front paddock stands

essexbloke · Post by **essexbloke** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:39 pm

Im off to the BMF in a couple of weeks. Sole (main purpose) to find a decent, cheap (ish) front paddock stand.

Which is better though?

a) the type that have "prongs" and lift from the bottom of the fork leg.

b) the type that specifically lift from under the headstock.

Are either better than the other?

I'll need it to lift all 3 bikes i've got. The storm (as you know) has "squared" fork legs, but the others (RD350 & DR600) both have round fork legs. Will this be a problem with "Fork Lifting" stands? Will i need different fittings?

Any advise on this is appreciated.

Bryn Davies · Post by **Bryn Davies** » Thu May 05, 2005 4:54 pm

Hi Essex Bloke,

Mightn't be as relevant as you'd like, but as you say you need to lift a range of machines... I use an NWS Ulti-Pro. It's a sort of external centre stand (remember them?). connical pins go inside swing arm pivot points.
from there it's a simple matter to put a block of wood under sump.
Advantage over paddock stands etc is stability and solidity. No prizes for
"crashing" in the garage!
(Oh, just remembered, you can use stand to lift bike by either front or
rear spindle, as they're hollow-not sure why you'd want to. Just remembered the sales bumf..)

essexbloke · Post by **essexbloke** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:05 pm

Seen them (i think) i've got lowers fitted on the storm, cant use anything that lifts from the sump/engine/underneath on the storm....

I already have an ABBA stand (one of Jon Colier's) so just needed a front lifting set up....

Thanks anyhoo.....

Stormin Ben · Post by **Stormin Ben** » Thu May 05, 2005 9:24 pm

Personally I'd go for the headstock one.
They usually come with a range of collars to fit different headstocks and I've aways found mine to be pretty secure

The biggest plus for me is that you can work on the forks with it and also as the mudguard on my Blade forks is floating I can twist them to clear the calipers from the wheel. Makes wheel cahnging a 2 minute job -honstly!!

Ben

essexbloke · Post by **essexbloke** » Fri May 06, 2005 8:08 am

does this mean i'd better measure the various headstocks so i get the right fittings for each bike?

RAINMAKER · Post by **RAINMAKER** » Fri May 06, 2005 9:17 am

Just seen one in the demon tweeks catalogue that came with ' Bike magazine'.
Think I'll order one.

essexbloke · Post by **essexbloke** » Fri May 06, 2005 1:46 pm

Are we talking about a headstock one or not? If so how much is it in DT?

Stormin Ben · Post by **Stormin Ben** » Fri May 06, 2005 6:13 pm

essexbloke wrote:does this mean i'd better measure the various headstocks so i get the right fittings for each bike?

Nah mate, they are universal. The stand has a small prong and there are a number of collars that come with it that you can put over the initial prong to sleeve it up

Ben

Post by **kevg** » Fri May 06, 2005 7:02 pm

Ive got a Micron rear stand, and me and my mate bought an extender between us that bolts onto the top of it, he also has a Micron, so we can use the two of them to get the bike off the ground.

It fits into the hole under the headstock and has various pins to match different hole sizes.....problem is it doesn't fit a storm, the way the pin goes into the head stock means the stand hits the fairing below the headlight.

ended up buying one of the stands that has two prongs on each side and the front forks sit ontop of these.

so just a warning about buying the headstock ones....they might not fit unless you are prepared to take the fairing off every time you want to use it.

PS i'm also going down to the BMF. will be staying in Catterick on the thursday night then heading down to sit in the ques for the campsite on friday. pissed friday and sat nights then heading back to Catterick on sunday, home monday.

essexbloke · Post by **essexbloke** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:32 am

Ok week to go, still not a lot of input...

- other than it appears (after research) that the fork lifters are easier to find than the headstock types...

Still not convinced i'll be able to lift all 3 bikes on them though, anyone got one, will they support round forks as well as squared ones??

iggy1966 · Post by **iggy1966** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:47 am

EBloke

The theory is that they are universal and should fit most fork types, I've no personal experience of them but have seen a few used and they should be ok, might be an idea to take a few measurments and offer them up to the stand when you there it will give you an idea of fit etc.

RAINMAKER · Post by **RAINMAKER** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:58 am

Stormin Ben, you say you use headstock lifter, well which make fits the storm ? Kevg say some don't fit with fairing on.
Dont want to take fairing off each time.

essexbloke · Post by **essexbloke** » Fri May 13, 2005 1:38 pm

Thanks "NHR" that's what i'm getting at.....

Stormin Ben · Post by **Stormin Ben** » Fri May 13, 2005 10:52 pm

I've used two different ones but I'm not sure which make the ones I've tried are (they were both ultra cheap) ones.

I'll measure the angle between the headstock pin and the horizontal arm tomorrow coz that's the important feature but to my mind if the pin is the right size (ie a nice tight fit into the headstock hole (measure that too)) it won't touch the fairing. If its too loose the angle will be wrong and it will touch the fairing

Ben

robin1000 · Post by **robin1000** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:45 am

You've got me Ben, how do you make the mudguard "floating"? And, doesn't it provide a modicom of lateral support for the forks?

As for the stand, I've got a pronged lifter. You have to prise the prongs apart a little to fit various sizes of bike, but I've used mine on my Storm, ZXR750, RGV250, KR1S, CBR6 etc. The only problem is that you can't mess with the forks, but mine is used for wheel changing.
I agree with Ben on the headstock lifter, it's a good bit of kit. The best way is to buy a Micron rear stand and the front adaptor that fits into the cup holes on the rear stand. This gives you the best of both worlds, but you can on do one end at a time.