Lifting The 250R Onto Service Stands

[kkim]

Just thought some of you might be interested on how to lift the bike on to stands to make it easier to service or wash.

Bike ready to lifted...

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I put a block of 2x4 under the sidestand to bring the bike closer to vertical...

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I have spools (10mm) already on the bike and use a combination stand which allows me to either raise the rear using spools or the flat underside of the swingarm. Here I position the spool into the "fork" of the stand.

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After positioning the spools on both sides of the swinggarm in line with the forks, use one smooth motion to lift the back end of the bike up onto the stand.

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For the front, I have this contraption.

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You need to insert a pin into the steering head stem. Stand comes with a variety of pins so you can select the one that fits your bike.

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Pin inserted and front ready to be lifted. The back should be on a stand before the front is lifted to prevent the bike from rolling backwards.

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Push down on the front stand handle and the front end raises up and locks.

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Front and rear of bike up on stands ready to be worked on. Makes life a lot easier for anything from lubing the chain to changing tires to even something as simple as washing the bike.

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[Alex]

Nice post Kelly! I love the look of a bike up on stands, especially with its wheels off. Looks like one of those forest speeders from the 3rd star wars flick.



One safety tip if you have more than one bike using the stands is to make sure that you've properly adjusted the width of the rear stand, and tightened it down enough so it doesn't adjust on its own. Had issues getting my bike up onto the stand once and I couldn't figure out why until I realized that I had forgotten to readjust it.

[noche_caliente]

Alex - I love the assortment of motorcycle equipment in the background, right next to the car seat!

[Alex]

Thx! Now if I could only find a motorcycle baby seat...

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Alex

One safety tip if you have more than one bike using the stands is to make sure that you've properly adjusted the width of the rear stand, and tightened it down enough so it doesn't adjust on its own. Had issues getting my bike up onto the stand once and I couldn't figure out why until I realized that I had forgotten to readjust it.

Agreed. I also use my rear stand for different bikes and I have marked, with different colored paint, the adjustment widths for each of them on the rear stand adjustable arm. No guess work when switching the stand from one bike to another.

[TrueFaith]

I have to admit that putting the bike on it's rear stand single-handedly caused a few terrifying moments at first. If you don't keep it perfectly upright when the weight gets transferred to the stand it wants to fall over and can cause outright panic until you get the hang of it. The 2x4 under the kickstand is a must!

[Alex]

I've never used a 2x4, and haven't had too much of an issue. I leave the bike leaned all the way over on its kickstand, and position the rear stand underneath the left spool. I start to push the bike toward vertical, and as I do I'm looking over the rear of the bike to make sure that the right spool is coming down into the rear stand holder. I'm pushing it slowly, so if it's not perfectly aligned, I can always lower the bike right back down on its kickstand. But once I see the spool on the right sitting in its carrier, I can let go of the bike and push the rear stand down and the bike's safely on the stand.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Alex

I've never used a 2x4, and haven't had too much of an issue. I leave the bike leaned all the way over on its kickstand, and position the rear stand underneath the left spool. I start to push the bike toward vertical, and as I do I'm looking over the rear of the bike to make sure that the right spool is coming down into the rear stand holder. I'm pushing it slowly, so if it's not perfectly aligned, I can always lower the bike right back down on its kickstand. But once I see the spool on the right sitting in its carrier, I can let go of the bike and push the rear stand down and the bike's safely on the stand.

yep... and that takes a bit of practice, but once you get it down, it is doable w/o the 2x4.

I'm such a noob that I always use the 2x4.

[TrueFaith]

You gotta admit though, when you do it alone with nobody steadying the bike there's one moment there when the stand hasn't quite taken all the weight just yet and any lean could lead to catastrophe. I've learned to push the stand down under the back wheel with my left foot while steadying the bike with both hands. Looks pretty stupid, but less chance of a sudden gust of wind blowing the bike over!

[Kurosaki]

Got myself a rear stand a couple weeks ago. Still need to get some spools so I can use it!

Want to get myself a front triple tree stand as well soon...

[kkim]

Originally Posted by TrueFaith

You gotta admit though, when you do it alone with nobody steadying the bike there's one moment there when the stand hasn't quite taken all the weight just yet and any lean could lead to catastrophe. I've learned to push the stand down under the back wheel with my left foot while steadying the bike with both hands. Looks pretty stupid, but less chance of a sudden gust of wind blowing the bike over!

I find having the rear seat on there with the strap to grab onto with my left hand is a lot more reassuring than lifting with the cowl on.

[TrueFaith]

Excellent suggestion. I think I still have the passenger seat lying around here somewhere...

[zartan]

Hi guys, hope this is not off topic. but if you have lowered your bike you might want to check for clearance with the pipe and spools. I have a slip on Yoshi. it could hit ( even with the stock hanger) if you go over a good sized bump. I just pull my spools off when done to be safe.

Just stuff you might not think about until you say "oh crap, what was the noise?"

[talldrink]

Total noob here but:

Do these bikes come with spools or so we have to purchase them?

Are there stands that just fit on the swingarm?

What brand stands do you guys use?

HELPPPPPPPPPP

[kkim]

Originally Posted by talldrink

Total noob here but:

Do these bikes come with spools or so we have to purchase them?

Are there stands that just fit on the swingarm?

What brand stands do you guys use?

HELPPPPPPPPPP

Deb,

You need to purchase the spools. they are 10mm, when you go looking for them. I recommend you purchase a rear stand that lifts by using spools as I find it a bit more secure than those that lift by the underside of the swingarm. I have a rear stand that will lift by either method, but I always lift by spools.

Pitbull stands are the standard by which all other stands are measured. They are pricey, but very sturdy. There are other brands out there and I'm sure others will recommend a few to you.

[Alex]

EDIT:

The 2008+ ninjette doesn't come with spools, but the good news is it comes with spool bosses. Those are just open screwholes in the swingarm that make it easy to just screw spools into them. The prior generation ninjette didn't have those.

You can buy spools just about anywhere, the ninjette uses standard 10 mm spools, which is one of the most common sizes. To install them you just put a dab of loctite on them and screw them right in. Pricing is probably $10 on the low end and $30 at the highest end.

There are plenty of different bike stands out there, but the market leader is probably the pit bull folks:

http://www.pit-bull.com/

Not the cheapest, but they are built well and will last for decades. Most folks buy the stand that can be used with or without spools just by flipping the mount on the stand. Using spools is a much more secure way to hold the bike though, so if that's an option it's probably the way to go.

[talldrink]

Thanks Alex and Kelly.

I would like to put on some rim tape this winter. It would be much easier with the bike on stands.

[kkim]

Are you looking to purchase a front stand, too?

[talldrink]

hmmmmmmmm..........I think I would just like a rear stand for now (unless I find a good package deal).

I guess it makes sense to have both. Maybe I'll put them on my Christmas list and see what Santa brings me. I've been a a very good girl this year.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by talldrink

I've been a a very good girl this year.

lol... prove it!

[OldGuy]

Originally Posted by kkim

lol... prove it!

What a shameless dirty old man you are Kelly.

Hurry up with the pictures Deb

[talldrink]

Wow you guys are shameless!!!

[kkim]

Originally Posted by OldGuy

What a shameless dirty old man you are Kelly.

Hurry up with the pictures Deb

damn... go away, son... you bother me.



.. find your own sweet young thing.

[Alex]

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Alex

guy at the computer makes a lot of sense to me.

[Kurosaki]

I dropped my bike the other day putting it on the rear stand... Luckily there's boxes and crap that it fell on. No scratches...

Still sucks though. First time for everything I guess?

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Kurosaki

I dropped my bike the other day putting it on the rear stand... Luckily there's boxes and crap that it fell on. No scratches...

Still sucks though. First time for everything I guess?

yikes, how did that happen?

[Kurosaki]

Just got home from a ride. Wasn't paying attention. Right spool wasn't lined up.

[CZroe]

Even with a red brick under my kickstand (almost vertical), it's very difficult to get both forks of my crappy Harbor Freight "Haul Master" low-profile stand lined up with the spools. I usually end up holding the bike vertical with one hand (dangerous) or I kinda have to tilt my stand and then wedge it under with one side first to ensure that it falls onto the other side properly. That means all the weight of the bike on ONE side of a *cheap* stand for a few critical moments. My coworker commented to say that it was a "nice, sturdy, stand," so I showed him the malformed screw that had metal in the head so you couldn't insert a screwdriver.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by CZroe

I kinda have to tilt my stand and then wedge it under with one side first to ensure that it falls onto the other side properly. That means all the weight of the bike on ONE side of a *cheap* stand for a few critical moments.

There's no need to tilt the stand... just make sure the right-side cradle is lined up so that it catches the spool as the bike goes vertical, and go slow until both sides are in the cradles.

I put my left hand on the bike while I move the stand into position and start to push the handle down. This is so that if something starts to go wrong I can pull the bike back to the left and it'll drop back onto the kickstand.

The right hand, meanwhile, maneuvers the stand to make sure the right side spool drops into the cradle properly. Once both spools are in there I let go with the left hand, shove the handle down and up she goes.


T-Rex stands, BTW.
Not expensive ($109 for both front and rear stands), good quality, made in the US, no worries about cheap-a$$ tools.

http://t-rex-racing.com/catalog.php?item=11

Note how much bigger the cradles are than the HF ones...makes lining it up easy.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by adouglas

There's no need to tilt the stand... just make sure the right-side cradle is lined up so that it catches the spool as the bike goes vertical, and go slow until both sides are in the cradles.

I put my left hand on the bike while I move the stand into position and start to push the handle down. This is so that if something starts to go wrong I can pull the bike back to the left and it'll drop back onto the kickstand.

The right hand, meanwhile, maneuvers the stand to make sure the right side spool drops into the cradle properly. Once both spools are in there I let go with the left hand, shove the handle down and up she goes.


T-Rex stands, BTW.
Not expensive ($109 for both front and rear stands), good quality, made in the US, no worries about cheap-a$$ tools.

http://t-rex-racing.com/catalog.php?item=11

Note how much bigger the cradles are than the HF ones...makes lining it up easy.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying though... the Harbor Freight ones are so narrow that you DO have to tilt it. You see, when you lign up the left side, either both forks on the right are in front of or behind the spool. The only way to "make sure" it's lined up is to readjust as you lift (difficult) or tilt the stand.

Also, T-Rex *IS* expensive compared to $32x2. That said, they seem to have the cheapest triple-tree head stand on eBay (unless that was Black Widow... I don't recall). Anyone try T-Rex head stand with an EX250J bike? Last time I googled I couldn't get confirmation.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Also, T-Rex *IS* expensive compared to $32x2.

It's just a matter of priorities. If you're comfortable, that's cool. But you're worried enough about it to post....

Cost of two cheap HF stands: $64
Cost of two good stands: $109
Cost of dropping the bike and cracking the fairing: $275+

Peace of mind: Priceless.....

[rockNroll]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Yeah, that's what I'm saying though... the Harbor Freight ones are so narrow that you DO have to tilt it. You see, when you lign up the left side, either both forks on the right are in front of or behind the spool. The only way to "make sure" it's lined up is to readjust as you lift (difficult) or tilt the stand.

Also, T-Rex *IS* expensive compared to $32x2. That said, they seem to have the cheapest triple-tree head stand on eBay (unless that was Black Widow... I don't recall). Anyone try T-Rex head stand with an EX250J bike? Last time I googled I couldn't get confirmation.

You don't have to tilt anything. Hold the bike straight up with your left hand, put the stand to the spools with your right hand and then push it down. Something that may help you get used to balancing the bike with your left hand... [whisper] remove the rear seat first and you can get a more secure grip on the bike by grabbing the metal piece that the seat slides into [/whisper] Go try it

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by rockNroll

You don't have to tilt anything. Hold the bike straight up with your left hand, put the stand to the spools with your right hand and then push it down. Something that may help you get used to balancing the bike with your left hand... [whisper] remove the rear seat first and you can get a more secure grip on the bike by grabbing the metal piece that the seat slides into [/whisper] Go try it

Once you get the forks on the left spool the forks on the right are already either BOTH in front of or both behind the other spool, meaning that there's no way to lower the spool onto the other side unless you lign it up before you evenstart lifting. Perhaps if I didn't put the kickstand up on a brick first...

[ScorpionNinja]

Originally Posted by noche_caliente

Alex - I love the assortment of motorcycle equipment in the background, right next to the car seat!

hmmm.. alex, how would you MOD that child car seat onto the back of your 250R?

PICS!!! PICS!!! alex

[Betlog]

Wouldn't this work better for us that are lifting the bikes alone? http://www.pit-bull.com/Merchant2/me...le_rear_stands

But how come everyone is using the conventional styled stands?

[ninja250]

Just as dangerous as a regular race stand.

The part where he has to hold the bike for a second before the stand is under the spools properly is the "scary part"

I just grab the rear seat strap and stick my stand under the spools and lift. Nothing to it if one arm is attached to the bike. If it does start to fall, yank it back onto the kickstand.

[ninja250]

To add to this..

My front fork stand as shown above hits the front fairing on the bottom some. (just under/behind the headlights)
I think if I put a few washers on the fork pin that lifts the bottom fork clamp up that it might clear the fairing better or not hit at all.

[Betlog]

Any suggestions lowering the bike back down from the stands? If anything, lowering the bike back down is more dangerous than lifting since you start of with an upright bike and no support (at least raising it, you have the bike supported where it is leaned - kickstand as it is leaned in that direction).

[kkim]

just prior to lowering the bike after you're down with your work, turn the handlebars fully to the left and be sure the kickstand is down. When you lower the bike from the stand, it will drop to the left onto the kickstand.

I keep my left hand on the tail section as insurance as it drops and use my right to lower the stand.