Lifting my bike - more comfortable working height

The bike is a XJ900RL



I wanted to do some work on it and found that I am working on the ground. I´m too old for that!

Solution: lift the bike.

My plan is to simply slide a Euro-pallet under the middle and lift with a folk lift.

What stopped me was, when I looked under the bike, I saw that the entire weight would be resting on the exhaust system!

Is this advisable?
If not, does anyone have any suggestions how to do this.
I was looking around for bike stands that lift the bike for a more comfortable working height, but the problem would be the same: bike weight resting on the exhaust.

 

You shouldn't lift your bike using the exhaust system as your contact points.

I have a similar bike so I had the same problem. I used some wood pieces to make a small plateforme tha tI slide between the jack and the frame.



You may obviously use another solution, I did that beacause I hate to burn or throw away wood pieces, and they are easy to cut at the right dimensions.

Bike was quite stable but I also strap the handlebars to one of the roof trusts. I did that when I worked on the fork seals and the front brakes

 

Ok thx,
hehehe, nice carpentry

I thought about this as well, but before I went to the trouble, thought I would drop this into the forum and see what others did in my situation.

I guess you are also strapping the bike down to the stand for stability as well?

 

I didn't feel the need to strap it to the stand, but it could have been possible to do it.

 

That's great.
I must confess, I am also a wood hoarder. Much to the dismay of my wife.
You just never know when you might need a couple scrap pieces to put together for something or another.

 

Yeah I am also guilty of stashing spare lumber for those "just in case" moments. Though I avoid marital issues by burning of a symbolic heap of it every now and then.
Important, make sure the missus see's the burn off to avoid the entire discussion from even starting (again)

 

Too bad you're located way over yonder... over here, at what one user referred to as the Chinese Cheesecake Factory (I told you I was stealing that!), aka Harbor Freight, they have lifting platforms that one rolls the bike onto.

Motorcycle stuffs at Harbor Freight

One would think there's something similar available over there, right?

 

I can get this sort of stuff on my local online auction site.
But I have a warehouse (for my business) where I have pallet racks, pallets and a forklift.
I plan to just adapt something onto a pallet so I can lift it at any time with the forklift when I need to do some work on the bike.

Plenty of different and yummy cheeses over here, but not so famous for cheesecakes. Thank goodness.

 

You're setting the pallet onto the rack or something solid after lifting it with the forklift?

 

My warehouse is also my workshop. I am a furniture designer and produce my own stuff so I have my little workshop corner. Most of the place is a warehouse though.
Our euro standard pallets are 80x120cm (31"x 47"). The short side is where the forklift goes in.
Conveniently these pallets slide right under the bike, with the short side as well. Acutally the pallets are 14cm high (5.5") and there is scant clearance left for the wooden setup to support the bike by the frame.
So that means I can lift it with the forklift from either side.
I should also be able to stack a few pallets one on top of the other with some wheels under the bottom one and have a mobile working surface with the bike. Can´t afford to tie up the forklift for any length of time.
Since I am planning on doing a complete rebuild of the bike next year, I will be able to "theoretically" put the bike away on the pallet racks when I am short on space.

When I get this going I will share a pic or 2

 

After seven years of owning a HF lift table, still one of the best purchases. My knees and back thank me every day.

 

I have the one from HF and its air powered or has a foot peddle to pump up the hydraulic cylinder.

 

i just have a nice thick carpet remnant. if i don't want to get up, i just roll over and take a nap

 

I have a son who knows how to follow directions

 

I have a bike under a tarp. I mess up my knees wrestling with my 4 yr old. He kicked me in the junk 3 times in a row today, but at least he apologized each time. He's learning!

 

(nod) Not to mention that it would be difficult to work on the side of the bike that the forklift is on if you did. I was thinking along the lines of what would happen if the hydraulic seals on the forklift decided to not play nice any more.

I take that to mean he's learning that he can get away with kicking you in the junk repeatedly as long as he says "I'm sowwy, Daddy!"

 

That is the reason why I stopped working on combines after I saw how the shop was putting the headers into place. Me no want to become squished.

 

I´d buy one of these lifts in a heartbeat if I knew where I would put the thing. Space is a strong motivator for the pallet idea.

By my reconing the pallet will also give a nice space on either side of the bike for current piles of parts etc..
And when suddenly space is an issue, just jack it with the forklift and plonk it on the pallet rack, parts and all.

 

Not the best solution but i just keep it down and park the bike on the table. This way it doesn't take up space.
There are also table lifts available, made by kendon, that just fold away.
I have a harbor freight table and no issues. Best purchase and so much easier to work on bikes now, especially when paired with a little chair on wheels.

 

Not the best solution but i just keep it down and park the bike on the table. This way it doesn't take up space.
There are also table lifts available, made by kendon, that just fold away.
I have a harbor freight table and no issues. Best purchase and so much easier to work on bikes now, especially when paired with a little chair on wheels.

 

Here is finally my pallet solution...



The long board was also the ramp for loading the bike into my van.
So I put the bike on the centerstand, then strapped the bike frame down just back of the stand.
Then another strap at the front rim to the board as well
Then a strap securing the board and bike to the top pallet.
Then with the forklift I could lift it all onto a stack of pallets to my desired working height.
The bike was rock solid. I yanked and shoved on it quite a few times during repairs.

Why I needed this: The bike stopped running all of a sudden and after doing a quick check of the electricals, I decided that the problem was in the fuel side. Since it is winter here, I decided to do a complete carbs rebuild for the fun of it.
Found a shit load of rust in the fuel line in the carb stack. This was most probably my problem.

On the way, discovered the design of the XJ airbox is pretty annoying to work with . It seems to be almost trapped inside the frame. Even with the carbs and manifold off, it was not coming out. Lucky the repair didn´t need this part out!

 

There is a trick to removing the airbox. Other parts have to come off; parts that you wouldn't expect to need to remove. The battery box, and the starter being among them.

 

The starter and the batt. box were out.
Also the carbs and the manifolds
And that f**king airbox was still not coming out.

The large hammer was beckoning me.
But sanity prevailed

Yes a trick! That trick!!
The last one with that knowledge died several hundred years ago but there are rumors that some artifacts leading to secret of this trick have been found in some archaeological digs.

Like one of those secret Japanese, Ninja, secret society, tricks.

 

When rebuilding my 550 from boxes of bits I found it hard getting the airbox in with the frame completely bare ! No engine or nothing !

 

Somewhere, some how it must relate back to the Knights of Templar.

 

Quantum mechanics from the early 1980´s

 

Ah yeah!!
burn the sucker out?

Going high tech with the air gun I see. Hmmmmmmm

Respect



This is what my method would probably end up like!!

And the damn Airbox would still be in there

 

Nah. Soften it, fold it a bit, and then remove. Instialation is the reverse of removal.

 

Fold it

Is this the Japanese idea of motorcycle origami!?

 

Heat gun. That bike had a fuel leak. The spark was already there. I hope the rider didn't get injured.

Gary H.

 

Core, I think you found my brother in the box labeled Fatboy.

 

Oh shit. I think he may still be in there. When I get there in the morning, things are mysteriously moved around, and sometimes there are strange noises.