Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Review: Is the Pittsburgh 1,000 lb Table Worth $600?

Harbor Freight's motorcycle lift category holds exactly three items, and the search phrase covers all of them. The one most people mean is the Pittsburgh 1,000 lb steel motorcycle lift, item 68892, a full table on a scissor frame that raises the whole bike to bench height. The other two are scissor-frame jacks that slide under the frame rails and lift the wheels off the floor: the 1,500 lb steel jack, item 60536, and the 1,500 lb aluminum jack, item 70835.

The table and the jacks are different purchases. A table takes an 8 by 3 foot rectangle of garage floor whether or not a bike is on it and is the right tool for wheel-off work, forks, and anything you do often. A jack hangs on a wall and gets a bike a foot off the ground for oil changes, chain work and tire swaps. The best motorcycle lifts guide covers that choice in depth; this page compares the three Harbor Freight units with what Amazon ships for the same money.

Harbor Freight lists the Pittsburgh table's deck at 86-1/2 by 26-3/4 inches. The Black Widow 1,000 lb hydraulic table on Amazon lists 86-5/8 by 26-3/4 inches with a 25-5/8 inch ramp. The OEMTOOLS 24859 lists 86.5 by 26.75 inches with a 25.5 inch ramp. Harbor Freight itself uses the Black Widow BW-1000A as the compare-to item on the Pittsburgh product page, so three brands sell a table with the same platform size.

What differs is everything bolted to that platform. The Pittsburgh table tops out at 29.5 inches on the product page (the manual says 30-1/8 inches); Black Widow lists 32 inches and Titan Ramps 34 inches. Black Widow and OEMTOOLS list a rear drop-out panel for pulling the rear wheel with the bike strapped down; the Harbor Freight page lists an access panel for servicing the pump, and the manual's parts list shows a removable rear panel but does not advertise it as a wheel drop-out. The Pittsburgh vise is described as a 3-position tire vise opening to 6-1/8 inches, which is the component owners most often replace.

The warranty gap is the clearest difference on paper. Harbor Freight covers the table for 90 days. Black Widow's jack listing states a one-year manufacturer warranty; the table listings do not state a term, so compare directly with the seller before buying on that basis.

Then there is the price history. Coupon pages from 2020 show the Pittsburgh table at $349.99, and long-term owners on HDForums report paying $279 to $349. At about $600 with no coupon, the gap to the Amazon tables is $170 to the Titan Ramps unit and under $30 to the OEMTOOLS 24859 when that one is in stock. The Harbor Freight table is still the cheapest full-size table you can carry home today; it is no longer half the price of everything else.

The Pittsburgh 1,500 lb steel jack, about $140, is the Harbor Freight motorcycle lift most riders actually buy, and it is a fair fight. It lifts from 4-1/4 to 16-3/8 inches on a foot-pedal bottle jack with four lockable heights, welded tie-down loops and two rear swivel casters, and weighs 70.8 lb.

On capacity and range the Amazon jacks match the steel Pittsburgh within an inch or two. They win on what comes in the box. VIVOHOME and VEVOR ship with two ratchet straps, which Harbor Freight's manual tells you to buy separately, and all three arrive at the door with Amazon's return window. Harbor Freight wins with the aluminum jack. A 19-1/4 inch maximum height at 1,500 lb is 3 inches more than anything on Amazon in this class, and at 56.8 lb shipping weight it is the one a single rider can carry to the back of the garage without a dolly.

Buy the Harbor Freight table if you live near a store with one in stock, own a truck or trailer to collect a 343 lb crate, and plan to replace the front vise with a wheel chock. At about $600 it is the lowest-priced full table available, and owners who have run them under baggers for a decade are the evidence that the chassis lasts.

Order from Amazon if any of these apply: you need delivery to the garage (the Harbor Freight table is oversized, excludes Alaska and Hawaii, and may carry a lift-gate charge); you want 32 to 34 inches of lift rather than 29.5; you want a stated drop-out panel and strap ports from the factory; or you want a warranty longer than 90 days. The Titan Ramps table covers the height and strap points for about $170 more. The OEMTOOLS 24859 matches the Harbor Freight platform for less money when it is in stock. For a touring bike over 900 lb loaded, none of the 1,000 lb tables leaves enough margin, and the 1,500 lb ProLift is the honest answer.

For jacks the decision is simpler. If you are already at Harbor Freight, the steel jack is good value and the aluminum jack is the tallest in its class. If you are not, the VIVOHOME or VEVOR 1,500 lb jack at a similar price saves the trip and includes the straps.

Across the Garage Journal, HDForums, GoldwingDocs and HDbitchin threads, the same four preparations come up for the Pittsburgh table, and most apply to any budget lift table.

1. 1Replace the front vise with a drive-in wheel chock. The stock 3-position vise is the universal complaint. Owners bolt a wheel chock to the deck so the bike stands upright on its own while they strap it.
2. 2Check the hydraulic fluid before the first lift. Owners report units arriving low or nearly empty. The manual specifies the fluid type; fill to spec and cycle the table empty a few times.
3. 3Use the locking bar every time the bike is up. The hydraulics are for raising and lowering, not for holding. A locked table cannot bleed down overnight, and the bent-crossbar report came from an owner who skipped the bar.
4. 4Add side rails or a ceiling strap for solo loading. Rolling 800 lb up a 25 inch ramp alone is the moment owners describe as the real danger. 2x6 outriggers or a strap from a ceiling joist to the handlebars take the lean out.

None of this is unique to Harbor Freight. The Titan Ramps and Black Widow tables ship with strap ports and a locking-bar clamp that address points one and four from the factory, which is a fair description of what the extra money buys.