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Author Message   Inplansight Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 08:17 am:        Guys, I have to replace the head bearings on my 98 Cyclone this weekend and I am not sure of the best way to support the front of the bike. I have plenty of car jacks and jack-stands but nothing geared towards motorcycles. I was thinking of making a cradled of sorts out of 2x4's to let the bike sit on the engine, would this be ok? I did some searching on this forum and discovered someone had cracked their engine case (hard jack pad) and do not want to have any issues after the fact. Thanks Paul B   Purpony Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 08:43 am:        I hang mine with tie down straps from the rafters....   Reepicheep Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 08:44 am:        The cases are plenty strong, so as long as you aren't trying to pierce them with some kind of point or wedge, I don't think you could hurt them. Its tippy doing it from the bottom though. If you can suspend it from above that will help (roof joists maybe). I'd put a rod through the rear axle, support it on either sides with jackstands, then use a floor jack to support and lift the front of the bike as far forward as is convenient. So much the better if you can get a bike lift, so you can also strap the bike down (maybe by the footpegs) to keep it from tipping.   Gmaan03 Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 08:58 am:        Yes hang it. I tried the jack stands once! Never again!   Dave_02_1200 Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 08:59 am:        I don't want my bike to fall when I am working on it and most under-the-bike set ups just don't seem stable enough to me. My solution: I remove the rear footpegs and reinstall them upside down. That lets me use them on jack stands to support the rear end. Then I hang the front from a step ladder with soft hook straps on the frame by the steering head. It is cheap, easy to do and super stable. Hope this helps.   Inplansight Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 09:48 am:        I did think of hanging the bike, but I have to take the triple tree apart to service the bearings. I do like the ladder ideal, will have to take a better look at that tonight. Thanks Paul B   Kilroy Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 09:56 am:        simple to take the tank off, then you have frame points that you can "tie" onto to hang it from above   Reepicheep Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 10:13 am:        I tried the ladder once, and it was forever in the way and brought its own set of headaches. Maybe a bigger ladder would have helped, but it was a mess. FWIW. One other approach used a long time ago was super heavy metal shelving frame kits, and using them to suspend the bike. It has to be super beefy though.   89rs1200 Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 05:05 pm:        Personally I purchased an engine hoist years ago. This is the only tool I use to lift the front or the back of my Buells. Very stable. If it is to hang for long, I roll the bike and hoist to the rafter and hang it there. NOTE: Always use two or more straps on each side. I inadvertently leaned on the hanging bike once and brake a strap. Also, when removing engine and frame mounts, a floor jack, with a wood 'floor' on the jack forks, is handy to jack and hold the engine/swingarm from below while the frame/forks are hanging.   Ratbuell Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 09:25 pm:        Get two jackstands and a 36" piece of allthread. Slide the allthread through the rear axle. Put the ends on the jackstands. Lift the front with a Pit Bull stand or similar. Once it's up, either brace from underneath or use ratchet straps to the rafters to keep it up.   Lakes Posted on Friday, August 10, 2012 - 11:58 pm:        i got a custom made bike stand with my bike, last owner gave it to me it works, holds bike up with footpegs, i then get a trolly jack & wood block and jack front up useing the front shock mount with block of wood to protect mount it works i have removed the front end like this was not hard .   Coxster Posted on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 12:50 am:        I have a buddy help me from time to time. He has two loops in the floor for tie down straps ( about 7 ft apart), and uses various 2x4 cradles to jack our bikes up as needed. We pulled the rear wheel on my cyclone in less than 15 minutes - and you can blame some fasteners on the rear wheel cover for taking that long   Scntekir Posted on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 02:13 pm:        Engine hoist, for sure.   Brother_in_buells Posted on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 03:21 pm:        Vincent ,that's going to be a shiny buell Nice work!   Scntekir Posted on Monday, August 20, 2012 - 11:13 am:        Thanks!   Harleyelf Posted on Monday, August 20, 2012 - 06:38 pm:        I use a packing strap hung over a seven foot ladder.   Buellistic Posted on Monday, August 20, 2012 - 06:51 pm:        Have always used a small HYD jack and two old car body stands ... They have served me well for 15 years ...   S1owner Posted on Monday, August 20, 2012 - 09:44 pm:        I use straps to the ceiling then lower the table as needed. Lowered the motor out then lifted it back in   S1owner Posted on Monday, August 20, 2012 - 10:50 pm:        Feeling funny so i say a good job an understanding wife and alot of caressing in the garage is the best support!   Scntekir Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - 10:52 am:        Ha! Well stated!

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