Should I lift on the exhaust or the oil pan?

[Trout]

I need to remove the forks to do the seals. The owners manual says to lift on the exhaust. There's a small section of oil pan exposed behind the drain plug. I could use a block of wood and lift there with a floor jack. But should I?

How do you lift the front of the bike when it's not possible to use a stand (on the forks)?

I could buy a Pit Bull that lifts at the lower triple clamp, but that's a big investment for a seal job.

Can I lift on the oil pan? Does anyone know how the dealer lifts the front for fork removal? "The Official Suzuki Approved Method?"

 

[98crewcab]

i lift with a strap off my tripple tree, and ratchet it up in my rafters. used a 2000lb 2" strap. no chance in it falling by slipping off the jack/blocks/whatever your support is.....


let me re-word that....lol, a strap going down one side, under the head (by the horn) and back up the other side. dont think you'd want to support your whole front of the bike with "just the tripple tree".... I just changes my tires too, should have taken a pic of how I support it.....

and thats with the rear on its stand for stability....

 

[lankeeyankee]

Do it correctly and buy the correct tools and get a triple tree bike stand...


But as I always say "aint my ride"

 

[Tufbusa]

It's perfectly fine to use the header pipes to jack up the bike. Common practice. Must make sure you have a good rear stand so the bike doesn't fall over.

If you have a pitbull stand or any other stand for that matter that lifts the front via the fork tubes, the easy thing to do is block up the headers while the forks are on the stand then remove the wheel and let the bike rest on the blocks under the headers. Keep the blocks as far forward on the headers as possible.

After you do it once, it's cake.

 

[Trout]

Do it correctly and buy the correct tools and get a triple tree bike stand...

What if I wanted to lube the bearings in the steering head? Then how would I do it correctly?

It's perfectly fine to use the header pipes to jack up the bike. Common practice. Must make sure you have a good rear stand so the bike doesn't fall over.

If you have a pitbull stand or any other stand for that matter that lifts the front via the fork tubes, the easy thing to do is block up the headers while the forks are on the stand then remove the wheel and let the bike rest on the blocks under the headers. Keep the blocks as far forward on the headers as possible.

After you do it once, it's cake.

This is the reassurance I was looking for. Thanks very much.

 

[Trout]

Update... I replaced the seals tonight. I lifted on the exhaust. No problem. Just a 2x4 and a floor jack.

 

[dadofthree]

Do it correctly and buy the correct tools and get a triple tree bike stand...


But as I always say "aint my ride"

Hey, I'm the only one around here that needs a disclaimer