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Stand for Fork maintenance

cal0987

CAL0987
1998 f650 funduro

Was looking to change the seals and oil in my fork for the first time and read up on it.
Got all the seals that I needed and oil and the tool to seat the gaskets.
Was going to do the work , but realized that I did not know how to get the front of the bike off the ground to work on the forks.
It seems that there are 4 ways of doing it.
1. Getting a motorcycle lift form Harbor Freight. Is that stable enough to work on the forks or is there something additional to keep the bike stable?
2. Getting a Motorcycle Scissor Jack from Amazon....but that seems even less stable.
3. A triple tree stand... most places are out of stock right now.
4. On the existing center stand... but how do you lift the front end and make it stable?

Puzzled

Thanks
Chris
 
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I generally don’t mess with forks unless there is a problem…..but that’s just me.

Probably a good idea to edit your post and add in year and model of the bike your going to work on.

Good luck.

OM
 
I use the HF lift for a few years. I use it when I remove both wheels to bring them to the dealer to mount new tires. I use tie downs while the bike is up. I can wobble it but it feels save on the lift.

Nice with the HF lift I can store it upside/down against the wall in my garage and it doesn't take much space.
 
Center stand and a jack under the engine, or some weight on the passenger seat. I take a tie down and strap the center stand forward to make sure it doesn't fold up while I am pushing and shoving.
 
So I used a car Jack combined with a 2x6 and the center stand.... I also added some 2x4 supports on the rear rack to give it a more stable feel.

A bonus pic, while the front was off, i did some soldering on the ignition cylinder. It was stalling every once and a while and the electronics would shut off when turning the handlebar.
After inspection , one of the wires had come unsoldered . Bad design, the wire bundle rubs against a metal support beam every time the handlebar is turned, causing wear and tear on the ignition wire bundle.
Also you can see in the picture that the ignition cylinder is being clamped, because i had to glue it back together.... unfortunately on a 20+ year old bike, every time you work on something plastic , things tend to break!!

IMG_20210821_134936 (Copy).jpg
IMG_20210821_135008 (Copy).jpg
IMG_20210821_103449 (Copy).jpg
 
I generally don’t mess with forks unless there is a problem…..but that’s just me.

Probably a good idea to edit your post and add in year and model of the bike your going to work on.

Good luck.

OM

They were leaking...don't think they had ever been replaced or the oil changed in 23 years.
 
The center stand /jacking from the middle seemed to work well.
I also attached weights to the rear of the bike to tip it back on the rear wheel.

Changing the seals/ dust caps went well , working thru the instructions from the Clymer Manuel.
Hardest part was breaking the allen bolt loose on the bottom of the forks.
Ended up having to go out and purchase a Impact Wrench!
Yes , and it did need shock fluid... estimate it only had half left in the chambers!
 
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