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[charles05663]

Charles you have label it correctly thanx. There is a bolt at the front that you can just see. So it can only come out the back. The marks on the bottom of the channel shows its limit and you can see the grease all the way to the back of the channel which indicates where it came out. Once I removed the front wheel it was enough weight lose of the front to tip it. All Handy needs to do is put a bolt on stop once the table is assembled. Then if you pick the deck up it cant come out of the channel.

thanx my friend for labeling the pic.

Bub

No problem Bub.  Was the lift at max height at the time?

It is by the Grace of God you were not hurt.  The thought of a 900+ lbs bike falling like that scares the poop out of me (maybe at my age that can't be a bad thing).

 

[Twolanerider]

We're nearly all laymen here to such things.  But it seems to me that building the lift such that a primary roller and support like that could ever possibly move beyond a capture point and thereby allow freed motion would be considered major design flaw.  I'd not move bike, lift nor anything else involved until a product liability attorney documented the site and the manufacturer was apprised and allowed to do the same if it chose to in some reasonable time frame.  Is there any warning in the lift's supplied literature that you could move, use or abuse the lift in any way that could then allow this to happen?

[charles05663]

We're nearly all laymen here to such things.  But it seems to me that building the lift such that a primary roller and support like that could ever possibly move beyond a capture point and thereby allow freed motion would be considered major design flaw.  I'd not move bike, lift nor anything else involved until a product liability attorney documented the site and the manufacturer was apprised and allowed to do the same if it chose to in some reasonable time frame.  Is there any warning in the lift's supplied literature that you could move, use or abuse the lift in any way that could then allow this to happen?

I wonder if the year of the lift is going to be the determining factor.  Handy went bankrupt or was sold about three or fours years ago.  Kind of like the game GM is playing with the ignition switches.  Would not hurt to look into it.

 

[1sharprdkg]

That really sucks. Very glad it did not hurt you or anyone else.

[Twolanerider]

I wonder if the year of the lift is going to be the determining factor.  Handy went bankrupt or was sold about three or fours years ago.  Kind of like the game GM is playing with the ignition switches.  Would not hurt to look into it.

 

Was so caught up in the incident didn't even notice the company involved.  The more hands something has passed through (product or ownership) the murkier things become.  It's a damn shame for the poor sod out on the sharp end.  At some point you just have to say thank goodness for insurance then sweep up the mess and ride on.

[martys]

Sorry to read about this Bob,  Just glad that no one was injured! I'm sure you are looking into some financial compensation from the manufacturer but, You might want to check your home owners policy as well, to see if you are covered for any of the damage?  Could be less costly in the long run   

Marty

[Dan_Lockwood]

This is just speculation, but "if" the table went high enough for the front scissor guide rollers to come out of the captive tracks on the back side, the table would as you've said, just flip backwards. 

I understand that.

But as you've pointed out, there are roller tracks on the bottom side of the captive tracks.  The only way they could get there is to have the table down and the rollers under the lower captive track plate and cycle to get the tracks that length.  This would have caused the table to not sit level front to rear when in any position.

The other thing that' I'm having problems understanding is that the fixed position rear pivot for the table is at the very end of the lift table top surface.  Having weight back far enough to flip the table rearward off non trapped rollers would seem nearly impossible to me.

I'm sure I'm missing something because obviously it happened and "that's a fact Jack".  Gotta go back quite a few years for that reference...

As everyone else has said, I'm very glad that you didn't get hurt.  The bike can be fixed, but if you had been involved with that much weight, it would not have ended well.

I had an older Handy lift when I lived in Michigan and used it for street rod frame lifting as well as my buddy's quad usually sat on it as he tinkered on it.  I didn't find any issues for my use.

[bubtrauma]

Some how at one point when manipulating this lift those rollers came out of the channel. I did find it odd that the table was not level when it was down and did not think to look underneath. I have load this table on a 1/2 ton truck so as to let a friend use it and I am thinking that in the loading process or the unloading process those wheels came out.

Guyz I will get to the bottom of this and share the results once I can re-enact the scenario. I should have been more attentive (which I will from now on). I am glad it was my bike and not a friends bikes which I frequently work on.

Not blaming or bashing anyone just going to fix mine so it can never happen again and maybe avoid it for some else. There is an easy fix and I am in contact with HANDY. Which so far have been quite approachable.

I have contacted my insurance company to come look at the damage and wait the outcome.

Once again guyz thanx for the support and well wishes. My wife came running into the garage when it happened was VERY happy I wasn't under it. Well at least she says......lol.

More than anything after a LONG COLD winter and the start of our riding season I am like a dog starring in a butcher shop window with his tongue hanging out.

Bub

[05Train]

Very curious to hear what Handy has to say.

[mike jesse]

I've had my Handy since 2003 and it's been a great tool in the garage.
Mine has the roller track like yours and nothing would keep the rollers in place "if" the table is raised beyond the highest safety latch position.
The front of the track has a built in stop if the supplied eye bolts are screwed into the table.
Simply drilling a 1/2 in. hole and installing a nut and bolt through on the back of the channel will prevent this from happening again.

[bubtrauma]

I've had my Handy since 2003 and it's been a great tool in the garage.
Mine has the roller track like yours and nothing would keep the rollers in place "if" the table is raised beyond the highest safety latch position.
The front of the track has a built in stop if the supplied eye bolts are screwed into the table.
Simply drilling a 1/2 in. hole and installing a nut and bolt through on the back of the channel will prevent this from happening again.

Yep that will do it. I plan on doing something just like that.

BUB

[mike jesse]

Something else that I'm going to do to my lift is build an outrigger for the back.
Handy makes the side extensions and they come with a simple piece of pipe that slips through the bottom
of the frame. The holes are already in place from the factory. A piece of pipe and 2 pipe capes and it's done.
A picture of the outrigger is on their web page in the acc. section. Check it out.

[sadunbar]

I have a Handy lift that was manufactured on the late 1990's, long before the sale of the company.  So my Handy lift may not be apples to apples to your "post sale" Handy lift.

That said, I went out and looked at mine.  The stroke of the cylinder controls the roller travel within the channel.  With the cylinder fully retracted, the rollers are contained within the channel.  With the cylinder fully extended, the rollers are contained within the channel.  So...with the lift properly assembled and set up, it's not possible for the rollers to escape the channel.

I suppose it's possible there was a design change or a manufacturing error on your lift, but I doubt it.  Since you noted your table was not level when retracted prior to your incident, I suspect it's more likely the rollers escaped from the channel at some point while being handled during the transport to or from your friends.  If the lift was picked up high off the ground by the front of the table (it would have to be by fork lift or overhead crane or something similar), the roller could then escape the channel, even while still attached to the cylinder. 

I'll predict Handy will say when their lift is correctly assembled and set up, what you describe cannot happen, and they'd be right.  But with inadvertent handling of the lift, resulting in the roller exiting the channel while being lifted from the front of the table, what you describe and show in your photos can absolutely happen.  So if there is a flaw in the design, the flaw is it is possible to set up and install the table incorrectly, resulting in your incident.  But again, when set up and installed correctly, what happened to you isn't going to happen, because it's not mechanically possible.  When set up and installed correctly, the cylinder stroke limits the travel of the rollers, and makes it impossible for the rollers to leave the channel at either end during normal table operation.

Hope that made sense...  Very sorry your bike was damaged and very happy you were not injured..

[mark]

Your comprehensive motorcycle insurance should cover damage to the Harley.  Damage to items in the garage (tool chest, etc) should be covered by your homeowners policy, minus any deductible.  I'd ask Handy to cover any deductible.  I'm guessing that's about the best you'll be able to do.

[bubtrauma]

Your comprehensive motorcycle insurance should cover damage to the Harley.  Damage to items in the garage (tool chest, etc) should be covered by your homeowners policy, minus any deductible.  I'd ask Handy to cover any deductible.  I'm guessing that's about the best you'll be able to do.

You are probably right