Lifting front end on '93 Trident

[urbandruid]

Hi all, new bloke from Manchester UK here!

I bought a '93 Trident 900 from a mate recently and I need to do some maintenance on the front forks (upgrade springs, change oil) and need to get the wheel off the ground.

My problem is that the centre stand has lost one of its feet. I don't want to put a wood block under the downpipes and jack it for fear of crushing the pipes.

Any ideas please?

Steve

[Roden]

Hi Steve and congrats on your purchase!

If you can beg/borrow/steal a race stand, get the back end on the stand then you can position a jack under the crankcase but make sure you use a block of wood between jack and crankcase!

I used a trolley jack but I guess you could use a bottle jack. It should be stable enough to do all the work you need to on the front end.

Cheers,

Roden

[Readmarx]

I bought an engine hoist a few years back (second hand) for odd jobs on several bikes (including engine changes). You can hire 'em and have 'em delivered for about £40 a week. It makes for a very stable job. Failing that: rev hard, sit back, dip & dump clutch and up it'll come...

[KitNYC]

Welcome, Steve!

Were it me, replacing the center stand would be my first order of business. There's not much I hate more than trying to lube a chain on a bike that only has a sidestand.

Cheers,
-Kit

[MotT3]

I tend to use an ABBA stand and a trolley jack ....here

http://mottleybiker.com/page18.htm

Cheers
Mot

[urbandruid]

Thanks all for your informative (and entertaining) comments.
I'd thought of some of them, and a centrestand is on the cards as soon as I find one that won't need a re-mortgage.

In the meantime, the abba stand seems the way forward, I'll see if one of my mechanic associates has one I can use.
I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,
Steve

[gn2]

Much cheapness.

[urbandruid]

Thanks for your input gn2. I have one of those now, but can you explain how it helps get the front wheel off the ground?

Steve

[gn2]

It helps by balancing the bike while you raise the front....?

In the past on other bikes I have achieved the result you desire thusly:

Put bike on paddock stand
Remove front mudguard
Remove fairing lowers
Withdraw brake caliper mount bolts and tie calipers up out of the way
Slacken front wheel spindle clamp bolts
Undo axle bolt
Have two strong burly mates support weight of bike
Remove front wheel
Place carefully measured strong piece of wood under lower fork yoke
Sorted.

(don't allow burly mates to drink beer until job complete and front wheel back on bike )

[born to be mild]

When I get the swingarm back on [ dont ask] next job is forks off. I plan to use a paddock stand on the swingarm and a trolley jack under the sump on mine, with a piece of wood of course. You could try that. Ive just bought a trolley jack from Machine Mart for £20, and the paddock stand was S/H from fleabay for 8 quid.
Kit has a point tho, centre stands are bloody useful things, shame that my Speedy doesnt have one......