Why is my backside so heavy...

Not that one!!! :smilie_happy:

Every time I use my motorcycle lift with the bikes that have saddlebags installed, the back tire doesn't want to come of the ground, so I wind up like this:



Obviously, the higher I get, the worse it becomes and I would resort to using a jack stand to support the rear. Then once it got too high for the jack stand, I would use some type of a contraption to elevate the jack stand a little more just so the bike would be level.

Was it safe? :sensored: No!!!

This past January when my mother out-law's health took a turn for the worse and we knew she was never going to go back to her home, my wife made the decision to pack up her apartment and either sell, donate, or throw away the things that were there. Well, there were several walkers and canes on the garbage pile and I said that I wanted them because, well you just never know when you made need a sturdy tube.

Now fast forward to this month and I had the bike in the air again and I didn't like the balancing act I had going on with three paint cans, a bucket and a jack stand, so it was time to do something about it, and I knew exactly what I was going to do because it was staring me in the face...



These things are adjustable for those that are tall or for those that aren't so tall (I'm trying to be politically correct), but the handle is just too big, so I got the tube cutter and removed about a foot.



I just had to reassemble the "cane" and slip it under the trailer hitch.



Now when I lift the bike, I simply extend the support a few holes at a time and the bike stays level and solid when I am working on it.



Lowering the bike back to the ground is just the opposite. Lower the tail prop a few holes, lower the jack a bit, lower the tail prop, lower the jack, etc., etc...

:smilie_happy: Didn't see that coming! A bike lift would be safer for sure.

My lift is rated for 1500 pounds, it's just the center of gravity on the full dress model is a little further back. If I were to get a lift table, then I need to take up more space in my garage that my wife already cannot park in and listen to even more complaining. oh2:

Four bikes and a trailer make it pretty full right now as it is...

Oh, and without the bags, the lift is fine all by itself.

Valkyries are so tail heavy that folks make special adapters for their lifts. There is a more elegant solution, but they're getting harder to find. I found one! It's a brace that bolts under the sidestand that runs sideways across the bike behind the engine. It's position is perfect to compensate for the tail-heavy Valk and lifts work perfectly - with out any gymnastics.

So the lift lines up with that brace... hmmm. Now I need to go looking for a way to do something similar.

Take all the gold ya got hidden in the bags and trunk out. Yeeeeesh...I gotta think of everything??? :smilie_happy:
Kewl solution, tho! :good:

Joel beat me to it! I was wondering if your bags and trunk are empty when you put it on the lift...

Also, you could let the air out of the rear tire.... :hihihi:

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=192218#p192218:8mvlqrnz said:

AApple » Sat Jun 24, 2017 6:34 am[/url]":8mvlqrnz]
Also, you could let the air out of the rear tire.... :hihihi:

Click to expand...

Or fill it with helium... :smilie_happy:

I ain't got no junk in my trunk! I wish I had the gold though...

You have the jack in the wrong position. I was told that the rear of the jack would go about the same place as the center stand. You have to insert the jack from the opposite side while it's on the side stand. As the bike is lifted it needs to be stabilized till bike is vertical, then lift to height. [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fim0yZYgdds[/video]

Thanks for the video. Awesome easy and secure to handle. By the GL1200 the lowest point isn't the frame but the exhaust, do you expect the exhaust to manage the weight of the bike without issue? I'm scared of trying and making flat my exhaust.
Greez
Joebarteam

A lot of people are comfortable letting the weight of the bike be borne by the exhaust. I never liked the idea. A block of wood (2x4 in the states) works well if you'd prefer not to allow it.

And while we're at it, the balance of Goldwings on lifts is definitely affected when you start peeling pieces off. Take a look at my '78 when it was in the final stages of assembly a few years back. Wheels and panels were off and it was then "NOSE HEAVY". Take note of the floor jack handle carefully positioned under the frame neck to keep things under control...

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=192253#p192253:lztclgwy said:

julimike54 » Sat Jun 24, 2017 1:32 pm[/url]":lztclgwy]
You have the jack in the wrong position. I was told that the rear of the jack would go about the same place as the center stand. You have to insert the jack from the opposite side while it's on the side stand. As the bike is lifted it needs to be stabilized till bike is vertical, then lift to height.

Click to expand...

Until you take the rear wheel off, then the bike falls front. I have tried it towards the back, towards the front, and in the middle. Most times I have the jack further back, but there are times I cannot do that and this works best.

Yes I understand the removal of parts, but once it is up in the air, wouldn't proper strapping hold it in place? I don't have a jack, I'm going from what I've been told. I'm weird like that, if I buy something I ask lot's of pre-purchase questions. If I've been led astray, show me the path

Ratchet strap is key for me. :good:

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=192299#p192299:2pgzrq95 said:

julimike54 » Sun Jun 25, 2017 2:04 pm[/url]":2pgzrq95]
Yes I understand the removal of parts, but once it is up in the air, wouldn't proper strapping hold it in place? I don't have a jack, I'm going from what I've been told. I'm weird like that, if I buy something I ask lot's of pre-purchase questions. If I've been led astray, show me the path

Click to expand...

I think this may be the flaw in the design of these types of lifts. The makers claim the lifts are rated for 1500 pounds and they may be but that is if all that weight is right above the lifting cradle. As soon as anything over-hangs that cradle, the center of gravity changes drastically and the lift can become unstable. With the bike completely balanced (so the jack is located further back than in the pictures in my original post) and less than a foot off of the ground, I have begun to remove the front tire and quickly had the bike sitting on the rear tire.

The base of the jack is wide enough as long as you aren't doing anything to offset that center of gravity when the bike is in the air. Strapping the bike to the stand will keep it firmly affixed to the lift, but if the lift is what is tilting, then the bike is tilting also. For that reason, I like to insert something under the rear to just keep that center of gravity in check.

...or actually move the center of gravity with something like the Valkyrie brace I posted a few entries back.

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=192330#p192330:gkwukqgn said:

desertrefugee » Mon Jun 26, 2017 9:23 am[/url]":gkwukqgn]
...or actually move the center of gravity with something like the Valkyrie brace I posted a few entries back.

Click to expand...

That's what I am looking into now. :good: