Shaftie Bike Stand

[loudest143]

Okay, this has probably been covered before, but the search engine spat out diddly....

Do any of you fellow shaftie owners have a bike stand like those cool kids who own swingarm bikes? I need to get my tail in the air, and have found no super cool little gizmo to do it, short of buying some gigantic, heavy, rolling service bay. I'll use if for things like cleaning and oil changes, nothing like full engine swaps.

Does anyone have any ideas where to look? Why do I think I'm S.O.L?

Thanks in advance.

loudest143
82 850G

[BigLou]

sorry, every shaftie I have owned has had a center stand.

[salty_monk]

I *think* one of the adjustable stands from Pit Posse might work for ya...

Dan

[80GS1000]

Buy and bolt on a centerstand to your bike or...

Pitbull stands are universal since their width is adjustable and are the best made stands on the market. Go to any sportbike roadracing event and you'll see Pitbull after Pitbull stand....http://www.pit-bull.com/Merchant2/me...de=rear_stands

http://sportbiketrackgear2.homestead.com/pitbull.html

Get one and you'll have one for the rest of your life, bombproof construction. I had a Lockhart Phillips that I can't say the same about - the welds started cracking.

[jwhelan65]

Agreed...go with the Pitbull...I live by this rule: never buy a cheap tool, because when it fails and it will, you then go and buy the expensive one. Now you probably spent 50% more than you would had you just bought the good one in the first place.

[rapidray]

If you have no centerstand & find a Pitbull WON'T work, with the bike on the sidestand, put a small floor jack (available CHEAP at Pep Boys, Auto Zone, Harbor Freight, etc...) under the centerstand mount & raise the back wheel slowly off the floor without going TOO high! It's how I did it for a LONG time without stands & even still do on occasion to do something real quick like lubing a chain. Ray.

[loudest143]

Thanks for the great replies! In regards to the center stand, I need to pull it off and rework it. It's visually atrocious, and I've got tons of goo that needs removed from the lazy PO who never cleaned anything. The 3 or so times I've attempted to get this 600lb beast up on the centerstand, it's nearly gone over. I've got a loose seat, so you can't grab the rear passenger bar, and my side panel is cracked already from the PO trying to use the lower frame member as a handle.

With chronic lower back pain, I've got to be pretty careful about super heavy lifting. Sucks getting old. I felt the safer course of action for me AND the bike was to explore the rear bike stand concept. The cost might even keep my wife from bitching at me when I throw out my back trying to lift the bike.

Since I work alone, there's a need for tools to safely get the bike in good working situations.

loudest143

[bwringer]

Once you have the knack, it's very easy to get a shaftie up on the centerstand, even with a bad back or a bum leg.

The trouble is, it takes a little while to learn, and you can definitely hurt yourself or strain something. The swingarm stand is an excellent idea.

[tkent02]

Thanks for the great replies! In regards to the center stand, I need to pull it off and rework it. It's visually atrocious, and I've got tons of goo that needs removed from the lazy PO who never cleaned anything. The 3 or so times I've attempted to get this 600lb beast up on the centerstand, it's nearly gone over. I've got a loose seat, so you can't grab the rear passenger bar, and my side panel is cracked already from the PO trying to use the lower frame member as a handle.

With chronic lower back pain, I've got to be pretty careful about super heavy lifting. Sucks getting old. I felt the safer course of action for me AND the bike was to explore the rear bike stand concept. The cost might even keep my wife from bitching at me when I throw out my back trying to lift the bike.

Since I work alone, there's a need for tools to safely get the bike in good working situations.

loudest143

There is supposed to be a lift handle, it attaches to the left shock stud behind the shock, and the other end has a mounting hole farther back underside of the frame rail. They seem to be model specific, with different lengths and bends. Quite a few GSes are missing their handles. Using the handle and correct technique, it is perhaps a fifty pound lift, depending on tire size, spring sag, etc. The lower the bike, the harder is the lift.
One GS 750 I bought was missing it's handle, the P.O. put a folding footpeg mounted upside down on the frame tube beside the plactic side panel, it worked better as the location is farther forward.

If you roll the rear wheel up onto a board, a 2x4 usually works, it will go from there to the centerstand effortlessly.

Or go get a BMW, it is completely effortless by design.

[IOWA450T]

Simple idea

I ran across one yesterday on the net but can't find it now. It was basically just 3 "boxes" made from 2x6 or 2x8 or some such with plywood tops. The front one was 2x3 ft and the other two were 2x2. They were set out in a row and held together with ratchet straps. A small ramp was used to ride or walk your bike up onto the platform; eye bolts in the sides were use to strap whatever part of the bike down and then whichever section you needed out of the way (front section if you wanted to remove front wheel, middle section if you need to change oil, etc.) could be removed to make working on that part of the bike easier. If you had some scrap lumber laying around or access to used lumber this wouldn't cost much to make and is pretty mobile and storable. I'm thinking one could put their bike on it's center stand up on the platform if one was working on either end. The measurements may need to be tweaked a bit depending on the size of your bike and I think I will make the center section wider on mine to be sure I can put my feet down once I'm up there. Maybe the front and rear sections could be made narrower for more clearance around the bike, too. Has anyone seen anything like this?

**Edit** found it! (I guess it's 3 ft wide) http://www.harleydavidsonmaintenance...vice-ramp.html

[bwringer]

$40, and this looks pretty dang stout to me (second item down):

http://www.flyncycle.com/acatalog/Rear_Paddock_Stands.html

I've purchased a few odds and ends from these people before, and was happy.

[salty_monk]

http://www.pitposse.com/stbist.html