed head and you couldn't turn it with a screw driver! Luckily, it had enough friction to tighten from the nut side. Laughably, the instructions tell you how to assemble the part that's already assembled and not the parts that require assembly! The blow-up diagram has several flaws due to copy/pasting both sides, but they have a disclaimer about how yours may vary, so they get a pass there. Don't even consider using one to balance your tire... one side sags lower than the other and it isn't level the other way either.

That said, it works for what I bought it for. I put some stick-on feet on the bottom so I can store it in my closet without scratching the hardwood floors.

Strangely, the Harbor Frieght spools are online-only. Anyone wanna group-buy some Harbor Freight spools online? Shipping kills their good price for individual orders. It's too bad they aren't black, but I'm willing to live with that.

Originally Posted by Buffalony

*Buffalony's running back to harbor freight*

I swear it said on the box that they wernt included

sorry

The paddle adapters weren't. They replace the pieces that lift spools, so I can see where the confusion comes from. It sucks that the spools are online only (shipping KILLS their otherwise excellent price).

Originally Posted by Shift250R

I think im going to pick up one of these tomorrow. On their site they claim its a low profile stand. Does that mean it doesnt lift the bike as high as other stands. Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Mine BARELY lifts it enough to free the wheel with the paddle adapters! I have to lift the very edge of the swingarm (you hear that, n4v1n?). Spools would be somewhat higher. I wonder how safe it would be if I installed and used the paddle adapters upside-down...

[tc3jg]

lol yeah the fastener quality does suck very much lol but it holds up the bike and no one is going to be looking at the screw heads and if they do well o well as for the screws doing their job you could always go buy some cheap old screws lol. Yes I was pissed as well when I found the shipping cost more than the damn spools still though the spools were cheaper than anyothers....O and just to pre warn the screw that holds the spools will start to rust as it isnt stainless so be prepared or paint it first.

[CZroe]

Thanks for the warning. In that case, I think I'll just get some anondized black ones from eBay.

[Greg_E]

Hmmm... I was thinking of getting this stand tomorrow. I have the other rear stand (tubular one) and it works pretty well, even looks like the front fork adapters might be OK for the price.

I'll have to look and see if my local store has the tube style in stock since I know it works and my swingarm is wide enough that I had to bend it out a little just to let the stand fit.

And if you can believe the specs, both the aluminum and tube stand lift to the same height, but I have a strange feeling that the aluminum "low profile" is probably a lot lower than the tube stand. The tube one lifts my Buell about 6 to 8 inches off the ground and is really too high for the fronts so if I need to modify something I can probably make the aluminum one work with the front fork adapters (after a little cutting).

[CZroe]

Well, the rear spool holders are higher than the paddle adapters, so that's probably the spec they compared. I, too, considered getting the other + adapters for the front forks but I decided to wait for the next 20% off coupon.

Originally Posted by Momaru

After buying a socket set, a torque wrench & several other tools at HF and having half of them break inside 6 months, I don't trust anything they stock.

HFT's is a good place for everything else, tool wise I always stick with Craftsman!!

[Greg_E]

Well I just bought one of these aluminum stands and I must say that it is truly a piece of junk. Not sure if I'm going to keep it or return it. The tube stand is far better.

[CZroe]

I intend to keep mine, well, because it works and there is no way I'm paying $80 + shipping for some other brand.

[Greg_E]

For anyone else looking at this, I think the tube stand is a better choice. I'll try to get some pictures of both for comparison.

Looking at how this aluminum one and the paddles are made, I would say flipping them over to get an extra inch or so should be just fine.

I may machine this aluminum stand to take the front fork adapters from the other stand, I think it will be plenty of lift for the front end.

[untdavid]

I just purchased the black tube type stand and it seems pretty sturdy. For $32 bucks it gets the job done for minor maintenance stuff. Here is a link to the 20% coupon if anyone is interested in one.

http://www.ifcba.com/images/htf/65458/coupon21.html <---Coupon (20% off ends 10/31)

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...bCategoryName= <--- Rearstand

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by untdavid

I just purchased the black tube type stand and it seems pretty sturdy. For $32 bucks it gets the job done for minor maintenance stuff. Here is a link to the 20% coupon if anyone is interested in one.

http://www.ifcba.com/images/htf/65458/coupon21.html <---Coupon (20% off ends 10/31)

Thanks. May I ask how you became aware of this one [coupon]? I never saw it posted on any of the deal sites and this one is not hosted on HarborFreight.com like the last one. It says "non-transferable," so I hope I don't encounter any resistance. It really bugged me that the text was unreadable on the source even on the last one from their own website! I really just need to sign up for their email list...

[Greg_E]

That's the other one I have that also has the front frok adapters for it. Works fine on my Buell and seems to be fairly well made, though it could use some roller skate wheels to replace the junk that it has. You may not find the tube version at the store since it costs a lot more space to ship and store, I had to grab the display stand when I bought mine.

[CZroe]

I meant the coupon. When I was there a month ago and asked about both stands they also brought one of those out without the box (it wasn't on display).

[Speed Racer]

Pitbull ftw!
Posted via Mobile Device

[CRXTrek]

Quality costs $$$. But it's well worth it.
And the foward facing one makes it so easy to lift the bike up

Link to original page on YouTube.

[mike_sema]

I have had this stand for 8 months and use it almost every day with no problems, do you think if you paid 90 bucks for it it would be a better stand if so go down to your nearest cycle gear and pick one up

[CZroe]

Mr. Cheapie here, again (Me). Because shipping on the Harbor Freight $5 spools kinda kills it, I went about looking for the cheapest black spools I could find.

I figured I'd save you guys the trouble and point out that this guy is easily the cheapest on eBay. I had to bid, but doing so netted me black anodized extended slider spools for $7.50 + $4 S&H. He also seems to have the cheapest non-extended regular spools on eBay... $6.50 but they aren't anodized black (worth the extra dollar, IMO).

Of course, I was withholding that info until my bid cleared.

Originally Posted by CRXTrek

Quality costs $$$. But it's well worth it.
And the foward facing one makes it so easy to lift the bike up

Link to original page on YouTube.

I wonder why that isn't the standard way. I mean, when using the Harbor Freight Haul Master one with paddles, I felt like I needed someone to hold the front for me just in case. With that one, you can hold the front yourself while lifting the back. I like it.

[rockNroll]

Originally Posted by CRXTrek

Quality costs $$$. But it's well worth it.
And the foward facing one makes it so easy to lift the bike up

Link to original page on YouTube.

Ever have an idea and then build something? Then, years later a company sells something using an idea close to what you had? I built this stand in 1997, the picture is from 1998. Mine has no wheels because I also wanted a stand that would work well in gravel, dirt and grass. Dang, I wish I woulda gotten a patent...


I then built this one, also without wheels, for the same reasons. This is the easiest stand to use that I've ever used. It does pull the bike to the rear about a foot when you lift the bike but the leverage is good and makes it very easy to lift the bike. I still use this stand for the CBR. This pic is also from 1998.


This is the harbor freight stand (the black haul master). I'm close to 200 lbs and I needed someone to hold the bike while I bounced all my weight on the stand to lift the 250... the leverage was terrible. If you look close you can see the weld on each side of the upright parts. I cut a couple inches out on each side, making the stand shorter and the the leverage is great and I lift the bike with one hand while holding the bike up with the other hand. I welded up a set of spool adapters as I really don't like swing arm paddles.