The photo of Mark under a shovel head dresser brings up some points. The C-Lift is compact and clean so you can get under your bike to do some wrenching without banging your head on wheel hangers. The C-Lift gets out of the way as it extends to give you space to work. Oil changes are still messy and some of bike is still awkward to reach but it is up in the air.

Mark did not engage the yellow stay bar, in fact the bar is tightened so that it is kept away from a locking position. We have never had a bike come down unexpectedly in 9 years. Bypassing a safety component is in the perfect world a big no no. Mark tightened the bottle jack valve and relied on the jack design to keep the bike up. We went to 2 stay bolts, which go into the orange base at a choice of 4 locations. These halt the elevating H sections from descending. Stay bolts are clearly a chosen lock, you must put them in after the lift is elevated, they cannot be installed at any time before or after. We provide 4 hole choices for the 2 stay bolts so it will be easier to install these locking devices. The other 2 holes are empty or can have padlocks installed to keep Junior from taking dad’s bike for a spin... When using locking devices like stay bars or stay bolts, do not take the pressure off the bottle jack. If you want your bike to stay up, tighten the bottle jack valve. If your wife calls you for dinner, as long as you have both wheels still on the bike and the kick stand extended, our lifts will lower your bike to the left side quietly if you forgot to tighten the bottle jack valve, forgot to put in the stay bolts or stay bar locking devices. If you forgot to remove or release the locking devices and suddenly opened fully the bottle jack valve, all this force will go some where and damage the lift. Your bike will be fine but your nerves will be shot. As the operator of any machine you must take the consequences of your actions. We offer you choices to lock your lift when it is extended, if like Mark you choose not to use any other than relying on tightening the bottle jack then you are probably normal.

Tie downs, we are not trying to discourage their use. Mark did not use them. We have one we keep on the wall, it has been there for 9 years. Sportsters are lighter and the frame tubes closer together, for heavy wrenching on these it is a good idea to use a tie down. Hook one end on the left horizontal H section then over the seat and hook the other on the top of the lift yoke. The piece of the lift which the jack pushes against. Then give a couple of pumps and the hydraulic will tighten the tie down, be careful you could break the tie down with the tons of hydraulic force at your disposal.

Wheels not only get in the way, they provide mobility for an elevated motorcycle, act as suspension between the lift and the ground. The C-Lift does not have wheels as standard equipment. The transfer of levered forces along the length of the C-Lift cause deflection from the hard surface the lift is on. The C-Lift moves on the floor as the motorcycle is elevated. This is disturbing to some operators. The addition of wheels will put a space between the C-Lift and the floor, and while there is still the same transfer of levered forces, they are camouflaged by the air space between the lift and the hard ground. A similar effect can be achieved by placing a carpet sample or door mat between the C-Lift and the ground. If you want to roll your elevated motorcycle then our wheel kits can be installed on any C-Lift.