So today was supposed to be the day I finally got my garage set up the way I’ve been wanting it. I had it all planned out. My dad was going to meet me at the local Harbor Freight in Pottstown so I could pick up the Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift, throw it in the back of his truck, and haul it home. Simple enough, right? Not exactly how it went.
Table of Contents
The Trip to Harbor Freight
I’ll say this up front – the Pottstown Harbor Freight is a solid store. The people there are friendly, they greet you when you walk in, and someone always asks if you need help. I went in with a purpose and immediately had an employee walking me down the aisle before I even had to ask twice.
He showed me two options. The first was a small scissor-type lift that basically just gets the wheels off the ground – enough to pull a wheel but not much else. Not what I was after.
The second was exactly what I wanted. A table-style lift with a hydraulic foot pedal
. He pointed me to the placard on the end cap and right next to it was the card for the upgraded wheel chock. I grabbed both cards and headed to the register feeling pretty good about how easy this was going.
The Part Nobody Mentions Online
Here’s where it got interesting. I put both cards down at the checkout and the woman behind the counter looked at me and said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. These are pre-sale cards.”
I had no idea what that meant.
She explained that because it’s a smaller store, they don’t stock the larger items on the floor. You bring in the card, they ring you up, and then they call you when your item comes in. She also said, and she was upfront about it, “Sometimes these can take a while.”
She offered to check other stores. There was one in Downingtown that had it in stock, but that’s a good 40 to 45 minutes away. Didn’t feel worth the detour.
So she checked the delivery estimate and told me the next truck would have it, arriving about a month later. I paid $768 for the Motorcycle Lift and the Wheel Chock Accessory, and drove home with neither of them.
My One Complaint About the Process
I want to be clear – I have nothing bad to say about the store or the people working there. They were great. My frustration is with the way Harbor Freight handles this online.
When you look up the motorcycle lift on their website, it says “in store only.” But if the store doesn’t actually stock it and you’re just going to pay and wait anyway, why does it have to be in store only? I could have done all of this from my couch and saved two trips. That part makes no sense to me.
It is what it is. The lift is paid for and on its way.
What’s Happening in the Garage in the Meantime
I had the space all cleared out and ready to go, so now I’m just in a holding pattern waiting for the lift to show up. The timing isn’t great because the next couple of weekends are packed for me. But honestly, even if the lift were ready tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t have time to go get the project bike for another couple of weeks. So the wait isn’t killing me. It just stings a little knowing it could be sitting there right now.
On the bright side, my dad surprised me in the parking lot before we headed out. He brought along a Honda shop manual for my the 1976 CB750F – not a Clymer, an actual Honda shop manual. It’s a binder full of printed schematics and it looks a lot more technical than what you’d find in a standard manual. He also mentioned the F model has an upgraded rear disc brake compared to the drum brake on the base 750, which I didn’t know. Now I’m curious what other differences there are between the two.
He also floated the idea of bringing the engine over before the bike arrives so we can start poking around on it. That’s actually not a bad idea. I’d rather have the lift set up first so I can put the bike on it and get it out of the way, but we’ll figure out the order of operations as we go.
Ride With Me
If you’re planning to pick up a Harbor Freight motorcycle lift, just know going in that your store may not have it on the floor. Call ahead or be ready to do a pre-sale order and wait. Hopefully this saves you a wasted trip.
If you want to follow along as the lift finally shows up and the CB750F build gets rolling, here’s where to find me:
- Subscribe to the WaltInPA YouTube channel
so you don’t miss the next update. - Share this post with a riding buddy who’s thinking about setting up their own garage lift.
- Join the WaltInPA Discord – come hang out and talk shop.
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