| Author | Message | ||
     Myzen |
So last night I had stripped the XT of all the plastic (Bags, windshield, air box cover)and seat. I was working on running electric wires for heated clothing and my com system. I had it up on the Craftsman jack using the cradle as support. I also had it secured with tie downs. I started my project at 9 pm and worked on it until 12:45 am. All was fine and going well. I decided to go in and get a cup of coffee. All of sudden...I heard a huge BANG from the garage. I opened the door and to my dismay, she was laying on the floor on her left side. Upon further inspection she missed the Low Rider by less than 1 inch. Whew! Never the less, I go and pick her up. Get her on the side stand and evaluate the damage. From what I can tell, the only damage is the clutch lever...curled like a pretzel now. Not too bad I guess. Decided to call it a night and go to bed. I go to go back into the house...turn the door knob...door knob not turning...it's LOCKED!!! Uh..it's now 1 am, stuck in the garage, 6 dogs in the house and wifey...OUT OF TOWN!!! I know the rest of the house is locked up because, I checked the doors while the coffee was being made. I also know the keys are on the counter. CRAP!!! I go to the front door to see if the "extra" key is there...nope. Double crap!! Now no phone, no keys, 1 AM...not gonna break a window, WTF am I gonna do. Kick the door in and break the door jamb...don't really want to do that either. So I go back into the garage and start looking around. Start going through the tool box looking for stuff. Find an old key, tried the garage door, nope. Tried the front door...nope. One last shot, the back door...SCORE!!!!! I hadn't locked the dead bolt and access was granted. So, now I need to get a new clutch lever and look into buying a lift table. | ||
| Ratbuell |
...and one of those "magic rocks" to keep a spare key in, out in the garden  Glad you got back in! | ||
| Paralegalpete |
Sounds like Home Alone, I was going to build a cradle today, and am now having second thoughts. Anything you could have done different with the existing set up? Good that you got in without breaking anything further. I've found that the Uly falls pretty good. | ||
| Myzen |
thanks Ratbuell, funny thing is we have the rock out there and it was empty. Paralegalpete, from the way it looks, somehow the front cradle slipped off of the jack. I had removed the rubber strip from the jack so the cradle would fit (it wouldn't with the rubber). I think I would either make the base of the cradle shorter and or secure it to the jack. | ||
| Motorbike |
Myzen, please take a look at the post below. I have a few pics of how I attached my cradle blocks to the jack. You can also see how I secure the bike to the jack when lifted. The only way my bike could fall is if a footpeg breaks off or the whole jack tips over, both unlikely. The cradles use only 1 bolt each which screw into a hole that I threaded into the jack lift pad. Glad you were able to get back in your house! Thanks. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/521995.html?1260840648 | ||
| Cyclonedon |
why not put a extra safety chain or rope attached to the rafters of your garage after raising your motorcycle on the lift? I only say that because the lift seemed to hold ok while you were there working on the bike. Just a thought. also glad you were able to get back into the house without having to break in. That can be expensive. | ||
| Buellerxt |
I glad it all worked out Myzen, and glad you got in. What an experience. I can only imagine what you thought when you heard that crash. On another note, folks say that 'lowers' really help for 'large' windshields but not so much for smaller ones. I notice you have a laminar lip. Do the lowers help? How? Do you ride with them in summer months? How do you like the lip? I have one but took it off. I need to find a height where it gives good chest protection but doesn't cause head bobble. Ths., and again, I happy for you that it all ended so well. | ||
| Myzen |
Thanks for the well wishes.I will take a look at that set up Motorbike. Buellerxt, I will PM you. Mike | ||
| Sekalilgai |
late night fun with the wife out of town! glad it all worked out....nice setup Motorbike, I feel quite the hillbilly for my setup. I do run my tiedown straps up to the floor joist and make sure there is some tension in the straps(when you lower the jack to the next 'locking' detent. It is remarkably stable having bumped into the bike or other manhandling (like dealer over-tightened pinch bolts) that'd make the bike rock but never threaten to fall. | ||
| Myzen |
Went to Cycle Gear and picked up a Kendon bike lift. With my MSF instructor discount I practically stole it. Still gotta order a clutch lever... | ||
| Motorbike |
Myzen, that's a very nice lift. I would love to have one for jobs that cannot be done while on a muffler style lift. Having the bike up waist high makes working on them all the more fun! Cool! | ||
| Myzen |
Thanks Motorbike, I'm gonna give it a go this afternoon!! | ||
| Tootal |
I had good luck using the same type of lift and just leaving the rubber strips on it. I used a couple of ratchet straps from the lift to the pegs. Once in position I tightened the straps good and snug and it never moved for weeks while changing the triple trees and forks. I will admit, Motorbike's looks like the hot set up but I didn't have any issues. Maybe I just got lucky! | ||
| Myzen |
I think I figured out what went wrong. I used the tie downs that you pull tight instead of ratcheting. I think one of those gave way and over she went. |
