# Motorcycle motor oil catch basin



## Soupy (Aug 26, 2014)

I have a Hi-Lift motorcycle lift that gives me about 25 inches underneath the motorcycle when fully elevated.

I'm trying to find a plastic 5 gallon motor oil catch basin, with a removable funnel top.  The basin itself would have a screw on cap, after the funnel portion is removed, so that I can store the used motor oil until the basin is full, and able to be toted to my local recycle center for disposal.

Anyone seen anything like what I'm describing, or something similar?

-soupy


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## oldognewtrick (Aug 26, 2014)

I just use one of the black plastic drain tubs you get at the auto store and then put the used oil in gallon jugs. Works for me.


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## havasu (Aug 26, 2014)

As much as I dislike Harbor Freight, they have this for $69, and has a 5 gallon holding capacity. 

View attachment image_15276.jpg


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## Soupy (Aug 27, 2014)

havasu said:


> As much as I dislike Harbor Freight, they have this for $69, and has a 5 gallon holding capacity.



Your on my wavelength!!  That seems a bit tall though.  I'd envision the funnel top sitting right above the canister.

As for "Harbor Freight," .........I guess I understand the viewpoint that they are a business that sells a lot of "China" made product, that doesn't match up to some sort of standard somewhere.

The "Hi-Position Motorcycle Lift" I bought for my motorcycle there, has held up very well, and does the job remarkably.  Made in China or not.

In my profession (QC) I have traveled to Shanghai, China, and observed the way they do business there.  I could tell you many things about my impressions of them and their work, both good and bad.
Basically, the "China Syndrome" (not the Movie, but the concept) is only a reflection of what we are doing TO them.

We send people, materials, ideas, to them, viewing them as a Third World, and expect them to reproduce our level of expertise.  They can only do that, to the extent that we teach them.

It's like anything else.......if you put a half-hearted effort into what you give out, you don't get back what you had hoped.

On the other side of the coin (since you got me going now), they have tried to corral our know-how and money, to see us dependant on them, and then create rules that they don't apply to themselves after the fact (RoHs, for example).

Insofar as the products that come from there.......it all depends on the investment made by the company that asked them to produce it.  

Back when those toys came from China (remember this?) and they had "Lead paint" on them, a few years ago.........it was an AMERICAN company that SENT them the paint to use!! They did what they were told.

Anyway, I digress. The Harbor Freight company is (and I understand why, as you can see) viewed a bit like "Bob's Furniture" is.  That the owner buys cut-rate stuff, and sells it cheap because he can, and the "stuff" ain't worth as much as a comparable tool made here.  I get that.

Is it true?  Yes, to some extent it is.  However, if you shop carefully, and examine the probabilities, you can still find a good value there, for a fair price.

Here's an example of a video done by a fella who bought the Hi-Position that I ending up buying BECAUSE of this video, after much homework about motorcycle lifts.  I could tell you all the reasons "why" I bought this particular lift, but I'll let the video speak to the BIGGEST reason I bought it...........(Skip ahead to 1:33 if you want to avoid the "setup" he does)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LySfB2Af4Q"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LySfB2Af4Q[/ame]

I have used mine many times, so far this year, and it (imho) is sturdy, sized right for the application, and versatile. 

Admittedly, for all the effort he (the guy in the video) puts into centering the forks, he doesn't do a very good job, because you can see the unbalanced condition he gets with the base.  That doesn't happen when you put the forks under the bike evenly.  I don't have that unlevel condition when I use mine.  

But consider the integrity of the welds, and the steel being used.  Consider the level of abuse this young man is putting that lift thru, and the fact that, even in an unsafe, unbalanced condition (his fault), it still held up.  That's remarkable!! "China' origins or not.

Remember that "Made In China" or "Made in India" or "Made in ______" simply means that some company here, invested their time, money and know-how, "over there," to produce a cheaper product.  Not because of any other reason than to save money.

The materials they use "over there;" the "QC" that's done "over there," and the processes they use "over there," CAME from OVER HERE!!

Does Harbor Freight focus in on the "cheap stuff?" on some level, I suppose they do.  Do they have only "junk" that should be avoided?  No I don't believe that.  Not entirely.

Caveat emptor, as they say, ("Buyer beware").

Now............back to the oil catch basin I'm looking for.........


-Soupy


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## Soupy (Aug 27, 2014)

oldognewtrick said:


> ...................and then put the used oil in gallon jugs..............



Yep, I used to do that.  Wound up with so many gallon jugs (my fault I guess, for not making regular trips to the Recycle Center to dispose of the contents.  I think I was of the belief that I could somehow USE the left over oil for something else, but never did) in my garage, that I ended up having no room for OTHER stuff (lol)!

-Soupy


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## havasu (Aug 27, 2014)

Those lifts are ok provided you have alot of room for it in the garage. With my little garage, it becomes a toe kicker.


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