Jackin' Up the RT

[Blue Beemer Dude]

I see in my Craftsman Club 2005 Gift Guide that their 1500 lb. aluminum (aliminium for my Aussie friends) motorcycle jack is on sale. I've often thought of getting one of these. But what would I use it for? I don't need it to change the oil, but it would come in real handy for changing the tires.

 

My questions to this august group are:

 

1) what other uses have you found for a motorcycle jack?

 

2) how do I jack up the RT? Do I need to remove the tupperwear, or the lower tupperwear to get frame contact points? How stable is the beast up on a jack?

 

Thanks!

 

Michael

[Haynes]

...what other uses have you found for a motorcycle jack?

Michael, I can address this part of the question by say that I have only worked on a motorcycle once while it was on a lift table. The biggest advantage is the lack of bending that is required. I'm not sure that a jack will give you the same height as a lift table.

I agree with what you suggest that there are few regular service jobs that require the bike to be off the ground on a jack apart from tyre (tire) changing.

[bigtim]

BD,

I have a Craftsman standard lift, nothing fancy just the $100 special and it is worth every penny. I use it on my Road King everytime I clean it. Saves rolling it back and forth. However, I also realize this is a beemer forum so I will also say it is a good way to support your RT in the event you want to remove wheels. Of course you can do this while is it on the center stand but if you are doing a tire change I like to support the whole thing with the wheels off. You can also tie the bike down to the lift and be quite confident it's not going anywhere, plus you can roll it around on the lift.

 

I like mine, and glad I bought it! BT

[Rob L]

Check out http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/car_lifts.php for some other options. I bought their Pro cycle lift at $595. It's well built, has air operated cylinder, and has been the best thing that I have done for my back since I had surgery in January! Of course it takes up some room so I use a winch to hang it along one wall when I'm not using it. I added some wheels so I can move it easily and made a dolly (they sell one) to manuever it. I'll never lay on the ground to do mntc. again!

[bigtim]

Those are all table lifts. I think BD is talking about cycle lifts. I' not lying..the craftsman is hard to beat for the money. I put a 750# scooter on it with confidence.

[Rob L]

Those are all table lifts. I think BD is talking about cycle lifts. I' not lying..the craftsman is hard to beat for the money. I put a 750# scooter on it with confidence.

I understand that you guys are talking about smaller lifts instead of table lifts, but I thought that you might like to see an alternative that is not very expensive. The problem with a regular lift is that you need to remove the engine spoiler before using it and then be very careful of where you place the lift to avoid damage. This means that you are still crawling around on the floor before you get the bike to a comfortable working height. I spent too many years on the floor. I'd rather roll the bike on the lift, tighten the vise on the wheel and raise her up. Costs more, but that is my choice.

[chopperdan]

The lift you are talking about works well on a full frame bike. But for a BMW I think it is more trouble than what its worth. If you want it to change the tires I would just use the center stand. If you had to do any major servie ie clutch replacement that lift would be in the way.

 

I guess what i'm trying to say is if you're doing minnor sevice you don't really need a lift. Because it will take more time to set it up on the lift than it'll take to do the service. If you're planning to do major service then that lift will be in the way.

 

The table lift is the way to go. If you shop around you can find one at a good price.

 

Chopperdan

[Ken H.]

It’s hard to get that type to work under the frameless BMW bikes. Some people have reported modifications to make it possible though. Making special brackets, etc.

[nrp]

I made a small 10" X 10" wooden platform to adapt between my $60 lift & the R1100RT. I still have to remove the bottom of the fairing but it gets both wheels off the ground & makes it easy to put the bike in the corner for our MN winter (damn). It is kinda tippy though.

 

Whatever, just don't do like I did & try to remove both wheels supporting the bike with just the center stand. Of course tipping it forward to remove the back wheel just made the stand fold up & dump the bike. I felt very stupid - for an engineer yet.....!

[BobB]

Here is a bike lift that I find convenient to have.

Manually Actuated Hydraulic Jack - NO Compressor Required

Integrated Wheel Chock Locks

1,000 Pound Weight Capacity

Full 32 inch working height when raised

 

www.new-era-motorcycle-us.com

 

 

 

Bob

[BobB]

Here is the Kendon web site.

 

http://www.kendonusa.com

[TracerBullet]

I have one that I bought when I had my VTX.

I used the thing a grand total of twice in the 6 years I have had it.

[kudzu]

1) what other uses have you found for a motorcycle jack?

 

2) how do I jack up the RT? Do I need to remove the tupperwear, or the lower tupperwear to get frame contact points? How stable is the beast up on a jack?

I haven't used mine for anything except removing wheels, but that comes around fairly often if you ride very much.

 

Yes on the RT you have to remove the lower fairing - not a big deal. Once the lower fairing is off, position the jack just as far forward as possible and the bike, at least my '04 RT and '04 S, will balance. Using the tie-downs, the jacked up bike is stable enough to move around the garage. Without the tie-downs, it balances but you should probably hold your breath and tiptoe when walking within ten feet of it.

 

While you can certainly remove the wheels on the center stand, this is the easiest way I know to remove both wheels at once.