Hillrat

So I just trashed my rear tire and need to get the wheel off. Since I have access to a welder at work I thought I would try my hand at welding up a rear stand for the bike. Took more time than I thought and could use some more bracing but looks ok for now.



Well I got home and tried it and found that... fail... it doesn't work so back to the drawing board. I think I made the angle on the arms too acute and didnt make it long enough. I don't have enough leverage to even budge the bike.
Ill post more about Rear stand Rev.2

Tweety

Well.. Since you are doing the welding yourself... Why not make an abba copy? It's much more useful in the end, as it hooks to the engine mounts and let's you take the swing arm off... Also, it's dead easy to operate on your own, since it's stuck on the bike before you start moving anything....

I'll include my crude drawing from a few years back...

7moore7

Bet that commute gets costly in those helicopters. You should carpool with your co-workers and just use one of them to save fuel. At least you have indoor parking for them!

E.Marquez

Your on the right track... I've made a bunch over the years.. for my bikes, friends bikes..

Nuhawk has one if I remember right as well.




Im sure there are other pics around as well.

If I may make a suggestion..

Little less angle on the up rights... Handle about twice as long.... consider making the swing arm pads rotate

E.Marquez

I keep meaning to make one of these when I see them pop up in a thread..... Thanks for the reminder...

Today is the day.... there is a bunch of 1.5" square DOM tubing on the shop floor looking lonely out there... think it needs some quality time with the chop saw and welder..

Hillrat

Thanks for the advice everyone. E.Marquez, thats exactly what I was thinking I needed to do except for the pivoting swimgarm pads. Thats a good idea too though.

Tweety, I don't get it.

7moore7, Thats why I need to replace my tire!

E.Marquez

I find the pivot pads keep the stand in place on the swing arm better while lifting. They also adjust to the angle of the swing arm relative to the ground(angle of the rest of the stand) for full pad contact.

The stand Tweety mentioned... it is an interesting design.. Has some benefits and some claims that are exaggerated.

Anyone that can not put up a bike on a basic swing arm stand by themselves, really has no business owning and riding a bike on public streets,, (and for that matter, should only be given a "spork" at feeding time, spoons and forks are way to complicated and dangerous)

smokinjoe73

You can find these for 30-40 clams if you decide to go that route. One of the few things I did not want to do myself.

Like this http://www.harborfreight.com/low-pro...and-99701.html

Hillrat

No Harbor Freight in Canada. Plus its way more fun trying to do it myself.

Tweety

What part is exaggerated? The safety part? I didn't say a normal one was unsafe in any way... I use a paddock stand for normal maintenance, like lubing the chain and so on... Not at all unsafe... The abba however is even easier... You would have to be a world class klutz to tip the bike over with it...

My version isn't really a true copy of the abba, since that's supposed to be used on many different bikes, and the quirk with the VTR is that it lifts from the swing arm pivot, so I made mine taller, for the simple reason that I wanted to be able to remove that...

The stand plus a small bottle jack or a couple of wood blocks makes it possible to remove the fork and swing arm from the bike... Unlike the paddock stand type which makes that near impossible...

E.Marquez

From the Abba site
"The abba superbike stand came about after Mr Burdett a frustrated motorcycle technician was working on his own and customers motorcycles was finding the current equipment he was using i.e. stands and lifts, to be totally inadequate for the job. Exaggerated He was unable to carry out simple routine procedures on a motorcycle without problems Exaggerated "

"Conventional Paddock Stands are at best clumsy and at worst dangerous! " Horseshit and Exaggerated

"If you have ever tried to use a conventional paddock stand on your own before you will know just how awkward and somewhat scary it can be."Exaggerated

"When trying to fit a paddock stand to your motorcycle you do not have total control of the bike at any time" Horseshit and Exaggerated

I can go on, but that should answer your question.

I do like the stand for what it is...and will build one....

But quicker it's not, safer it's not, easier it's not (for a human having both a brain and opposable thumbs)

It is different though and It does allow some maintenance procedures otherwise not doable with a standard stand..
I also think I would like the ABBA stand for my bikes that are stored more than ridden. If for no other reason, no "tail" hanging out behind the rear wheel to trip over.

cybercarl