Front paddock stands

[Nobbylad]

I think I know the answer(s) to this (headstock stand or good quality paddock stand), but Im going to ask anyway.

I got the BikeTek (or similar derivative) paddock stands from Busters, front and rear plus a workshop seat on castors with built-in tool tray for around £40 or summat.

I bought hooks for the rear paddock stand as I have R&G bobbins and couldn't use the swingarm cups anyway, due to the routing of my Scottoiler tubing (underneath the swingarm).

Have no problems with the rear, but the front is a different kettle of fish. I always struggle to lift the front properely, without the forks getting jammed between the two posts/spigots on the paddock stand. I'm pretty sure the bottom of the fork should sit on one post, with the other on the back of the fork to rest against, is this right or am I being totally stupid?

[Nobbylad]

Anyone?

It sounds right. The fork bottom sits on one 'arm' and the other is against the back of the fork. Get it lined up nicely before attempting to lift, also make sure everything on the stand is well tightened up, and you shouldn't have a problem. They're not confidence inspiring though.

[Nobbylad]

Hmmm..cheers fella, that's what I thought, 9 times out of 10 though, the forks roll off the post and then end up getting stuffed between them. End result is loads of faffing about tying to stop the forks getting scratched etc.

Maybe a need some attachments that have a narrower gap between them?

Mine always seem to end up like the pic on the right below...

[timwilky]

should be like the pic on the left

[Nobbylad]

Originally Posted by timwilky

should be like the pic on the left

Exactly, however it is REALLY difficult to get mine to sit like that. I have to hold the adaptors onto the forks with my fingers and use my knee to push down on the paddock stand to lift the front end up. Even then it's a nightmare not trapping my fingers or having the forks slip down between the posts on the adaptors!

[Stu]

Thanks for sharing. Just confirms my thought that I should get a bottle jack to go with my NWS stand, instead of a front paddock stand.

[Nobbylad]

I think that the adaptors that came with it may be too wide i.e. the posts too far apart. The forks on the SV are quite thin...then again, it's a great excuse to do a Gixxer front end mod

I manage fine with mine which may or may not be the same, persevere a little more, they're annoying, but quite easy once you've done it a couple of times. Just double check that your "arm attachments" are on the correct sides of the stands. IIRC they're not the same on each side.

Once the lower of the two "arms" is in place on each side it shouldn't move, the upper "arm" is really just there to hold it in place. Friction should stop it moving as you begin to lift, you push the stand underneath the bike as you do so (against the fork bottom).

Is it basically like this one?

[Nobbylad]

Yes mate, almost identical to that one, however I find that when I line it up with the foremost arm on the underside of the bottom of the fork and the other arm behind the fork, when I push down and towards the bike with the stand, the forks either drop off the foremost arm, or squeeze in-between the arms. It's a real pain in the hoop! I think I'll try squeezing the arms closer together.