Lifting an xs400

[bcware]

You all probably know that I am new to bikes in general. So, how does everyone lift their bike off the ground? How about raising just the front or rear wheel? Unfortunately my bike does not have a center stand; I guess the previous owner removed it and this puts me at quite a disadvantage.

It does not look like a traditional motorcycle jack from the store would work for me either because my headers hang slightly below the frame rails on both sides of the bike.

I have searched quite extensively over the past few days and found very few creative solutions to this problem.

 

[foul]

Put a piece of wood that fits between the exhaust pipes on top of the jack.

 

[bcware]

Currently I have 4 jack stands, one small car jack, and one large car jack at my disposal. I have read endless posts from people crying about lifting a bike with anything but a proper motorcycle jack whenever someone suggests something like this. Is this how everyone is actually doing it?

 

[foul]

Well car jacks usually only lift from one point, if its in the center of gravity (left to right) and on level ground it should not tip over.
Cause im cheap i would probably lift it with car jack then lower it on blocks of wood. I would never leave it on the car jack for extended period of time tho.

 

[bcware]

I am going to do some experimenting; I will make sure to post pictures if I figure something out that works well. If anyone else has suggestions throw them out there! Someone else will definitely be looking for this information at some point.

 

[crush1776]

Do it right, be safe, get a M/C jack and some 4x4's to clear the headers and ratchetstrap the bike to the jack rails. Even though these are smallish bikes they can still kill/ maim/ severely injure you. I've been lucky to avoid serious injury due to my own negligence, but it was only just blind luck. Most of us work on bikes while we're alone and if you get knocked out/ crushed you can die! Sorry to sound preachy, but think about it. Figuring something out may or may not work, but carries an inherent risk. Even "the right way" carries a risk.

Rant complete!

 

[Metalshaper]

This is how i lift a bike, whit a motorlift and a sturdy fold table easy storage and usable fore more than one purpose.

[/IMG]

 

[mcrowell75]

Why do people always take the centerstand off? At least have the courtesy to keep it for the next owner.

My current bike didnt have one either. After a week of fiddling with some two by fours and a car jack I gave up. It wound up being one of the first OF MANY nickle and dime things I have bought so far.

I know I got mine for less than $20 shipped. That should be the going rate for a salvage part. I know some of the salvage guys on ebay are on crack though.


There are going to be times where the kick stand just wont cut it.

 

[ahale2772]

I hate that my bike's 2-1 headers go right under the frame, ill be changin my swingarm shortly and adding some mounts to use

something like this...(i dont know what the correct term for them is)
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&biw=1003&bih=531

 

[Requiem]

I hate that my bike's 2-1 headers go right under the frame, ill be changin my swingarm shortly and adding some mounts to use

something like this...(i dont know what the correct term for them is)
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&biw=1003&bih=531

that's what i was gonna suggest universal paddock stands are perfect for lifting the rear wheel, and there's no danger of the bike tipping over or anything

 

[bcware]

I like the engine hoist idea.

Are the center stands interchangeable throughout the years? After a quick look they appear to be slightly different, but I am not sure if they'd work.

I'm not crazy by the way; I work on my own car and use 4 jack stands whenever I am under it. If I try some cockamamie home brew lifting idea you can bet it there will be precautions taken

 

[cafedan]

do you have a garage? my first build i screwed heavy duty eyelets to the rafters then used ratchet straps to lift. worked great!

 

[bcware]

I have a garage and plenty of rafters. I wasn't sure how much weight those things could take, but dividing the load with multiple straps doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[OliverB]

If the rafters of your garage are part of manufactured trusses with 2" X 4" horizontal rafters, they are not designed to hold substantial weight, like lifting a bike, unless you reinforce the trusses.

Motorcycle jacks can be purchased for under $100 - Sears lower line on sale, Harbor Freight - to name a couple places.

 

[bcware]

Yeah, I would not trust the rafters to support the entire weight of the bike; if anything I'd only risk a backup/partial load distribution up there when lifting the front or rear off the ground.

How does one typically support the bike when removing the engine out of curiosity? Eventually I'd like to do a complete rebuild. It seems like the entire setup would need to be extremely stable to move all that weight around.

 

[ahale2772]

best way IMO is to tie the bike down like you would if it was in the back of a truck, two straps sinched down on the triples, that way the rear of the bike can do what it wants and it wont fall over. the rafters would hold it fine most likely, no there not designed for it but hey...

when I was a kid my dads favorite wallnut tree fell down in the back yard, hes a stubborn bastard so he did some modification to our barn and ran a 3/4 steel cable from one of the corners of the barn to the tree, hoisted that bugger up and it stands to this day, the nylon straps are now a part of the tree, im sure both the barn and the tree would fall down if the cable broke LOL

 

[cafedan]

If the rafters of your garage are part of manufactured trusses with 2" X 4" horizontal rafters, they are not designed to hold substantial weight, like lifting a bike, unless you reinforce the trusses.

Motorcycle jacks can be purchased for under $100 - Sears lower line on sale, Harbor Freight - to name a couple places.

come to think of it, i only hung the frame with the motor. when it was built with everything on i only hung the front of the bike or the back. it was a cb750, i figure about 400 lbs i hope two 200lbs people can be in my attic with out the house coming down.... haha

never once doubted it was coming down.

 

[bcware]

It probably is fine, but consider pressure as force/area. Assuming two men at a combined weight of 400 pounds have a 1 foot area (footprint) the pressure is 400/1 or 400 (ignoring units). If we use a strap the area is very small; say, 0.25 feet (huge over estimate) and you get 400/0.25 or 1600 which is more like 8 or more people in the attic. In reality the difference is probably much more dramatic because the area of the strap making contact with the rafter is very small. I am not saying it's crazy, but it is something to consider.

 

[cafedan]

It probably is fine, but consider pressure as force/area. Assuming two men at a combined weight of 400 pounds have a 1 foot area (footprint) the pressure is 400/1 or 400 (ignoring units). If we use a strap the area is very small; say, 0.25 feet (huge over estimate) and you get 400/0.25 or 1600 which is more like 8 or more people in the attic. In reality the difference is probably much more dramatic because the area of the strap making contact with the rafter is very small. I am not saying it's crazy, but it is something to consider.

my straps are spaced 3 feet and are hooked to 2 different trusses separated by 4 feet.

 

[cafedan]

yall are right though, not really the best idea haha