K Bike Stand

[Al]

Good day.
I have seen many people over the years discussing motorcycle stands for their K Bikes. I wanted one that did not rest on the tires since I wanted to take the wheels off to change tires. I also don't have a lot of room to store huge lifts, etc. So I made one out out of aluminum with a bottom pin that fits into the hole on my floor jack. It has two legs that are wider than the bike to it can't tip sideways and they reach out front and back so it can't tip forth and back either. It sits under the engine block and has a couple of "ears" that allow a couple ratchet straps to go to the frame to hold it all securely. This is the only picture I have of it which is not a great one but gives you the idea.

[Martin]

 :2thumbup: It's good when you make your own stuff.
Regards Martin.

[Dennis de Vries]

Looks good, but would like to see more of it... Not as big as a lift, but sturdier than a Harley lift type... You might be on to something...

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[Al]

Forgot mention that the floor jack has support arms bolted to the side plates. Necessary on my jack to prevent tipping front to back while lifting the bike. you can see it in the picture on the left side. I'll try to take more pictures of the stand without the bike. Might be a day or two since rents on our rental house are the priority these days.

[Al]

"Renos" that is not rents.

[technostructural]

I'm quite the fan of a stack of 6" lengths of 2' x 4', placed right under the oil pan. Very secure! Such stable!  :hehehe


Or how about this one!




But in all seriousness, Al's design looks like a good concept. For front end stuff, I've been using one of those red hydraulic two-pronged "motorcycle jacks". They're generally pretty terrible, but with the bike still supported by the centre stand in the rear, it's fine for front end work (e.g., removing front wheel, steering head bearings, etc) For rear end stuff and spline lube, well that's another story. I've done the sawhorse method, and on another occasion, the "box" support.


An improved design for this is definitely warranted.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

What I can see looks nice.  Hope you can post some better photos.

Meanwhile, I'm a big fan of lumber and sawhorses.

[Filmcamera]

Hey is it just me or is it basically impossible to get the rear wheel out unless you have the bike jacked up way high?  Not sure if my tyre is non standard or what but I pretty much have to remove the exhaust to be able to extract the wheel, especially if the mud guard is in place. 


I have my bike on a Chris Harris box normally when doing stuff.

[technostructural]

I've removed the rear wheel without any sort of lift. Just the centre stand, and the luggage racks removed.

I can just put the wheel on an angle, and it fits through the gap between the exhaust and rear fender.

[Al]

Well. Aren't we a resourceful bunch?  :mbird
My question was how to get it on the Harris box in the first place? I can jack and lift and hold with my design. Not saying it is the best design- crude but effective.  But it serves its purpose well, is very stable and takes up very little space. It basically becomes an aluminum pancake.


Lets see more of what you're using. 

[Filmcamera]

I have a very rough and ready (almost too embarrassing to post a pic of) home made wheel chock. 


I then use tie downs to secure the bike, put a piece of 4x2 across the bolts of the center stand and then use a regular car jack to lift the bike high enough to get the Harris box under the bike.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

RE: Rear wheel removal.

You need to remove the rear mudguard and license plate mount.  Above the license plate below the taillight are two phillips head screws.  Remove them.

In the tail cowl there are two acorn nuts under plastic caps that are loosened(no need to remove them) allowing the rear part of the mudguard to be slid out the rear of the bike.  Then the wheel comes right out the rear.

When the wheel is reinstalled, slide the mudguard back in place, install the acorn nuts and the phillips screws.

[K1300S]

Hey is it just me or is it basically impossible to get the rear wheel out unless you have the bike jacked up way high?  Not sure if my tyre is non standard or what but I pretty much have to remove the exhaust to be able to extract the wheel, especially if the mud guard is in place. 


I have my bike on a Chris Harris box normally when doing stuff.

Ez.  Take the muffler off.  Three small bolts.  Easier than getting the mudguard off.   For me.....:-)

[technostructural]

RE: Rear wheel removal.

You need to remove the rear mudguard and license plate mount.  Above the license plate below the taillight are two phillips head screws.  Remove them.

In the tail cowl there are two acorn nuts under plastic caps that are loosened(no need to remove them) allowing the rear part of the mudguard to be slid out the rear of the bike.  Then the wheel comes right out the rear.

When the wheel is reinstalled, slide the mudguard back in place, install the acorn nuts and the phillips screws.

I know that this is the proper way to do it, but I had no difficulty at all just leaning the wheel to the side and rolling it out. I didn't have to remove the muffler, license plate holder, or anything for that matter. Last time I checked, I had a muffler and license plate guard, etc. I have no idea why I am able to do this so easily. Wrong tire size? It's a Battlax BT45.  :dunno2:


With the above aside, removing the muffler does sound like the easiest bet though. Those nuts in the tail piece for the mudguard are kind of a pain.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Any tips on preserving the K75 muffler gasket that falls apart every time I even look at it?

I've tried going the muffler removal route, but $14 added to every tire change isn't in my budget and if I try to reuse the gasket then every time I slow down for a stop it sounds like a drive-by shooting.

[Filmcamera]

Since my bike is a 16v taking off the muffler involves taking off the entire exhaust - the muffler is welded to the headers so it a royal PIA - I will try the mudguard next time

[K1300S]

Any tips on preserving the K75 muffler gasket that falls apart every time I even look at it?

I've tried going the muffler removal route, but $14 added to every tire change isn't in my budget and if I try to reuse the gasket then every time I slow down for a stop it sounds like a drive-by shooting.

mine had no muffler gasket when i got the bike, and I did not even notice.  put one on.  zero change in sound on decel.   

that said, i have had my muffler off repeatedly since putting the gasket in.  no damage to gasket.  still on that first one, but i have a spare in case.

[K1300S]

Since my bike is a 16v taking off the muffler involves taking off the entire exhaust - the muffler is welded to the headers so it a royal PIA

bummer.....

[bocutter Ed]

Any tips on preserving the K75 muffler gasket that falls apart every time I even look at it?

I should have given you the spare collet gasket to try ...

[Martin]

I am posting pictures of how to lift the front end if you don't have a jack or Pitbull stand. You can substitute milled timber for branches or what ever is on hand if you are out in the bush. Ratchet straps can be substituted for cam straps or even rope.  Chock up the front wheel first, then ratchet strap on both sides ( it might work with one side but I have not tried it ).Then remove chock, if you need more clearance out in the bush place the front wheel over soft soil and dig a hole. if you need more clearance if you are removing the forks remove the back wheel.I use the posted method when I don't want to remove my belly pan.
Regards Martin

[Filmcamera]

I don't have a garage to work in, I do everything on my terrace.  Most of the time that isn't a good thing but when it comes to raising the front wheel off the ground I do have an advantage.


I roll the bike to the very end of the terrace and then use a ratchet strap on the grab handles then through a dog leash holder that I have in the ground! All I have to do is ratchet it down tight and up comes the front wheel.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Filmcamera, that front wheel jack is some brilliant engineering!!!

[Motorhobo]

Hey is it just me or is it basically impossible to get the rear wheel out unless you have the bike jacked up way high?  Not sure if my tyre is non standard or what but I pretty much have to remove the exhaust to be able to extract the wheel, especially if the mud guard is in place. 


I have my bike on a Chris Harris box normally when doing stuff.

You can bend the shit out of the mudguard without hurting it to squeeze the wheel out, but you do have to jack it up pretty high. I've always been able to get it high enough with just a cheapo floor jack and block under the transmission. If you must pull something, you're much much better off just pulling off the mudguard than the exhaust -- unless you want to have to deal with that hateful mica exhaust gasket, some cheapo alternative that doesn't work so well, or just ride with no exhaust gasket at all, which lots of people do. I personally find pulling the exhaust a major PITA and the mudguard, while requiring the loosening/removal of several nuts at more than one location, is physically much less demanding than pushing that  huge metal tube around.

BTW there was a long thread once about that mica gasket and all sorts of attempts at alternatives, but I can't find the thread. I tried all sorts of crap and eventually ended up buying a pair of them from the dealer and learning how to install them so they don't deteriorate on install. I hate those things.

[wmax351]

Easy trick for getting the rear wheel off at least is to put the center stand on a 2x8 or wider. Could also use a few pieces of plywood to go a bit thicker than 2 inches. Then you can get the wheel off with minimal bending of the mudflap. For more security, use a ratchet strap between the crossmember of the centerstand and the front wheel.


For the muffler, I'd look into some alternative gasket materials. Take a look in the redneck muffler repair aisle of O'reilly or Autozone. Could also probably get away with an Aluminium beer can gasket, possibly augmented with some muffler paste. Another option might be some muffler wrap type of material. Even if it blows out after a while, it's cheap and easy to replace.


Mine has been sealed with this stuff for a while. Tiger Patch muffler repair. I had had it lying around from my janky RX7.  http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/VERA/10270/N2334.oap
I sealed it when I was doing the megasquirt system, since I didn't want any potential free air leakage to the O2 sensor, which I had welded in at the plenum of the headers. Since the O2 sensor was a wideband one being used to tune the bike, it was more sensitive to leaks than a normal setup.

[billday]

Meanwhile, I'm a big fan of lumber and sawhorses.

For the rear wheel, my experience is that you can pop it right off after you remove the mudflap, like Gryph says.

For spline work and transmission removal: (1) Put the bike on the center stand, and do everything you need to do to take off the rear wheel, swing arm and drive shaft. REMINDER: Never leave the swing arm hanging down unsupported, you can trash the all-important rubber boot that way. (2) Remove the "brain."  (3) Put a sawhorse on either side of the bike, then slide a couple of 2x4's through the frame loop where the "brain" was. You will need a helper for this. (4) The bike is now lifted off the center stand and you're free to pull the transmission. It is 100% stable, there's no need to brace the front wheel.

Just my .02.