Creative ways to change front wheel

[swimfar]

Maybe I should have posted this question before going ahead with my solution, but my method worked out okay.

I had to take the front wheel off my CBR300 recently. My rear stand didn't have the correct adapter to lift the front end off the ground so I was trying to come up with alternative methods (serious and non-serious). Here's what I came up with, in no particular order.

1. Try to balance the bottom of the forks on the flat rubber pads of my rear wheel stand (seemed sketchy)
2. Stick a big block of wood or a stool under the right foot peg to lift the bike up and support it on the rear wheel and kickstand. May have to weigh down the back end to get the CG on the correct side.
3. Take the bodywork off and stick a block of wood under the front of the frame.
4. Wrap a sling/rope behind the headtube and support the sling from something.
-4a. Put some eye bolts in the ceiling of the carport (not landlady friendly)
-4b. Attach the sling to a portable structure (my saw horses are too short, don't have an engine hoist, build something out of scrap wood?)
5. Lift the bike up and set the handlebars down on some sawhorses.
6. Get two friends to lift the bike up while I take the wheel off.
-6a. Make them hold it up while I change the tire.
-6b. Put the axle back in and set it down on the rear wheel stand.
7. Buy the $15 fork adapters for my stand.

I decided to just lay the bike on its side. It has frame sliders to protect the bodywork, and it's been dropped before so I wasn't worried about small scratches in the barends, etc. After I picked it up I waited a bit before starting it to let the oil drain back down.

Anyone else have any fun ideas? Sling mounted to quadcopter swarm? Grab one of the fork legs with a bicycle stand?

 

[kuksul08]

Uhhhhhh

 

[SFMCjohn]

well, you got the most important thing done ... always remember to take a pic! :thumbup:laughing

some of my creative-front-wheel pics from over the years ... side-stand/post method:

... got to ride with oobus, who helped me change my flat front tire ...
mysterious pin-hole at Hwy 36 and Horse Ridge.

... Right Coast Bias came along and saved the day with the
correct sized wrench for my front axle nut and a portable electric air pump
which I'm going to buy one for myself today ...

a rear wheel—side-stand/stick method:

... my flat rear tire at the gas station in Upper Lake on Sunday,
caused un-mysteriously by a screw ... it was 100 degrees, ouch.

more front wheels ... pile-o’-rocks method:

... coolest bike on the trip ... rescued from
a canal in San Rafael! :cool

... ThumperX, coolest BARFer on the ride,
demonstrating how she feels about
her flat front tire. :nchantr

... 4 mil tubes and 20 psi are
yer friends. :laughing

ThumperX and 1962siia, gettin’ it done ... :ride

and a rear:

got to see if we were prepared for flat tires a couple times.
In typical BARF Baja style we pinched the new 18” tube, and had to patch the old tube and reinstall it. The patch held for a while and then gave up on vicious washboard and we got to reinstall the new pinch-flat tube again ... :laughing

front wheel ... had-to-lay-‘er-down method:

Saltwater, showin’ how real men get the wheels
off their moto ... :laughing

both wheels ... jack stands/scissor jack method:

:facepalm:toothlessarty

 

[ScottRNelson]

I can see doing it with a dual sport, but this is a first seeing a street bike on its side to get a wheel off. I had to lay my XR650L on its side on the lawn once to get a screw out of the bottom of the swingarm to change the chain slider.

I've been using a dirt bike stand to remove wheels on my XR. It's only slightly awkward getting it up and down off of there. I have used a block of wood under the sidestand to get the leverage to get it up high enough to slide the stand under it. I tried that with my 790R and was able to get it up on the stand, but then realized that there was no way I would be able to get it back off by myself. Instead of the wheels being an inch off of the ground they were four inches. I went out that day and bought a motorcycle jack from Harbor Freight which makes it way, way easier to get either bike up high enough to have the wheels off of the ground. My XR is sitting on it in my garage right now on that jack waiting for me to finish up some minor work.

 

[dravnx]

The Goldwing guys lay them on their sides.
How about using a step ladder or 2 to hang the bike from.

 

[Cabrito]

Good job OP for getting it done!

Dual sports are so much easier to get creative with..

 

[swimfar]

These are great! I didn't expect so many pictures.

 

[buellistic]

Sticks!

 

[afm199]

Now check your air filter and see how much engine oil ended up there.

 

[Frame Maker]

Back in the 80s I had RD350s and RD400s. It was common to lay them over to work on the clutch. I'd put down a bunch of old furniture blankets and lay the bike over. That way I didn't have to drain the oil and make a big mess. Easy peazy. (sorry no pictures)

 

[Sportbiker]

you can use car jack stands supporting a rod that can be put through the swingarm pivot hole.

However, have a sturdy rear stand is a must.. (not my photo)

 

[stangmx13]

Now check your air filter and see how much engine oil ended up there.

Swimfar, this was directed at you. If the bike smokes a lot or starts to run funny, this is probably why. I’m sure there’s some oil in the airbox. Hopefully not too much.

Next time buy a $30 ladder and suspend the bike under it.

 

[DannoXYZ]

4. Wrap a sling/rope behind the headtube and support the sling from something.
-4a. Put some eye bolts in the ceiling of the carport (not landlady friendly)

If you've got rafter beams, a tiny 1/4" hole isn't that big deal. Cover it up with putty when you move out. I hang entire bikes from ceiling to do engine-swap.

 

[cheez]

John, you have the most interesting trail stories.

+1 to rafters, ladders, trees, stacks of wood under the right peg to lever it up on the sidestand, I've seen lots of solutions.

https://www.amazon.com/Venom-Motorcycle-Triple-Headlift-Kawasaki/dp/B00CX7L1LA/ style of triple tree lift is the most effective solution, coupled with a paddock stand in the rear to stabilize the bike, but we all know that.

My cruisers all like the M/C jack under center frame to fly the front wheel, it's nice to have clear jacking points under the bike.

 

[Kenny94945]

OP, I don't like your idea of laying the bike yet in an emergency that technique is an option.

I have seen "home-made" jacks made from 2x4 wood.
Create a square then attach a long 2 x4 lever
Place square flat on the ground, lever is vertical.
Push lever to horizontal (to the ground) as the square lifts to contract the lower frame rails.
Tire lifts from the ground

 

[kpke]

The Goldwing guys lay them on their sides.
How about using a step ladder or 2 to hang the bike from.

They do do that, lay them on their sides.

2 at once for me shortly after I bought this thing.

 

[swimfar]

Now check your air filter and see how much engine oil ended up there.

Is this a thing? It sounds like something that could happen if someone low-sided their bike while the engine was running. I don't see how it would be physically possible in my case. The air box was above 90% of the engine volume the entire time. I appreciate the concern, though. I double checked just to make sure. It's bone dry.

 

[afm199]

Is this a thing? It sounds like something that could happen if someone low-sided their bike while the engine was running. I don't see how it would be physically possible in my case. The air box was above 90% of the engine volume the entire time. I appreciate the concern, though. I double checked just to make sure. It's bone dry.

Most, if not all, modern bikes vent the crankcase air to the airbox. There's a physical tube that goes there, and it terminates in a compartment that has plastic sponge/baffle that passes on to the interior of the airbox. That sucks out the oil/air fumes that occur in crankcases. It works well. When the bike is on the side, it gives a great pathway for oil to make its way to the airbox via the vent tube. And yes, it's real, and I have seen a bike vent so much oil that it coated the inside of the exhaust system and blew horrible smoke long after the oil was cleaned out of the airbox. Always good to check. Chances are that had you laid it on the other side, things would have been different.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Nothing like a front flat... twice. You'd think we'd have figured out a better way to lift the front the second time but, it was hot and no one really felt like hiking out to find rocks or whatever. The GS has been down before in the dirt so my buddy had no concerns about scratches.

I also learned that patching a moto tube takes a bit more diligence than the same job on a bicycle. Second patch held all the way to Tonopah that day and then to Vegas in +100 degree heat the next day whereupon we replaced the tire as my buddy had gotten flats from this front before so this was the final betrayal. Guy at Motorcycle Tire Co (cool shop btw) said it was a good patch job.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Now check your air filter and see how much engine oil ended up there.

So your telling me this is the lazy way to oil my filter AND change a tire? :teeth