MG Factory Stand

[VR6Dave]

What is the easiest/safest/proper way to lift the front of the V11 onto the Factory Stand Pedestal? How stable is it when lifted up?

 

Thanks.

 

Dave

[Guest ratchethack]

Dave, at first, I found that if you set the pedestal just in front of the sump, with a yardstick or similar stick resting on the lower flange of the pedestal, running forward past the front tire contact patch, you can stand in front of the bike and lift the front wheel by the fork lower ends and slide stick with one foot, pushing the pedestal back until it's just under the front of the sump, and set it down. Takes some agility.

 

After thinking about this awhile, I came up with the following (see thumbnail below), which simplifies this a great deal by eliminating the stick, while giving the stand an added dimension of versatility that I don't know how I'd have done without over the years. Now I just lift the fork the same way and pull the bike forward over the pedestal and set 'er down.

 

I found that being able to wheel the bike all around in and out of my shop with either front, back, or both wheels off is a great advantage.

 

As far as stability goes, I found it stable enough to do anything I've ever needed to do, including getting the trans out and back in, with a "safety" support from above -- just for insurance against the unthinkable .

 

Hope this helps.

[badmotogoozer]

What is the easiest/safest/proper way to lift the front of the V11 onto the Factory Stand Pedestal? How stable is it when lifted up?

 

Thanks.

 

Dave

 

I use a small bottle jack. How stable is the pedestal? My Guz fell over like the hand of god reached down and swatted it.

 

Rj

[Tom M]

I use a small bottle jack. How stable is the pedestal? My Guz fell over like the hand of god reached down and swatted it.

 

Rj

 

Ryan,

Mine tipped off the stand once too but I caught it before it went down (ouch), then I figured out what was wrong with my stand. There's a metal sleeve that's roughly a foot long that's pressed into the handle where it attaches to the stand. The sleeve was loose and it had crept toward the H section of the stand so that only a couple inches of the sleeve was inside the handle supporting the joint. The handle had bent slightly near the joint where the end of the sleeve was due to the lack of support there, so the stand wasn't jacking the bike as high as it should, and the bike was very unstable when jacked. I pounded the sleeve back into the handle, straightening the handle in the process, and now the stand works great and the bike is very stable when jacked.

 

You might want to take the handle off of your stand and check it for this problem.

 

(Sorry for the hijack Dave. I don't have the spool so I use a hydaulic jack under the sump to lift the front of my bike when it's on the stand.)

[twhitaker]

I just set the pedestal against the front of the sump with a slight lean. Lifting the front of the bike by grabbing the top of the tire rim allows the pedestal to fall back under the front of the sump

[Guest Mattress]

would someone mind taking a low fidelity picture of how their stand seats up on the bolt head point of the bike on both sides? I was quite concerned when I put it on the first time. One side seems to be "just" on the stand. No amount of monkeying seemed to be able to get better seating. Seems stable though.

[Guest ratchethack]

Hey Mattress, having some difficulty imagining wot the problem is. Also can't quite imagine how pictures of the nuts (you're referring to the ones at the bottom of the pork chops, I hope, rather than "bolt heads") in the stand would be of any help here. Is there a lateral clearance problem? Nuts not able to both seat in the cradles at the same time?

[docc]

Ratch,

 

Looks like your stand has a couple mods. What are those 'tips' over the pork-chop gougers?

 

Have you rebent the curve in the lever then repainted?

[Guest ratchethack]

Good eye, Docc. I had a couple of plastic "protector tips" in my workshop left over from -- who knows wot -- that fit right on. I find they keep me from scratching & gouging the pork chops whilst engaging the stand. I also put a bend in the handle to allow the stand to clear the LHS muffler so I can use it either in the forward or rear position, which gives it a little more versatility and works well the way my Guzzi garage/workshop is set up.

 

Oh yeah -- I also put a sheet-metal screw into the inner sleeve at the "take down" point to keep the sleeve from walking away from where it belongs every time I lift the bike.