A motorcycle lift and a motorcycle jack both get a bike off the ground, and that is where the similarity ends. One you roll the bike onto, the other you slide underneath it. Buy the wrong one and you will find you cannot do the job you bought it for - usually discovered halfway through removing a rear wheel.
A motorcycle lift (or lift table) is a long platform with a ramp at one end. You roll the bike up the ramp onto the deck, strap it down, and the whole machine rises. Because the bike sits on a surface, its wheels stay planted - which is exactly why you fit a separate wheel chock or rear wheel cut-out on these designs. The Zhida tables run 1,750 to 2,200 mm long and weigh 95 to 130 kg.
A motorcycle jack is a compact platform on a scissor or hydraulic ram that you push under the bike's frame or engine cases. There is no ramp, because the platform is only 300 to 450 mm across. You lift the bike with it - wheels hanging - which is what you want for changing a wheel, a fork or a swingarm. These weigh 7.5 to 29 kg.
This is the whole question. If your job involves removing a wheel, you need the bike in the air with nothing under it, so you need a jack. If your job is everything else - valve clearances, oil changes, chain work, cleaning, long service jobs where you want to work standing up - you need a table. A table cannot hold a bike while you pull a wheel, because the wheel is resting on the deck you just lifted.
| Model | Capacity | Height range | Platform | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZD04303 | 300 lb | 350-870 mm | 410X350 | 29 kg |
| ZD05153D-J | 1500 lb | 120-400 mm | 335X360 | 28 kg |
| ZD05153-J-28 | 1500 lb | 120-380 mm | 335X330 | 28 kg |
| ZD05153F | 1500 lb | 115-375 mm | 300X315 | 27.5 kg |
| ZD04301 | 300 lb | 350-870 mm | 410X350 | 26 kg |
| ZD04304 | 300 lb | 350-870 mm | 410X350 | 26 kg |
| ZD04701 | 1000 lb | --- mm | 250X250 | 25 kg |
| ZD04103F | 1100 lb | 90-405 mm | 450X150 | 14 kg |
| ZD04103A | 1000 lb | 85-340 mm | 380X230 | 12.5 kg |
| ZD04362 | 360 lb | 298-400 mm | 300X205 | 7.5 kg |
All of these lift by the frame and leave the wheels free. Note how low they go: ZD04103A starts at 85 mm, lower than any table here, so it will slide under a bike that is already on its side stand.
| Model | Capacity | Height range | Table size | Ramp | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZD04081-400 | 1000 lb | 180-680 mm | 1900X530 | 420X530 | 95 kg |
| ZD04101-450 | 1000 lb | 180-780 mm | 2060X550 | 600X550 | 110 kg |
| ZD04101D-450 | 1000 lb | 180-780 mm | 2200X680 | 600X550 | 125 kg |
| ZD04102 | 1000 lb | 180-780 mm | 2100X610 | 600X400 | 123 kg |
| ZD04104 | 1000 lb | 210-780 mm | 2000X600 | 600X600 | 130 kg |
| ZD04082 | 800 lb | 210-780 mm | 1750X490 | 450X490 | 95 kg |
Every model here ships with a ramp, because nobody can lift 150 kg of motorcycle onto a 780 mm high deck by hand. Check the ramp width against your bike's tyre - ZD04102 ships a 400 mm ramp while ZD04101-450 gets 550 mm, and a wide rear tyre will not sit happily in the narrow one.
Footprint. A table needs roughly 2 metres of clear floor plus room to stand and push the bike up the ramp. If your garage already holds a car, measure before you order. A jack stores under a bench.
Maximum height. Tables top out at 680 to 780 mm, which is a comfortable working height when you are standing. The small jacks top out lower, but ZD04301 and its siblings reach 870 mm - higher than any table - because they are built tall and narrow from the start.
You can, and for a simple oil change it is often the faster tool because the bike can stay level. Where a jack struggles is long jobs: you are kneeling or lying down, and the bike is only stable because its weight is balanced on a small platform. For anything over an hour, a table is easier on you.
Almost always. The ramp tells you how the bike gets on, but nothing stops it rolling off once it is up there. Zhida tables have a rear wheel cut-out; strap the front wheel into a chock before you raise it.
Check the kerb weight before assuming. ZD04301 is rated to 300 lb and suits dirt bikes and small commuters. A middleweight or cruiser needs the 1,000 lb class, and heavy tourers the 1,500 lb models like ZD05153D-J.
They are jacks, not tables. The ramp is absent because you do not roll onto them - you push them under a stationary bike. Platform sizes of 300 to 450 mm are the giveaway.
Most people want the deck between 700 and 800 mm for standing work. Every Zhida table reaches at least 680 mm, and several reach 780 mm. See the lift buying guide for the full height comparison.