raising the front end: R1200R

[darrene]

Hi,
I am removing the wheels to change tires. Is there a good way to raise the front without a fork stand? I have used a jack under the pipes of my fjr, or I was thinking on the A arm of the front suspension, via a 2x4.
Any guidance would be great.
Thank you.
Darren

[MTBeemer]

I use a scissors jack under the oil pan; works great. Look at this picture posted recently by Lost Rider on this forum; he used a bottle jack and had both wheels off at the same time, but see it works okay.

[deilenberger]

Floorjack under ths sump works fine (or in my case under the bash-pan..)

[darrene]

Thanks for both replies - this is what I was thinking too.

BTW: where did you get a bash plate? Do you have a pic?

[mogu83]

BTW: where did you get a bash plate? Do you have a pic?

Many of us are using the skid plate off a R1200GS (Underride Protection in Beemer talk) it's a bolt on deal and you can order all the parts at your friendly BMW dealer. It fits perfectly and doesn't interfere with the side or center stand, but it does have to come off for an oil/filter change. I'm pretty sure Joe Finn (the bike with the wheels off) has one on his bike and that's what the bottle jack is positioned on.

[MTBeemer]

You can order it from a dealer such as Max BMW here: http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/PartsFiche.aspx

[dbrick]

Umm...that makes me nervous. I'd want a tie between the centerstand and something forward (like the exhaust crossover), to prevent the centerstand from retracting if the frame is inadvertently nudged forward, like when you're re-inserting the rear wheel.

[Lost Rider]

Umm...that makes me nervous. I'd want a tie between the centerstand and something forward (like the exhaust crossover), to prevent the centerstand from retracting if the frame is inadvertently nudged forward, like when you're re-inserting the rear wheel.

I understand how it looks but it's quite solid, the center stand isn't going to fold without a good amount of force pushing it forward. (up) It wants to push back and into it's locking position from the downward force of gravity. I can't count how many times my bike has been balanced and worked on like that.
I guess it wouldn't be hard to tie the center stand to the crossover pipe for peace of mine.... I never did though, but few people should really listen to me anyways.

A jack like shown below picks it up on a little bump right behind the crossover pipe.

Just remember to remove the front calipers, loosen the pinch bolt and axle before you jack it up. Same in reverse for the install.






The GS skid plate is good, I had one on but ripped it off the bike going places I shouldn't have and never tried to repair the sheared off bolts sticking out of the engine.

I bought a better suited bike for the gnarly dirt instead.