Can a traditional motorcycle jack safely lift this bike?

[Bigturbomax]

I wanna be able to pick up my bike for some work in the near future, and dont really wanna buy paddock stands cuz they leave you still working on the floor. Has anyone used a motocycle jack on these bikes? 

[mossrider]

Just now, Bigturbomax said:

I wanna be able to pick up my bike for some work in the near future, and dont really wanna buy paddock stands cuz they leave you still working on the floor. Has anyone used a motocycle jack on these bikes? 

A traditional motorcycle jack is a poor choice for working on these bikes. They are designed to span frame rails as a lift point and since our bikes have no lower frame rails, you need to use makeshift lift points. I use hockey pucks but they are unstable, unreliable and wobbly.  Altho they will certainly lift the bike, once the wheels leave the ground all bets are off.  It will be unstable as hell as it needs to be strapped down, and it will almost certainly be in the way of almost anything you plan to do to the bike. The higher you lift them the tippier they get too. 

 

Here's a pic of the most common type of motorcycle jack, the Sears variety.  Here I am just using it to lift the motor a little to align some motor mount bolts. They work ok for some things like lifting one end of a atv for service or a lawn mower or even lifting big cruisers like my Ultra Classic, but only a few inches. For anything more than a few inches a good lift table is the only way to go.

 

 

For most of my maintanance I use the paddock stands. They are the most stable, quickest and cost effective way to go. A cheap lift table from Harbor Freight will set you back $300, a good pneumatic table $1000+/-.  Throw in a set of jack stands and you're set. Lift tables are the way to go if you can justify their expense and have room to keep them. 

 

I would add that since a pair of paddock stands would be about the same cost as a Harbor Freight lift table, I'd opt for the table. They are pretty handy, if you have room. I occasionally see those lifts on sale for $200!

 

[Bigturbomax]

I didnt think a motorcyle jack would work for exactly the reasons you mentioned, but figured id ask to be sure. I would LOVE one of those tables from harbor freight, but ive got a crummy one car garage that houses the bike, a couple tool boxes, washer/dryer, water heater, work bench and a bunch of other stuff. So i would pretty much have to park the bike on the table at all times. Also, my bike gers backed in cuz of two cars in a one car driveway so i think it might be difficult to do that on a daily basis. (When we bought our house my wife had like 6 "must haves".  I only wanted a two car garage, you can see how that worked out LMAO!) Also id still have to buy something to lift the bike off the table. I dont mind adjusting chain and changing oil on the floor, but i want to do some work on the forks and would like to be able to change tires. I wont take it to the bike shop around here to do it cuz their service is TERRIBLE, if they can even make time for you because the prioritze their side by side and ATV customers. Anyway. I guess im gonna get a set of venom stands. I looked at pitbull but cant stomach the price for what you get. Im an auto tech and have spent an obscene amount on tools/storage/specialty equipment over the years, ive gotten picky about what things ill pay premium prices for lol. Bought to much snap on stuff in the past i guess. Thanks for all the info. Ill let you guys know how the venom stands work out. My buddy has a set for his kawi and has been very pleased with them. 

[DewMan]

12 minutes ago, Bigturbomax said:

I didnt think a motorcyle jack would work for exactly the reasons you mentioned, but figured id ask to be sure. I would LOVE one of those tables from harbor freight, but ive got a crummy one car garage that houses the bike, a couple tool boxes, washer/dryer, water heater, work bench and a bunch of other stuff. So i would pretty much have to park the bike on the table at all times. Also, my bike gers backed in cuz of two cars in a one car driveway so i think it might be difficult to do that on a daily basis. (When we bought our house my wife had like 6 "must haves".  I only wanted a two car garage, you can see how that worked out LMAO!) Also id still have to buy something to lift the bike off the table. I dont mind adjusting chain and changing oil on the floor, but i want to do some work on the forks and would like to be able to change tires. I wont take it to the bike shop around here to do it cuz their service is TERRIBLE, if they can even make time for you because the prioritze their side by side and ATV customers. Anyway. I guess im gonna get a set of venom stands. I looked at pitbull but cant stomach the price for what you get. Im an auto tech and have spent an obscene amount on tools/storage/specialty equipment over the years, ive gotten picky about what things ill pay premium prices for lol. Bought to much snap on stuff in the past i guess. Thanks for all the info. Ill let you guys know how the venom stands work out. My buddy has a set for his kawi and has been very pleased with them.  

+1 on the venom stands. I've been more than happy with their price/performance/quality. Others here have also reported satisfaction  with them as well. They're not Pitbulls but they also don't have Pitbull prices either.

[fzar]

The venom stands work great, @Bigturbomax, I have them and can attest to their ease of use. I want to say before you go and buy them, make damn sure you don't buy the front fork lift in the set you buy. YOU HAVE TO GET THE TRIPLE TREE LIFT Here's a thread on these that I used:

Seriously I got the fork stand as a present and I couldn't deal with telling the gift giver it was wrong. Read the thread and do with it whatever you want.

I'm not sure but I think @shinyribs has a lift, from where I don't know? I want 1,but I'd have to park the bike on it. (HMM maybe that wouldn't be so bad after all!!!) Sorry, I'm getting de-railed, 1 thing at a time for me right now.

 

[DewMan]

6 minutes ago, fzar said:

The venom stands work great, @Bigturbomax, I have them and can attest to their ease of use. I want to say before you go and buy them, make damn sure you don't buy the front fork lift in the set you buy. YOU HAVE TO GET THE TRIPLE TREE LIFT Here's a thread on these that I used:

Seriously I got the fork stand as a present and I couldn't deal with telling the gift giver it was wrong. Read the thread and do with it whatever you want.

I'm not sure but I think @shinyribs has a lift, from where I don't know?

I originally didn't get the triple tree lift version but was able to buy the triple lift attachment separately so now I can use for either.
Note: if you get the triple lift you'll need the optional #2 pin kit to get the right size pin for the FZ-07.

[fzar]

10 minutes ago, DewMan said:

I originally didn't get the triple tree lift version but was able to buy the triple lift separately so now I can use for either.
Note: if you get the triple lift you'll need the optional #2 pin kit to get the right size pin for the FZ-07.

The fz takes a 21mm pin, and with the kit you'll get pins in a range of 13mm- 27mm. In increments of 13,15,16.5,17,18,20,21,23,24,27. I just pulled my bag......... of pins from the garage to check. So it covers a wide variety of applications to many different model/sizes. Hope it helps. @Bigturbomax

[DewMan]

6 minutes ago, fzar said:

The fz takes a 21mm pin, and with the kit you'll get pins in a range of 13mm- 27mm. In increments of 13,15,16.5,17,18,20,21,23,24,27. I just pulled my bag......... of pins from the garage to check. So it covers a wide variety of applications to many different model/sizes. Hope it helps. @Bigturbomax

To get that range here in the US I was required to get the optional set of larger pins. 

Amazon.com: Venom Motorcycle Front Triple Tree & Rear Swingarm Paddle Lift Combo Wheel Lift Stands + Paddock Attachments For Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Ducati, BMW - Sport Street Bike Motorcycle: Gateway

WWW.AMAZON.COM

---

Buy Venom Motorcycle Front Triple Tree & Rear Swingarm Paddle Lift Combo Wheel Lift Stands + Paddock Attachments For...

Amazon.com: Venom PN2 Triple Tree (Headlift Pins Kit #2 for Motorcycle Lift Stand 20mm, 21mm, 23mm, 24mm, and 27mm): Gateway

WWW.AMAZON.COM

---

Buy Venom PN2 Triple Tree (Headlift Pins Kit #2 for Motorcycle Lift Stand 20mm, 21mm, 23mm, 24mm, and 27mm): Controls -...

 

Perhaps there are other sources for the lift that includes all the pins but I was unable to find it.

[fzar]

2 minutes ago, DewMan said:

Not trying to be difficult but the picture of the pins  in that link shows that the largest of the 13mm-18mm 5 pin set that one comes with won't be large enough.

Correct, I mentioned to ignore my attempt as you had it covered, then I realised I could delete my link!!! Which I did to not add to confusion as you had it.

[DewMan]

5 minutes ago, fzar said:

Correct, I mentioned to ignore my attempt as you had it covered, then I realised I could delete my link!!! Which I did to not add to confusion as you had it.

We'll just pretend that part of the conversation never even happened then

[fzar]

5 minutes ago, DewMan said:

We'll just pretend that part of the conversation never even happened then

Fair enough, I'm outta here, Potato and leek soup is calling, with soda bread.  GET IN MY BELLY!!!

[shinyribs]

I kept an eye out on Craigslist and picked up my table lifts for $150 a piece. Bought them about two years apart. You just gotta watch and jump quick when they pop up. 

 

If I HAD to choose between paddock stand and a table lift, I would get the paddock stands first. A bike up on a table is nice, but you still need to get it off the tires for lots of things. I rarely put a bike on the table lift without also having it up on stands. Oil changes would be pretty much the only exception for this, but I wouldn;t buy a table lift just for oil changes. 

 

Like was mentioned before, definitely get a headlift stand + rear paddock stand, then go from there. 

 

Here's a link to a set of plans to build your own table. It breaks down to store out of the way and requires a ramp to get the bike up. But it'd be super handy to have if space and budget is limited. 

The Box - Motorcycle Stand/Platform - Custom Fighters - Custom Streetfighter Motorcycle Forum

WWW.CUSTOMFIGHTERS.COM

---

The Box - Motorcycle Stand/Platform Streetfighter Tools

 

[shinyribs]

5 hours ago, DewMan said:

To get that range here in the US I was required to get the optional set of larger pins. 

Amazon.com: Venom Motorcycle Front Triple Tree & Rear Swingarm Paddle Lift Combo Wheel Lift Stands + Paddock Attachments For Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Ducati, BMW - Sport Street Bike Motorcycle: Gateway

WWW.AMAZON.COM

---

Buy Venom Motorcycle Front Triple Tree & Rear Swingarm Paddle Lift Combo Wheel Lift Stands + Paddock Attachments For...

Amazon.com: Venom PN2 Triple Tree (Headlift Pins Kit #2 for Motorcycle Lift Stand 20mm, 21mm, 23mm, 24mm, and 27mm): Gateway

WWW.AMAZON.COM

---

Buy Venom PN2 Triple Tree (Headlift Pins Kit #2 for Motorcycle Lift Stand 20mm, 21mm, 23mm, 24mm, and 27mm): Controls -...

 

Perhaps there are other sources for the lift that includes all the pins but I was unable to find it.

When I bought my Venom stands you had to be careful and find the listing for the stand that just so happened to come with the correct pin set to fit our bike. But yeah, the Venom stands are super solid. No complaints at all. Pit Bull must HATE those guys for selling those stand for such a reasonable price. 

 

I've see paddock stands pop up on Craiglist cheap pretty often. Harbor Freight sells a rear stand for about $20 that is my go-to rear stand. If you can find a front stand on CL for cheap you can make a nice pair of stand like that. 

[fzar]

13 hours ago, shinyribs said:

Harbor Freight sells a rear stand for about $20 that is my go-to rear stand.

I have that rear stand also,  when I bought my bike the previous owner just gave me everything he had. It's super convenient with the R&G spool's I also inherited. After seeing the price's people are asking right now for 2015 burple's ,STOCK, with X amount of miles, I got a pretty good deal on a 2 year old bike with 2,130 miles on the odometer.

BTW @shinyribs nice job on the '78 cb750 you know I had to nose around after you put the link up. Well Done, I applaud you, Sir.

[shinyribs]

Thanks,man. I appreciate that. 

 

And the bit about the $20 HF stand was a typo. They're about $30. 

[Bigturbomax]

Well i just pulled the trigger and ordered a venom stand set plus the #2 pin kit. So ill have a head stand, fork stand and rear swing arm paddle stand all together. Will def make cleaning chain easier and whenever i decide which way to go with the forks ill be able to service them now. 

[fzar]

13 hours ago, shinyribs said:

Thanks,man. I appreciate that. 

 

And the bit about the $20 HF stand was a typo. They're about $30. 

So the deal I had with the previous owner got better by $10. LOL.

[Bigturbomax]

Dang that was some fast shipping!!!