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Cheap motorcycle stands!

5K views 20 replies 6 participants last post by  Hawkeye 
#1 ·
I searched all over for a cheap set of stands for my bike and finally found these:

http://www.mjmotogear.com/FRONT-FORK-LIFT-REAR-SET-COMBO-1.htm

They seem decent and I'll post about their quality once they arrive, but I just bought them today. They're $80 for BOTH of them! That's the best price I could find around. Also, if you put in the coupon code HOLIDAY09 (valid before 12-31) when you're checking out, you get 10% off all orders, so after discount and shipping it was $88.52, not a bad get IMO.
 
#2 ·
I just got a rear stand a few days ago, ****. These look nice in the pictures and that price is unheard of! Wish they sold one of those combo from head/fork lift stands. I would get one of those in a heartbeat! The ones I looked at were $150+ just for that!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Got em! They shipped on the 4th and arrived on the 6th with standard shipping rates, pretty quick!

They each come in three pieces: 2x wheeled legs and the curved support piece that joins them. It's just a few bolts and minutes to get them together.

Jacking the bike up was a lot easier than I thought. First I sat on it and slid a 2x4 underneath the kickstand with my foot, this helps it stand more upright. Then I lined up the rear stand hooks with the spools and jacked it up, which took a lot less effort than I imagined, and the front end was just as easy. The bike seems plenty sturdy while on them.

Overall, no complaints, a good buy!
 
#7 ·
The Ninja 250s before the 08+ model did have center stands I believe, these new ones do not. I'd venture a guess that most newer bikes, especially sport bikes don't have them either.

With these lifts you can get both wheels completely off the ground, take a wheel or two off, do whatever.
 
#8 ·
makes sense..

i was wondering if someone was going to say something anal about the tires getting worn do to long winter storage or something. which i guess is also a logical concern.

if the bike doesn't have a center stand, that makes sense to have.

When i took the wheels off of my bike, i used my center stand and took the back wheel off, then put a jack stand under the front... worked fine in -my- case. i do however wish the bike was off the ground another 8 inches or so for some things.. my back gets tired leaning over.... causes all sorts of aches and pains. and.... im only 28... i don't have the room for one of those bike floor jacks though, or i'd get one.
 
#9 ·
Haha.. that is another reason I got them, trying to avoid flat spots on the tires from sitting for months!

But my front wheel is messed up somehow. It won't spin freely more than a quarter rotation, like the caliper is sticking or rotor is warped... god I hope it's not the rotor, $$$
 
#10 ·
man... i cant really think of too much else it would be besides the rotor being warped...

But... why would it BE warped? that's the question. if it is warped, you gotta figure out the cause and fix that too. just a thought.


Does it stick in the same exact spot every time? or is it random?

it could be something like a bearing, which would cause it to stick in different places at different times if at all.... randomly..

a rotor would stick in the same exact spot each time it came around...

try loosening your brake shoes a little... see if it frees it up.... then you'll know for sure... the brake pads don't randomly close with a tire revolution, so it wouldn't be the pads.

either way, if you loosen the brake, and it DOES turn freely, you'll need to replace the rotor if that's the case, because if not, your bike will "shimmy" to a stop where the brakes engage the rotor.... it'll be really jumpy, and you'll think you're about to die....

good luck with it though.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Well when I was riding it before the winter set in, it would stick at the exact same spot on each revolution but it was really only noticeable at lower speed. Breaking on the highway or at higher speeds I didn't notice it at all. From what I've read, warped rotors are more noticeable at high speeds.

What's a good test to see if it warped or not for sure?

My garage isn't heated or insulated so I don;t think I'll be working on it in this 10 degree weather
 
#12 ·
yikes. Sounds like a bad deal.

I got a stand so I can lube my chain a lot easier! That was the main reason as I already had my bike on blocks for the winter in my garage.

FYI porange, you can just put your left hand on the seat of your bike and stand it up with one arm and use the right arm to put the stand on instead of dealing with blocks under the kick stand. It is very easy and the bike does well standing on it's own (not too much help balancing it). I have a 600 and it was cake.
 
#13 ·
Yes chain lubing!!! I've been lubing... roll a foot.. lubing... roll a foot... That was another reason I forgot to mention.

And I'll try to remember to use that method.. whenever the next time I get it down and back up again.. it'll be months! Sniff...
 
#14 ·
hmm... yeah, typically, if there's a warped rotor, at slow speeds, the brakes will give you a "tss tss tss tss tss" sound, and the wheel will kind of drag a little bit in that spot.. until you stop.

(btw, if your brakes do that without being engaged, that's a problem)

if that's the case though, when you really get on the brakes, especially at a higher speed.. say, 80... it would buck you back and forth like a bull....

well ok.. that's a little extreme.. but yeah.. you'd feel it a lot more..

The same symptoms happen in a car... so if you've ever had bad disks on a car, it's the same thing.. only.... more stable since you have 4 corners connected.

you may not have a warped rotor per say, you may just... need to get it turned..

I don't know if they can turn motorcycle rotors though. i would assume so, but no idea who would do it. (motorcycle shop i assume... maybe dealership).

honestly, it's hard for me to judge what the problem is, because i'm not on the bike to know.

it may be that your brakes are too tight.. especially if their engaging / scraping without touching the pedal / lever..

not really sure... either way, if you figure it out, let us know.. i'm curious to know the fix.


As for the weather, I keep forgetting its winter... it's been in the 50's all week here until today... it's high 30's, was in the teens last night.. my part of Texas hasn't seen more than 1mm of snow.. other parts have had blizzards though.. north of here.

its JUST NOW getting to the "cold part of the year" for us. and it'll be over by the end of Feb.. back up to 70's 80's, but lots of rain probably. it HAs gotten cold.. it just, doesn't stick around for long.

But, our weather is nowhere near as nice as FL or CA. "Riding season? What's That?? Every day's riding season"
 
#19 ·
*Sigh* I fear it is the worst...

Went into the garage last night, took the front caliper off and gave the front wheel a few spins. I closed my left eye and lined up on the rotor so I could see it dead on... For most of the rotation it looks straight but at one point it waves out of center by a pretty good amount..

I know I can google these pretty easy but I like some live feedback too:

1) What can cause rotors to warp?
2) Where can I get a front rotor for an 09 Ninja 250r besides bike bandit, where it's $300ish?
 
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