Raising the front of my bike.....

RobB · Spanner Monkey Joined: 29 Apr 2005 Karma :

.......with a car jack and a block of wood?

I have asked a few people about this before, but wanted to get a broader selection of advice. I have a Honda CBR600 (1989 f-k), if it's of relevance. I have a rear paddock stand, but in order to raise the front end of my bike, I've been told that I can put a jack underneath the engine, with a block of wood to spread the load over the 4 downpipes. Jack away, and it will raise nicely.

I tried this last year, and was immediately halted by the strange creaking/bending noise that arose from minimal pressure from the jack to the pipes. I just want to know that this is an ok thing to do, and that the creaking noises can be ignored. Alternatively, I want to know that I shouldn't be doing this.

Cheers Thumbs Up

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finpos · World Chat Champion Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Karma :

Guess it all depends on if you think your exhaust can take the weight of the engine on the manifold studs!

I've always got hold of a lump of wood of precisely the right length (see local skip for details), jammed it up underneath the frame behind the headstock and wedged it to the floor behind the front wheel, using it to take the weight off the front suspension.

Granted that could be tricky if you have a lot of coolers/fairings in the way, but not fallen off yet...

edit - I think the problem could be if you are using a rear padock stand as opposed to the bike's centre stand - think about the weight distribution

finpos.

NSR Mick · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Karma :

do you have a garage with decent beams? If so strap it to the roof.
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instigator · Super Spammer Joined: 19 Oct 2004 Karma :

I do it all the time, so much so I don't need a paddock stand for front or back.

Done it on my hornet, both sv's and firestorm, under the downpipes (or 'sump' I think on the twins) or on the rear shock mount for the back, whatever seems to make it steady.

Of course, leaning it against a wall or some object to stop it falling and ensuring the jack is NOT going to slip away (if it has wheels)

RobB · Spanner Monkey Joined: 29 Apr 2005 Karma :

Cheers all.