Front Wheel Stand
by Deryle Mehrten
Last month I wrote about a couple of new tools that I added to the under-seat tool kit I put together for our new wedge-motored ’08 K1200GT. In that article I mentioned that to remove the front wheel a stand is required as there is no place to put a scissor jack under the engine.
After removing the side panels and the belly pan (on the brick K12 the belly pan came off first – on the wedge K12 it is easier to take the panels off first) I found two 10X1.5mm threaded holes on the bottom of the engine. These must be for another model’s body work or belly pan; or for the mounting/removal of the engine during assembly. Either way, they make a good location for a stand.
The stand I made is composed of 1/8 inch thick by 3/4 inch wide aluminum purchased at my local ACE hardware store. Total cost was about $20. The nuts and bolts are leftovers from various bikes and projects. I estimate there is about $15 to $20 worth. The whole project took about two days to complete.
What I wanted was a stand that I could use alone. It had to go under the bike to lift the front wheel and then be removable after the wheel was replaced without any additional help. By just snugging up the stand bolts, keeping them a bit loose, then lifting up the front wheel, the stand will swing down into place. To remove it, I hooked a bungee cord to the stand, lifted the front wheel and pulled the stand out from under the engine.
The first test didn’t go so well, the stand was too short and the front wheel didn’t come off the ground. I moved the bottom width braces under the side pieces and that 1/8 inch additional lift was enough. It worked like a charm.
I’ll need a new front tire in another few thousand miles and with my new stand I will be able to change it on my lift, no problem.
Note: What is not shown in the pictures above are the safety straps I normally keep attached to the center stand and the front of my lift. They steady the bike but were in the way for the pictures.
Also, the roof rafter just above my lift has been beefed up by the addition of a 20 foot 2X6. If I need to, I can support the front of the bike using another set of straps to hold the front of the bike up. Safety first.
