how can i jack up my bike

[BuRnS]

my left front fork seals leaking out oil. this happend 2 before on my last bike but been to the bike shop and they said if i can take off the forks myself and bring them in it will be alot cheaper then paying for them to take them out.

my last bike had a center stand but i was wondering is there a way to jack up the front end on my 89 zxr 400 if so how, seems like theres no where to
put a jack onto.

any information would be great

[R6_kid:Me]

you can either try and suspend it from the girders(sp) in your garage OR.

Put it on its side stand on a level surface, with a thick (1-2inch piece of wood under the stand), put a car jack under the bike just where the headers bend down under the engine, and jack it up. (you may need someone to stabilize it for you while you do this, once its level again or just past level, then get someone to lean it back off the stand (supported by the rear wheel and pivoting on the jack) and insert another piece of wood under the stand...

repeat as neccesary.

What you want to do is measure the complete distance from the top of the fork to the lowest part of the lower tripple clamp, and then measure this height from the bottom of the fork to the ground, once they are equal or the clearance is greater then you are sweet to take the forks out, this is assuming you take the wheel off.

Also, take the fairings, front guard/fender and brake calipers off before you do any of the above as it makes things a lot easier.

I take no responsibility for any damage that occurs if you try this, however i have done it 3 times, twice on my R6 and havent had any problems.

[BuRnS]

oh cool thanks for that. tht may just work
cheers

[Wasp]

yea... forks seals are expensive, im getting my done in the shop on tuesday - 1 1/2 hours labour just for the left hand one...

[BuRnS]

yer on my last bike, a gf 250 that was $175. it was actually $200 and something but thts not what i was quoted so i got some money off
the dude rekons around $90 if i bring the forks in

i don't think it does anything major to the handling or anything just it wont pass a warrent...and its annoying

[R6_kid:Me]

if they are right way up forks you should be able to do them yourself. If they are USD forks then it might pay to go and watch the guys in the shop when they do yours, will probably only be an hour or two, and then next time you can have a go yourself.

Just leave a weekend, and preferably do it with a workshop manual for your bike close by.

[The Stranger:Me]

I put a chain through a piece of 50x50 RHS as a spreader.
Bolted the chain on to the engine mount bolts and used a cable puller off of the centre of the RHS.

Was cheap, effective and didn't have to remove any fairings.
Mind you, if I was just doing the forks I would have used a head stand. But I figure if you are going to remove the forks you may as well allow for checking and possible replacement of the steering head breaings as you are half way there anyway.

[The Stranger:Me]

i don't think it does anything major to the handling or anything just it wont pass a warrent...and its annoying

You could very well find it has a significant impact on your handling, particularly on a bike as old as yours.

They recommend you change fork oil once a year. This is for good reason.

[R6_kid:Me]

ask them to use something between 5 and 10 weight. Probably pay to go a tad higher as depending on how thrashed your bike is the springs may be a bit on the tired side.

[FROSTY:Me]

or you could call me and buy the front stand that is desighned for exactly that job. No pissing around with chain blocks or car jacks--it fits into the center of your steering head and you cam dismantle the whole front end at will

[BuRnS]

You could very well find it has a significant impact on your handling, particularly on a bike as old as yours.

hmmmmm, the guy at the bike shop rekoned itd be pretty easy to do. i asked him if id notice anything handeling wise, he said only really if you going hard nutz on a racetrack or something and to this day it seems fine.

[The Stranger:Me]

hmmmmm, the guy at the bike shop rekoned itd be pretty easy to do. i asked him if id notice anything handeling wise, he said only really if you going hard nutz on a racetrack or something and to this day it seems fine.

If the oil is ok now yeah it will make FA difference.

But if the oil is old and the bike has done some miles it can make a huge difference.

The Yamaha was like a pogo stick until the oil was changed.
The oil which came out was thin as water, filthy and stunk.
There was a lot of gunk in the cartridges and the bottom of the forks. I would guess it hadn't been changed in 45,000 km. It did make a significant difference to the bike when it was cleaned up and had the oil replaced.