Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

Hi everyone, just a thought ,does any body have a good way of putting the front stand down to raise the front wheel ...for me on my own I put the bike on the main stand ,slacken the stand retaining bolt ,drop down the stand and then with great effort lift the front mudguard [fender] and then struggle to pull the stand under the wheel . if I had another person to help it would be much easier....is there a technique to doing this easier , I would love to know. by the way the handbook just says 'put the front wheel on its main stand' !!!

I was about the ask a similar question. I was curious if anyone uses a front stand like from Pitbull either at the headstock or under the forks to elevate the front wheel off the ground.

What's the purpose for getting the front wheel in the air? Is it just to change the front tire? I have the engine protection bars so I use a regular floor jack to raise the front of the bike by pushing up on the protection bar. It can't be too much as it will lighten the load on the center stand. But that's enough for me to get the front tire out. I think you could do the same thing on the oil pan, maybe with a piece of plywood to distribute the load.

Andrew is referring to the built in wheel stand on all the plunger era bikes that swing down and hold the forks up. I have never tried to use mine since....I don't want to scratch the paint! I simply use a small floorjack with a piece of 2x6 wood under the oil pan and carefully raise it that way. Back in time,when you are on the side of the road,this built in stand would have been a nice faeture, but in the garage a floor/trolley jack is fine and easier.

schrader7032 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 5:25 pm

What's the purpose for getting the front wheel in the air? Is it just to change the front tire?

At least for me, I need to do the front brakes so being able to lift the bike from the forks and elevate the wheel is necessary for removal. Also, being able to freely rotate the wheels while its in the air makes it much easier to clean. I use these kinds of forks stands on all my Ducatis.

Does anyone know if its ok to lift the Earle fork bikes from the bottom, horizontal bar using something like this:

I too have never used the front jack because I do not want to scratch the paint.

But, I would try put it up on the front jack the same way you put it on the center stand. With the center stand up put the front jack down and then roll the motorcycle back on to the stand. It’s not as wide as the center stand but it should work???

I have never done it so please let us know.

I use a scissor jack like the one pictured and have made my own extensions that go up between the motor and exhaust and allow me to jack on the frame. I do this with the motorcycle on the center stand and it lifts the front wheel quite nicely. It is very stable and I have done the front shocks on the plungers and earls fork rebuilds with this setup with no worries.

Yes James I thought the same as you about leaving the main stand up and then pulling the bike onto the front stand , I might at some time try [just as an experiment] to see if this is the way. I too do not want to scratch the paint but I have the bike on rubber flooring so should not be an issue ,I also when in the workshop ,use a jack under the sump ,but I was interested just how it was done out in the field so to speak.

James
Like your jack
Make, Model,Where to buy
Tommy

wa1nca wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 03, 2022 9:05 am

James
Like your jack
Make, Model,Where to buy
Tommy

I did an image search...many places to buy, even found it at Walmart.

I got the jack on Amazon.

The extensions (which you are able to screw in and out) were too wide to get to the frame so I made skinnier ones and they get to the frame perfect.

Since it is an old style scissor jack it will stay where it is set forever. No hydraulics to worry about.