Where/how to place blocks to hold bike up

[pmong]

Hi,

I hope to replace my front tire. I am trying to figure what is the best place and way to block up the bike when it is on the center stand.According to the user manual, I suppose to place blocks or a jack to hold the front of the bike up, either under the engine or the frame. I have a 450GA, and the oil pan and parts (oil plug, for example) are lower than the bottom of the frame. Moreover, there are oil lines coming out the front, and the attachments nuts extend below the pan. So, I would like to avoid using the bottom of the engine.

Ideally, I would like to use the bottom frame. Unfortunately, there is not much space between the engine and the frame, particularly on the right side (facing forward when on the bike), where there is a bracket is in the way of the bottom tube.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[posplayr]

you can use a 2x4 on a floor jack (vertically) to push up on the bottom of the frame near the triple clamp. people have also fashioned various front lifts doing something similar.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=166114

a little pressure on the oil pan will not hurt when you are on the center stand. Most of the weight is there. You just need to keep the bike from falling forward.

[oldgrumpy]

replacing fron tyre,,,,,,easy,,,,,,,

hi i just did mine about 1 1/2 weeks ago,,,, with sucess,,,, easy,, on the left side on the bike frame just short of the bend place a bottle jack...,,and the same on the other side,, in my case i used a small trolley jack,,,and jack up the front ,,,, no dramas,,, and stable ,,, it only took me a couple of hours all up ,,, oh then i started fiddling with the caliper,,, which you have to remove to remove the front wheel/tyre.... regards oldgrumpy

[1_v8_merc]

There's a perfect little spot to lift the bike from the oil pan.
It's right on the front pan, between the 4 exhaust pipes.

I was able to fit a small 2x4 piece of wood in there.


I had my bike up for maybe 2 months.......no problems or leaks.

[loud et]

I wonder if the bike is on the center stand if you could just put a couple sandbags far back on the seat? Its all about leverage. Maybe it will just rock to the back? I have an aftermarket four into one, so my centerstand had to be removed for pipe clearence. That sux. Everything is blocked for jacking the bike up off the ground, I have not come up with a good rig yet.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

This is what I do. You can use a smaller piece of 2x4 on top of the bottle jack if necessary.









See also: Front Wheel/Caliper Removal


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[cal_look_zero]

2 ways I've done it. That sophisticated space age set up in the first pic is a 5 gallon bucket with an 18"x18" chunk of 3/4" ply screwed onto it, with holes drilled for the fork studs to sit in. Pretty stable, not the best method, but I'm on a budget here.

[pmong]

Thanks everyone! Some very useful tips, and I think I now have enough information to hold up the bike properly. Hope to offer photos of my solution when I have time to take out the camera.

Now onto trying to change the front tire. Have not done this in decades, so have to experiment. Advice is always welcome.

[cal_look_zero]

Thanks everyone! Some very useful tips, and I think I now have enough information to hold up the bike properly. Hope to offer photos of my solution when I have time to take out the camera.

Now onto trying to change the front tire. Have not done this in decades, so have to experiment. Advice is always welcome.

Advice: Don't do what I did. I got complacent being used to having paddock stands for my RR that I didn't account for the weight of the front wheel. Took it out, bike kicked back, center stand folded, frame missed my little toes by about 4mm when it hit the ground.

That being said, when you get it up on the jack and center stand, just lift on the forks a little to make sure that the weight isn't in perfect balance.

[pmong]

Mission accomplished, and all the advice proved to be very useful. Took about 90 minutes from start to finish to replace the front tire. Before that, I built a simple customized wooden bracket from 2x4s to hold up the front of the bike when on the center stand, which allows me to rest the bike using the two metal tubes of the lower frame without touching the oil pan or other parts attached to the pan. The inner part of the wooden bracket uses the sides of the oil pan that extend below the frame to prevent the tubes from sliding side ways. Had to drill some holes for a couple of retainer bolt heads that were in the way, and with the bolt heads in the holes, the bracket cannot slide forward or backward. Not perfect, but a very secure bracket.

[refeicul]

congrats on finally getting that darned tire on. To be honest the trick i do to play with the front end, i usually jack the bike up slightly just enough to get the center stand raised off the ground and place a 1x or 2x piece of wood under the center stand and lower it down onto it. just remember to stick a screwdriver in the center stand holder. and i had to weigh down the back end to balance it toward the rear