Lesson Learned About Front Wheel Removal

[Herb]

I remember seeing pictures of folks put a jack under the engine when removing the front wheel and thinking... that's interesting. Now I know why they do it! Pulled hard to get front wheel out from under the fender and... the bike lunged forward off the center stand and fell over with NO FRONT WHEEL...

It was kind of fun problem solving how to return it upright to center stand. Put a metal rod through the front axle opening and with my youngest balancing, used a car jack to get it upright and high enough to set back on the center stand! Put the jack under the engine like I saw in the pictures to keep that from happening again and will make this standing operating procedure in the future when removing front wheel. No discernable damage.

Lesson learned.

 

[Bear]

Bought a cheap scissor jack at an Auto store and bolted a piece of plywood to the top. So far it has worked on a wide variety of bikes. When doing the front wheel, the bike is in gear and the rear wheel is blocked. Glad you did not get hurt, Herb, thats a lot of weight to fall on you.

 

[elizilla]

I bought a front stand. Before that, I used to centerstand the bike, then fill the top case with bricks. It doesn't take very many to rock it back onto the rear wheel. You could use anything else heavy that you have around - rocks, cans of beer, another rider... Once the front wheel comes off, it's even more stable rocked back on the rear wheel. I would put a stick of firewood under the motor for safety, but I never had a bike fall and rest on it. These were things close to hand, out in the garage, in the days before I bought so many correct tools.

 

[ARKNT]

Sam's suggestion to use tiedown on the center stand is a good one. A long time ago I had the rear wheel off a 650 Yamaha and pushed it forward off the ceterstand. It dropped straight down onto the swingarm except my big toe cushioned it's stop. That one cost me a trip to ER for stitches to toe. Not a good idea. The centerstand is wonderfull but not perfect. It can be defeated.
I have seen pics of bikes that don't look all that secure. Keep it secure. Buy or make tools/stands to hold it where it belongs. Good insurance.

Brad

 

[Phil Tarman]

Sam, Did you really mean: "attach a "Tie down" strap to the center stand and then through the rear wheel and then snug it up until tight and then the center stand can't collapse"?

I'm trying to picture that and it seems to me that a tie-off to the rear wheel wouldn't keep the center stand from collapsing.

 

[bicyclist]

Yeah, I agree; the strap should be attached to something forward of the stand to prevent it from folding up. In Sam's case, he has the rear wheel tied down on a lift, which prevents the bike from moving forward, so there's no need to fiddle with the centerstand. If you're working on the floor, you need to find another way to prevent the bike from moving forward.

Rather than leaving the bike on a jack, I make a wooden support for each bike that lives in the garage.

 

[Herb]

Rather than leaving the bike on a jack, I make a wooden support for each bike that lives in the garage.

Could you elaborate... pictures even better.

 

[ARKNT]

I use a floor jack to hold the front end up while front wheel is off. I did make an adaptor for the jack to keep it a little more secure. I have a piece of metal that pins to jack with a snap pin that also has a short metal rod extending up that fits into a rectagular indent on the bottom of the engine. With the jack and engine pinned together, I feel more secure during maintenance on the front end.

Brad