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|  | Topic : Titan MLJ-1000B scissor jack unboxing |  |
| | | PapaSmurfMC | | Chaac |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 03/10/2013 | | Posts | : | 871 | | Location | : | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| | Posted : 01 Aug 2015 - 04:08 Post title : Titan MLJ-1000B scissor jack unboxing | | | After wrestling with forks and rear shocks with only a floor jack, I figured it was time to pick up a motorcycle scissor jack. Like most people, I wanted it to do everything, cost almost nothing and last forever. After shopping around, looking at specs and videos, I got as close as I could.
I bought a Titan MLJ-1000B "1000 Lb Motorcycle Mini Jack" Link for $95, shipped, from Amazon; as it's name implies, it's rated to lift 1000 lbs. It comes with a removable steel crank, 2 adjustable saddle adapters with adjustable rubber coated pads (for lifting by the frame) and a locking steel safety bar. The safety bar is a nice feature I only saw on more expensive jacks.
Fully collapsed, it's 3.5" high and extends to a maximum height of 19", using the saddle adapters, or 16" without the adapters and is 17.75" in length and 6" wide, with stabilizing feet at the bottom on both sides. It weighs about 30 lbs, so it's a beast to lug around.
I haven't had the opportunity to put it to use yet, so this is really just an unboxing, not a review. I have cranked it up to full extension and back down several times, fitted the saddles and examined for function and finish.
The jack was shipped in it's factory container and it's heavy. Just in case you can't tell, they put a "Heavy" label on it.
Open the box and you find the jack, a pair of saddles with adjustable pads installed, the crank, the safety bar and a tiny "manual" which basically just tells you to be careful, not their fault if you kill yourself with their jack, don't use a pneumatic tool on the crank, don't exceed 1000 lbs and lube the lift mechanism periodically. The manual is in a plastic bag, probably because there's a thin oil film on pretty much everything, so you may want to give it a little exterior wipe-down before handling.
-Finish-
Any criticisms mentioned here are to be tempered by keeping in mind this is an under-$100 jack. The jack is finished in a protective black enamel coating; not bad looking but not first class, either. Emphasis is on durability, not looks and the surface of the jack is fairly slick so I plan on adding a thin non-slip pad; more on that, later.
First thing I noticed was that the metal "Titan" tag that was supposed to be on the side of the jack had fallen off and was laying in the box, sticky-side down. There are 2 bright yellow warning lables on the top surface, right next to the crank, "NEVER USE PNEUMATIC RUNNER!" and "Rated Capacity: 500KGS" (which is actually 1102 lbs).
The saddle adapters slide onto the jack and are secured with a side bolt that is sure to chew up the enamel on first use. The posts on the saddle adapters are adjustable by screwing them up/down and they are impressively hefty but the rubber coating was obviously applied by dipping and then hanging inverted because there is a peak of rubber in the center of each pad. Before I use these, I will shave down these peaks so the pad stays centered when/if I crank the jack against the frame.
-Function-
It works. The supplied crank is bare-bones; just a long socket with a sliding post through it, forming a 'T'. Push the crank on the jack adjuster (deep, so it stays put) and rotate with the T handle. Would have been nicer to have a swivel at the T to make a true crank out of it so you didn't have to let go and re-grip on every revolution. You could just as easily turn it with a socket wrench but there are clear warnings that it is not rated to crank with pneumatic or impact tools. They don't say what happens if you do; maybe your bike goes flying though the garage ceiling.
The cranking action is a little stiff, maybe due to it's newness. The manual recommends lubing the screw before first use; I did that and didn't feel any difference but better a little firm than a little loose in a device like this.
All metal is heavy gauge steel and contacts on sliding surfaces are heavy nylon (as far as I can tell) rollers.
The safety bar is as heavy as the rest of the jack, is nicely finished and comes with a stop at one end and a locking pin at the other to keep the bar from being ejected once in place. When the bar is used, the instructions say to back the jack internals against it once seated.
I mentioned that the flat surface is finished in a glossy enamel, making it slick. I purchased a thin but very tough Blue Hawk floor mat at my local home center for $9, traced the jack surface on it and cut a pad out of it, then gave the textile side of it a light spray of PlastiDip to make it non-slip and glued it on the top surface of the jack with contact adhesive. Saddles still fit, problem solved.
To my mind, I'd like it to have had a non-slip lifting surface, a true swiveled crank and it could stand to lose about 15 lbs of weight. All things considered though, I think I got my money's worth. It's got features of a more expensive jack, is built to last and has a pretty impressive range of motion.
Ride safe,
PapaSmurfMC
| 2013 Blue Marble Haze Thunderbird 1600 ABS
2009 Black Bonneville A1 ("Mag")
Buncha farkles
| | Post edited by PapaSmurfMC on 01 Aug 2015 - 04:13 |
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