Changing front tire without centerstand?

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I'm swapping the front tire/rim/rotor from my '02 to Dave's '05, since I got a flat, and I want to ride. I've got my bike up on the centerstand, ready to take the front off. Bring Dave's bike over.. BAM! No centerstand. So where do I jack it up, so that I can swap tires? Oh, and when moving my bike, I dropped it, and broke the tip off the brake lever. f%$k. I'm so f%$king pissed off right now. 30mph highside = no damage to levers. Me being a fuckup = broken brake lever. I hate myself sometimes.

So anyway, back to relevant topics. I've got a 2 ton hydraulic floor jack.. where do I put it? Do I have to pull the fairings off? Please, God, no?

I just want to get this done so that I can ride tomorrow. Pointers?

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

C'mon guys.. 5 views.. I seriously need to get this done SOON, it's getting dark, and I want to ride early tomorrow morning.

PLEASE.. ANYONE...

[hmmmnz]

a jack and a couple peices of wood to stabise,
or a block of concrete

works for me,
get creative man, we shouldnt need to hold your hand 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I know I need to jack it up. WHERE do I put the jack? On my naked bike, it'd be easy.. on a faired bike.. I'm not sure where to put the jack, aside from taking the fairings off and jacking it up under the frame.

[coll0412]

YEah you are going to have to take the farings off, I usualy jack under the oilfilter cover on the block side(there is a flat underthere).

Then hold the  bike from tipping as you slide two jack stands(one at a time) under the frame railes about where the S sticker is on the engine.

LEt jack down and the bike rest on the jack stands(or some brick what ever is around that is the same height

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

G-DDAMMIT... why can't things ever be easy? I JUST WANT TO f%$king RIDE. It's not my bike.. I don't want to mess with taking the fairings off and risk f%$king them up. I don't have a tree or anything to suspend it from with tiedowns.

WHY IS NOTHING GOING RIGHT TODAY? IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN EASY DAY. I HAD NOTHING TO DO ALL DAY, AND I STILL f%&ked IT UP. f%$k.

[Trwhouse]

Hey there,
First of all, calm down and stop cursing.
It's an easy thing to do, and you DON'T need a jack.
On the 05 however, you will need to remove the lower fairings.
I use a large concrete block covered with a 1/2-inch to 1-inch thick piece of wood, then a thin rag to slide underneath the stock header assembly on my bike -- a 1991 GS500E.
This combination raises the front end enough to remove the front wheel, and leaves the bike steady and secure.
Just try different pieces of wood to get the right height that you need.
This always works for me.
Take care,
yours,
Todd

[Chuck]

Put your centerstand on Dave's bike.  It takes about 5 minutes off, 5 minutes on.  Just remove the exhaust hanger bolt (gives you the clearance to remove the centerstand bolt on the right side) and remove the centerstand bolts.  Reverse the procedure on the other bike and wham.

[94suzuki500]

well I dont have a center stand on my bike, zx6r, I jacked it up on the rear wheel and side stand.  Put the jack on the front right part of the engine, or frame in the gs's situation and I had my front wheel off the ground. 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Well, thanks for the help guys.. Todd, sorry about the swearing.. today has NOT been a good day, and the GS issues are just part of it.

I eventually got it. I took the centerstand off my bike (It's much easier to take the bolts out, THEN take the springs off, as opposed to taking the springs off, then taking the bolts out, as Clymer's would have you do it) and put it on Dave's bike. Problem, Dave's aftermarket can wouldn't let me put the bolt in the right side of the centerstand, even after I loosened the hangar and wiggled it. Also, Dave's can is only held onto the flange with one of 3 bolts.. no idea where the other two are.. So Dave, I owe ya two exhaust bolts.. Don't know when/where/how they fell out.. but they're not there. So I used the centerstand with one bolt in, and it supported the '05 just fine. Just put some 2x4s under the exhaust of my bike. I gotta admit, I was REALLY apprehensive to rest the weight of the front on the exhaust, but it held up fine. My bike even started up for a minute, which amazed me, since it's been sitting for going on 3 months now. Of course, it died right after (I'm sure the carbs are gummed by now) and the battery was too dead to crank it again. But that doesn't worry me. Took Dave's '05 for a short spin... something doesn't feel quite right.. it FEELS squirrelly, like it's trying to shake side to side.. but if I take my hands off the bars, there's no headshake.. it's got me baffled. I only had my helmet for a trip around the block, so I'm about to go put all my gear on and take it for a slightly longer ride to see if I can get it figured out. Thanks for all the help guys. If it doesn't feel right, I'll have more questions when I get back.

[GeeP]

Get two heavy 1 3/4" tow straps (the ratchet kind) and find a tree.  Hook the straps securely onto the bars and lift from a suitable tree limb, basement beam, etc. using the ratchet.

I do the same thing, except I substitute the tree with a bridge crane.  

Alpha has pics on the tree procedure...

[GeeP]

A day late and 27 seconds short...   

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

A day late and 27 seconds short...   

bahahahahahaha... it's the effort that matters geep... besides, I still gotta do the test ride.. I may need your help again!

[blue05twin]

  Man you worry to much Nick.  Check your front tire pressure, it got really cold plus it's been sitting for awhile.  Oh I think my wife is comming next week I'm not sure   I didn't really keep up with her flight plans after she changed them.  Beisides if I'm not there to pick her up I'm sure she'll catch a cab.

So if you want to go for a ride tomorrow that would be cool but you do know that the police will be out in force this weekend up in the mts because of that special report from channel 5 news.

We could always ride somewhere else, but I'm not totally sure where, but I do have a map.  You got my cell # so if you want to give me a call tomorrow morning sometime.  If we go for a ride, and you have time I think I'll follow you down to GT to pick up my front rim so I can get that new tire installed on it.

Let me know.
Dave

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Yeah.. it was the tire pressure.. I'm dumb...

[annguyen1981]

I would put the GS on a cinder block with a couple pieces of wood on top so the pipe wouldn't get scratched.

I basically put the jig right after the under-fairings stop covering the headers.  (pretty much at the point where the kickstand pivot is.)

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Ya know, An, for a postwhore, you don't read so well. I already got it done!

[annguyen1981]

Ya know, An, for a postwhore, you don't read so well. I already got it done!

Actually, if you look at the timestamps, I was typing while you posted that you put air in the tire.

Being the PW that I am, I still posted my "fix".



Pandy - HowsamIdoin?

[fettcols]

Having the right tools for the job... priceless

[scratch]

Roll the front tire up onto a 2x4, place a 2x4 under the sidestand, and slip a third 2x4 like this: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=27361.msg289189#msg289189
Then spin just the front tire to slip out the 2x4 under it (pull up on the spokes so as not to roll the bike forward off the sidestand).