What is the best/safest way to get bike on rear stand?

[z1ggy]

I googled this topic, but I wanted some personal opinions/experience. I need to get my bike up on the stand to perform some maintenance, but I dont have a friend around to hold the bike up while I place the stand under the spools and lift. How have you guys done this just by yourself before?

 

[Fenixgoon]

invest in a center stand? that lets you do most of the maintenance required on the rear wheel.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Definitely... It's a skill though.


Put bike on sidestand, use left hand to lift the bike up enough to slide stand under spools (but keep weight tilted towards sidestand the ENTIRE time, so if it falls it stays up) and use the stand (check to make sure it's under BOTH spools!) to lift the bike up. The stand should lift the left spool up first, you basically then just guide the stand under the right spool and lift.

Usually it falls off the right spool, just be very careful. You should never be 'forcing' anything or you're doing it wrong. Wide spools help.

It basically just takes some practice. I also recommend a baxley sport chock if you ever have to take the bike in a truck/trailer, and they're great for the garage as well.

Oh, also be careful taking it off the stand.... :thumbsup:

 

[BZeto]

I did this all of the time. What kind of bike?
It's easiest to leave the kickstand down and have the rear stand already placed near the back tire. Make sure the front wheel is pointed straight. With both hands on the tail of the bike lift the bike so that it's vertical. Now stabilize the bike using one hand on the right passenger peg or another solid point near the rear of the bike. Take your left/free hand and position the rear stand under the spools and apply lifting pressure. At this point you can remove your hand from the bike and use both hands to lift the bike up with the rear stand.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Man, this is so much easier with a single sided swingarm. I just insert the pin in the stand into the rear axle hole and push down which makes the bike stand up and then once both wheels of the stand are on the ground I push the handle down until it hits the ground.

Still, once you get it down it's not difficult and I never dropped a bike putting it up on the stand.

 

[Kelvrick]

I got a cheap one but could usually count on a friend/wife. Otherwise, my friends would often pick up something like this.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.co...t-Bull-Spooled-Forward-Handle-Rear-Stand.aspx

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Keep the front wheel straight while rolling the bike backwards in neutral. Step on the center stand and there you go. You let the inertia of the bike put it on the stand. No lifting involved. On a side note, you ride a bike and don't know how to do this?

 

[satyajitmenon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHS46NK9650

Roughly how I do it. Only difference is I stick the left side of the stand under the spool before I start to tilt the bike. Makes it easier to balance the bike with 1 hand on the grab rail. Then as I start to straighten the bike, I make sure the right side of the rear stand is under the right spool. Then push down on the rear stand. Viola...

To take it off the stand, make sure the side stand is down (forgot once ), and then slowly lift the rear stand till the rear while is on the ground, and the wheels of the stand are too... Then slowly hold on to the bike's rear grab rail and start to remove the rear stand, while tilting the bike towards the left @ the same time.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Keep the front wheel straight while rolling the bike backwards in neutral. Step on the center stand and there you go. You let the inertia of the bike put it on the stand. No lifting involved. On a side note, you ride a bike and don't know how to do this?

The OP is talking about a swingarm stand, not one that is attached to the bike. Very few bikes have centerstands anymore.

 

[z1ggy]

I did this all of the time. What kind of bike?
It's easiest to leave the kickstand down and have the rear stand already placed near the back tire. Make sure the front wheel is pointed straight. With both hands on the tail of the bike lift the bike so that it's vertical. Now stabilize the bike using one hand on the right passenger peg or another solid point near the rear of the bike. Take your left/free hand and position the rear stand under the spools and apply lifting pressure. At this point you can remove your hand from the bike and use both hands to lift the bike up with the rear stand.

I have a 2001 GSXR600. I am looking to just clean and lube my chain and I thought it would be easier to put it on the stand and spin the tire, rather than lubing 6 inches, rolling it forward, lubing.. repeat. I am just nervous of dropping it, but I will take your guys advice and also watch some youtube vids on how to do it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have a 2001 GSXR600. I am looking to just clean and lube my chain and I thought it would be easier to put it on the stand and spin the tire, rather than lubing 6 inches, rolling it forward, lubing.. repeat. I am just nervous of dropping it, but I will take your guys advice and also watch some youtube vids on how to do it.

The stand definitely makes chain maintenance easier. You'll get it down quickly. My bikes have always been on a rear stand, I keep them stored that way in fact. Almost every night when I put my bike away it goes on my Pit Bull rear swingarm stand.

Might be good practice for you to get in that habit too.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

The stand definitely makes chain maintenance easier. You'll get it down quickly. My bikes have always been on a rear stand, I keep them stored that way in fact. Almost every night when I put my bike away it goes on my Pit Bull rear swingarm stand.

Might be good practice for you to get in that habit too.

That sounds like overkill. Putting your bike on a stand every night.
I'd never own a bike that I loved so much. Seemed like more headache to me owning the expensive bikes. A scratch or ding would ruin my day. Give me a bike I can flog and if it gets dinged its no big deal.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I have a 2001 GSXR600. I am looking to just clean and lube my chain and I thought it would be easier to put it on the stand and spin the tire, rather than lubing 6 inches, rolling it forward, lubing.. repeat. I am just nervous of dropping it, but I will take your guys advice and also watch some youtube vids on how to do it.

So you took my advice of buying the bike you want to begin with? Or did you by the sv get tired of it and got the ss you really wanted?

 

[pauldun170]

I spent years with center stand equiped bikes but my latest lacks one. Went out and bought a pitbull SS

First try went like this
Bike on sidestand
Maneuver stand where left side is positioned where it supposed to be under swing arm and right side in the obvious poistion it needs to be to make contact on right side of swingarm.
I have a little leather strap ahead of the passenger pillion that I grab to help steady the bike as I push down on the handle to
1. Begin raising the swingarm
2. Bringing the bike off the sidestand to vertical

As long as I slowly bring it up, I don't need to do much to keep the bike steady.

Taking it off the stand is no biggee. Just slowly lift the handle while holding the bike (and applying just a wee bit of pressure to ensure it lands on the sidestand and not on my other bike.)

 

[SpatiallyAware]

That sounds like overkill. Putting your bike on a stand every night.
I'd never own a bike that I loved so much. Seemed like more headache to me owning the expensive bikes. A scratch or ding would ruin my day. Give me a bike I can flog and if it gets dinged its no big deal.

Some people enjoy nice things, other people are satisfied with owning trash.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Some people enjoy nice things, other people are satisfied with owning trash.

Sorry you never actually rode a bike. Waxing em and cruising at 60mph don't count for riding in my book. If you actually ever pushed a bike you'd know how often and easy they are to wreck. So yeah we have different ideas on how to ride a bike. Keep waxing your 10k+ garage queen up and trying to give the illusion you are a rider.

 

[JulesMaximus]

That sounds like overkill. Putting your bike on a stand every night.
I'd never own a bike that I loved so much. Seemed like more headache to me owning the expensive bikes. A scratch or ding would ruin my day. Give me a bike I can flog and if it gets dinged its no big deal.

I did it with my SV650 too. It takes a few seconds and makes the bike more stable and less likely to be knocked over. And a tip over in a crowded garage is going to do more than just put a ding in it. It could damage something it hits, like my wife's car, or my son. It also makes checking tire pressure much easier before a ride because I can rotate the rear wheel so that the valve stem is in a position I can get to it easily. The bike also takes up less room in my garage when it is on the stand.

One more thing, when I sold the SV I got almost $4k for it. I got that much for it because I took care of it and didn't treat it like some piece of shit I don't care about.

And I do ride my bikes. I put 17,000 miles on my SV in the 3 years I owned it and I have just under 7,000 miles on my Ducati and I haven't even had that for a year yet. I have a ding in my bike and it is showing some wear in the finish on the tank because I ride it so much.

 

[pauldun170]

That sounds like overkill. Putting your bike on a stand every night.
I'd never own a bike that I loved so much. Seemed like more headache to me owning the expensive bikes. A scratch or ding would ruin my day. Give me a bike I can flog and if it gets dinged its no big deal.

I check the fluids in my bike post-ride and a pre-ride chain and tire check ( for nails and occasionally pressure) inspection.
Need the bike up right and the rear off the ground for that.

A bike on a stand takes up less room in my garage then a bike not on a stand. On the stand and preferable under the bike cover.

Has nothing to do with appearance or superficial crap.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Sorry you never actually rode a bike. Waxing em and cruising at 60mph don't count for riding in my book. If you actually ever pushed a bike you'd know how often and easy they are to wreck. So yeah we have different ideas on how to ride a bike. Keep waxing your 10k+ garage queen up and trying to give the illusion you are a rider.

Lol, you're a real piece of work. You can buy my garage queen when I scratch it.

 

[pauldun170]

Sorry you never actually rode a bike. Waxing em and cruising at 60mph don't count for riding in my book. If you actually ever pushed a bike you'd know how often and easy they are to wreck. So yeah we have different ideas on how to ride a bike. Keep waxing your 10k+ garage queen up and trying to give the illusion you are a rider.

I've been riding for 20 years, with the exception of my first bike I've ridden sportbikes.

I occasionally wax my bikes (once a year) and I keep them in a garage.
I'd rather a nice clean bike than a filthy rat trap because its easier to spot leaks, loose screws, parts that are out of adjustment and all the little things you notice when your are going through a bike.

I'll ride anything no matter what it looks like however I was raised to take care of things I spent a lot of money on, whether its $1000 beater bike or 13K bike off the show room floor.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I did it with my SV650 too. It takes a few seconds and makes the bike more stable and less likely to be knocked over. And a tip over in a crowded garage is going to do more than just put a ding in it. It could damage something it hits, like my wife's car, or my son. It also makes checking tire pressure much easier before a ride because I can rotate the rear wheel so that the valve stem is in a position I can get to it easily. The bike also takes up less room in my garage when it is on the stand.

One more thing, when I sold the SV I got almost $4k for it. I got that much for it because I took care of it and didn't treat it like some piece of shit I don't care about.

And I do ride my bikes. I put 17,000 miles on my SV in the 3 years I owned it and I have just under 7,000 miles on my Ducati and I haven't even had that for a year yet. I have a ding in my bike and it is showing some wear in the finish on the tank because I ride it so much.

People who rag out their bikes and never maintain them are the ones with bolts rattling loose at 90mph. A bike only has two wheels, it needs to be in the best condition possible - if nothing else then for your safety.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

People who rag out their bikes and never maintain them are the ones with bolts rattling loose at 90mph. A bike only has two wheels, it needs to be in the best condition possible - if nothing else then for your safety.

Yep. That's me besides the fact I torqued all bolts to manufacturers specs, changed the oil every 3-4 months regardless of mileage, cleaned air filter regularly, adjusted chain when needed, cleaned and lubed chain every other ride, etc..

 

[z1ggy]

So you took my advice of buying the bike you want to begin with? Or did you by the sv get tired of it and got the ss you really wanted?

I got the ss to begin with. Took me a few days to get used to it, but now I am totally fine with it.

Does anybody know where I can find a free version of the owners manual? I think I have it, but I'm not sure. If I check tire pressure, I need to know what it has to be. I am totally new to motorcycle fixes/maintanence, but I don't want to pay out the ass for bringing it to a guy to check/fix simple things like tire pressure, chain tension, etc. But then again, I don't want to start something, even if it's simple, if I have no training on how to do it at all.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I got the ss to begin with. Took me a few days to get used to it, but now I am totally fine with it.

Does anybody know where I can find a free version of the owners manual? I think I have it, but I'm not sure. If I check tire pressure, I need to know what it has to be. I am totally new to motorcycle fixes/maintanence, but I don't want to pay out the ass for bringing it to a guy to check/fix simple things like tire pressure, chain tension, etc. But then again, I don't want to start something, even if it's simple, if I have no training on how to do it at all.

Look for a paper copy of the maintenance manual. Even if it means shelling out $70 for a copy. Nothing beats a paper copy when you're actually working on the bike. A must for any guy working on his own bike. They take you step by step on doing all of the maintenance. I'm a semi noob and I've taken bikes down to just about nothing and put em back together with a good manual.

Glad to see you didn't listen to them and you'd already have your sv up for sale and taking a loss on it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I got the ss to begin with. Took me a few days to get used to it, but now I am totally fine with it.

Does anybody know where I can find a free version of the owners manual? I think I have it, but I'm not sure. If I check tire pressure, I need to know what it has to be. I am totally new to motorcycle fixes/maintanence, but I don't want to pay out the ass for bringing it to a guy to check/fix simple things like tire pressure, chain tension, etc. But then again, I don't want to start something, even if it's simple, if I have no training on how to do it at all.

It should be on a decal on the frame of the bike or on the swingarm.