Now the Pitbull lift has been discontinued, is there an alternative?

[Lew L]

I've been using a HF motorcycle jack, jack stands, and a big ol' block of wood(for the rear wheel) for over a decade. The Spyder hasn't fallen on me yet .

 

[UtahPete]

I've been using a HF motorcycle jack, jack stands, and a big ol' block of wood(for the rear wheel) for over a decade. The Spyder hasn't fallen on me yet .

Yeah, now, ya see, that block of wood is just too low tech for me. Maybe someone makes a titanium one...

 

[UtahPete]

I believe it's a very well built jack and worth seeking.... I made an adapter that fits the rail that runs 3 foot under the bike and has the weight centered properly on the lift. Here's a pic of the bike raised up safely on cribbage.

View attachment 257312

I feel very comfortable now raising the bike up to work on it.

That's an impressive bit of kit!

I like the idea of the rail, but how do you obtain enough clearance to get it under the bike?

 

[JayBros]

When I returned to the wind therapy game after a long hiatus to raise a couple of progeny I purchased a Craftsman Model 50191 Aluminum 1,500 lb capacity ATV motorcycle lift. I opted for the Craftsman because my son had a Harbor Freight lift of comparable capacity but the hydraulic cylinder release valve was very jerky and did not smoothly lower his Japanese V-twin cruiser that was much lighter than my RT-S. The Craftsman lift lowers the Spyder as smooth as deer guts on a door knob. As other owners do, I have car ramps for oil changes and jack stands if I'm removing the front wheels and a trusty concrete block and wheeled hydraulic jack if I need to raise the rear wheel to level the machine. When I read Ron's post #12 it sent me to the garage to check if I had ever positioned my lift wrong, but the aged brain has always told me to check positioning of the lift from both sides of the roadster to ensure correct placement.

 

[BajaRon]

When I returned to the wind therapy game after a long hiatus to raise a couple of progeny I purchased a Craftsman Model 50191 Aluminum 1,500 lb capacity ATV motorcycle lift. I opted for the Craftsman because my son had a Harbor Freight lift of comparable capacity but the hydraulic cylinder release valve was very jerky and did not smoothly lower his Japanese V-twin cruiser that was much lighter than my RT-S. The Craftsman lift lowers the Spyder as smooth as deer guts on a door knob. As other owners do, I have car ramps for oil changes and jack stands if I'm removing the front wheels and a trusty concrete block and wheeled hydraulic jack if I need to raise the rear wheel to level the machine. When I read Ron's post #12 it sent me to the garage to check if I had ever positioned my lift wrong, but the aged brain has always told me to check positioning of the lift from both sides of the roadster to ensure correct placement.

If you positioned the jack wrong and bent that bracket. Your Spyder would have told you so in very short order. We get calls all the time about 'My Spyder won't shift'. We always ask if they loaded, unloaded out of a trailer, went over a speed bump, etc., as our first line of questioning.

We recently had a customer who, after receiving our Over the Phone Diagnosis, took their Spyder to the dealership and were told that the handlebar cluster was bad. This without checking the shift bracket. A very expensive job. We advised, once again, that the bracket should be checked before doing anything.

 

[hogmemberisold]

That's an impressive bit of kit!

I like the idea of the rail, but how do you obtain enough clearance to get it under the bike?

I back the front wheels onto the ramps so the ramp portion is not blocking the use of the Pitbull. Use a floor jack to raise the rear off the ground and cribbage it.. then roll the Pitbull under and mate it up! I do this to ensure the weight of picking up the trike is distributed along the center rail.