Where to jack the Guzz

[Guest captain nemo]

There was some concerned expressed about using a jack under my cross over. I was told this was ok at a Guzzi shop, but I had/have my doubts. I have since jacked it up this way a few times, and when up I apply jack stands under the swing arms. Would it be better to jack the bike under the sump as long as I avoid bolts and screws?

 

I know I need a proper shop center stand, but till then, where do you say I jack her up?

[al_roethlisberger]

Well, the "factory" shop stand has a "spool" that is supposed to go under the sump when removing the front wheel. So the sump must be able to take at least a third of the weight

 

I don't know what to recommend in lieu of the factory stand, but maybe a modified rear swingarm stand from your local MC shop might work? Then do what I do, put a block of wood under the sump, and use a decent hydraulic car lift to get the weight off of the front.

 

Right now I have my bike up on the shop stand, and the auto hydraulic jack under the front of the sump with the aforementioned wood block. It seems rock solid.

 

The stand isn't too expensive, and MG Cycle usually has them in stock. Give them a call if you're so inclined. It takes some getting used to, but once you have the knack, it's an awesome stand

 

 

In the meantime, I don't feel comfortable recommending continued jacking of the bike via the crossover. That just seems like a poor choice and location to concentrate ~500lbs

 

Maybe if you jacked it up under the crossover AND sump at the same time, but then I'd worry about stability... i.e. the bike might fall over. I know some people have used a quality strap/chain to lift the bike via garage rafters, and that's worked well for them as well.

 

Just be careful, and make sure the bike is stable before you wrench on it. I'd hate to hear that such a new and excited owner got his hand crushed or something similarly tragic when the bike fell off of some "engineered" lift....

 

Good luck

 

 

al

[twhitaker]

There is a tip in www.guzzitech.com about cutting a couple pieces of wood to fit the profile of the sump to spread out the load. It's in the Maintenance section. 6.12.02 by Jerry Riedel. Says it fits the Sport I but once you have the concept if will work on any. Works nice and gives you that comfort level knowing your bike is not going to fall or do damage to the sump.

[jrt]

Think about it this way- the sump is like a carboard box- flat(ish) sides and a bottom. If you are going to lift the box up with a load of books, then what's the weakest part of the box? The bottom center. What's the strongest? The bottom along the sides. Think about lifting along those lines, and don't lift the center of the sump- there's no reinforcement. Concentrate the weight along the edges.

 

Cheers,

Jason

[callison]

You absolutely do not want exert pressure on the sump in the vicinity of the oil filter cap. The casting is very thin there. A wooden cradle, as suggested above, seems like a very good approach.

[gthyni]

I have the red Paddock stand which is very useful when working on

the engine since it is out-of-the-way.

 

A little trick:

Before I remove the front wheel on either of the bikes,

I secure it by hanging the front of the frame to a beam

in the ceiling of the garage. If it should fall it doesn't "fall down".

[al_roethlisberger]

Here's a question though....

 

The factory stand comes with a "spool" that is meant to go under the sump in combination with the stand. It's support platform is awfully small, and there's no application for it other than to put it under the center of the sump. So...

 

Of course this is a bit different than lifting the whole bike via the sump, so I can only guess it's OK to lift via the sump and this spool as long as the other 2/3s of the weight is already on the shop stand??

 

al