What do you use to prop up your front forks?

When removing your front wheel to replace your front tire, what do you use to prop it up until you return from the shop? I've used a milk crate with some blanket or something in the past, but don't imagine this works well for larger bikes.

Mr. Curious

 

You can set a bag of play sand across the pillion to weight the rear end and lean it back on the centerstand. Probably the simplest method. I don't like the idea of putting a jack beneath the engine case and then going through the motions of knocking an axle through when reinstalling it, too much risk of that jack causing some harm.

 

There's a crossmember on the frame just in front of the exhaust headers. I just put a 2x4 there. Simple, works well, and is surprisingly stable.

 

I use the same point, except with a jack stand.

 

If you take the engine out too, it'll sit up real nice on the center stand without the font wheel

 

On my Venture when I pull the front axle through it tips back onto the rear tire. I'm not sure it'll do that without all the wife's things in the trunk.......

I still put a jack under the engine just to keep it from tipping forward.

 

Jack stands under engine guards or a chopped piece of 3/4" plywood to fit between exhaust pipes on top of jack under engine.

Gary H.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. Much appreciated!

 

You shouldn't need to knock the axle through to install it, if there's pitting sand it off and grease the axle. Should slide pretty easily through. Getting a stuck axle out is a different situation.

The only thing to avoid is torquing anything down while it's up on a jack stand in the front and no front wheel. I made that mistake once...

You can also using a ratcheting strap to hold the frame up from a garage rafter (oil cooler was in the way for my turbo seca).

 

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