| Author | Message | ||
     Lightningstrikes |
Ok well call me a retard but I'm having difficulty in figuring out how to work on my bike. I just bought a 2003 XB9S last month and the bike has pretty worn out tires so I looked and I just got a Great deal on a set of tires, a set of brand new Dunlop Sportmax II tires for $160, and am trying to figure out how to jack the bike up so I can take the wheels off and have the tires mounted. I've had Jap bikes before and they had frame underneath to jack up on but all thats under the Buell is a big round muffler. How am I supposed to jack the bike up and keep it stationary? Are there more than one option on accomplishing this? | ||
| Cgocifer |
Well, at least you are trying to do some work yourself! If you have the stock muffler, you can place a jack directly beneath it. It is a standard jack point. If you have an aftermarket pipe, you'll most likely have to use a swingarm jack, especially if the pipe is aluminum. Hope that helps. | ||
| Lightningstrikes |
I have the Buell Race Muffler. Do I use a standard Car Jack or the motorcycle jack? and with the muffler being oval in shape how does the bike stay stationary on the jack? | ||
| Olinxb12r |
You can use a regular stand for the back, but you need a special stand for the front. You can however strap the bike to a floor jack, and use the muffler as a jacking point. When you are taking the wheels off be sure to take the single pinch bolt off the rear, and the four pinch bolts off the front (don't forget the front is reverse threaded!). You should have an axle nut in the toolbag that came with the bike. Hope that helps. | ||
| Olinxb12r |
Use whatever jack you can fit under the bike, as for it staying stationary you need to put some wood between the jack and the pipe. You should also strap the bike to the jack once it is off the ground. You should probably have a buddy wih you the first time for sure. (Message edited by Olinxb12r on July 02, 2007) | ||
| Barker |
FYI: If you ever drop your bike take a look under the muffler it says "Jack Here" Race and stock can. | ||
| Firemanjim |
You can use automotive jackstands under your footpegs to get rear off the ground.--Or at least you can on a tuber. | ||
| Lightningstrikes |
I do not think I have the tool kit that came with the bike, I have looked under the seat but have never seen what appeared to be a tool kit. Where should I go to find a axle nut? And how exactly do you strap the bike to a floor jack? | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Before you get started, it is a good idea to order both the Sevice Manual and the Parts book from one of our sponsors. The Buell is easy to work on most of the time, but due to it's innovative design, some of the procedures are not that obvious for a beginner. The parts manual has exploded view of all the sub assemblies, and is invaluable when putting it all back together, in addition to having all the part numbers. A rear bike stand, such as the one made by Pit Bull, among others, is really a must for changing tires, and is very useful when working on the bike in general. With with the bike on the rear stand, the front of the muffler can be jacked up with an automotive jack to get the front wheel off the ground without having to strap the bike to the jack.  Getting ready for a track day. | ||
| Rody |
If you don't have the axle tool, get a grade 8 13/16" bolt, two nuts and a washer. The nuts for this bolt are 7/8". Simply tighten one nut on then the washer and then the other nut. Tighten the piss out of it or weld. The bolt head may need to have the corners ground off depending on relationship with the nuts. | ||
| Bake |
I lift my bikes from a hoist mounted up in the rafters, makes tire changes easy. | ||
| Thumper2811 |
I'm with Bake. I lift mine up from the rafters with tie down straps. | ||
| Damnut |
To remove the axle bolt you can also use a Spark Plug socket. Flip the socket around and put an extension in the wrong side of the socket. The end of the spark plug socket fits into the axle. | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
don't forget to put anti-seize on the axle when you put it back in. | ||
| Ratyson |
I lift my bikes from a hoist mounted up in the rafters, makes tire changes easy. I do the same. I did find one thing out this past weekend. I put two straps on the subframe to lift the back. I stabilize it with jackstands under the peg mounts. I attempted to raise the front up to remove the front wheel by puting the jack under the forward jack point on the muffler... the only thing this did was raise the rear higher without raising the front. SO.. I got two more tie down straps, hooked them to the front lower section of the tree, and lifted it that way. The bike looked kind of silly hanging from the ceiling... but it worked!} (Message edited by ratyson on July 03, 2007) | ||
| Lightningstrikes |
I don't really have the option to lift the bike from the rafters in the garage so the rear stand and jacking up the front sounds like a good plan. I'm looking at Pit Bull stands and there are a few different models to chose from. Do I want just the standard pit bull rear stand? Also do the front fork lift stands work with our bikes? | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Appleton HD, one of our sponsors, has the correct Pit Bull Stands. I believe that you want the standard rear stand,( $133.95), and the New Front Stand, with the #2 pin. ($159.95). The cheapskates among us, ( that would include me), have had good luck with the T -Rex stands that are frequently advertised on eBay for around $150.0O for both the front and rear stands together. Not as nice as the Pit Bulls, but they do the job for the occasional home user. | ||
| Doerman |
I have Pitbull front and rear stands. They work great. Keep in mind, pitbull's front stand lifts at the axle. If you are going to do fork oil replacement, you need to use the jack pint under the muffler in combination with the tiedowns or lifting from a rafter | ||
| M1combat |
I generally place mine on jackstands for tire removal. Jackstands sideways under the swingarm and a hydraulic jack under the muffler. That said... That's not the safest way. Especially if it's windy. I've used the rafter method as well and it always seemed the safest. Use good rafters though. A twelve foor 2'x4' strung across something won't work. The reversed plug socket solution works excellently on the axles. The best solution by far are jackstands. | ||
| Lightningstrikes |
Thanks for all the help guys. I have ordered stands front and rear. | ||
| Buelltroll |
Uh pitbull fronts don't lift at the axle... They lift at the hole in the steering head. | ||
| Doerman |
There's two pitbull models for the front. - steering head (articulated) - and front axle I have the front axle one | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
i have the t-rex stands. the rear stand is nice but i cant get the front to work. i can't get the pin in the hole. it hits the front fender. i have a xb12scg and there isn't enough room to get it through there. | ||
| Indy_bueller |
Jim; What if you take the front fender off, will it fit then? I have a 2003 XB9R and my TRex fits right in there....of course, you have the shorter suspension. | ||
| Ducxl |
Hey Damnut,good solution with the backwards sparkplug socket  On the lifting issue,i've got multiple bikes' that do not lift well from below.I've got the swingarm lifts,but the best one of all is the extending boom engine hoist i bought from Harbor freight for a cheap(Chinese...i know)$200. And handily lifts any bike. | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
indy_bueller: i am not sure. i haven't had time to play with it. i will have to try taking it off after i get back from home coming. | ||
| Ironken |
I use a scissor type auto jack that comes with most cars. It has a low profile. I welded a flat plate to the lifting surface of the jack, drilled holes in it and cut a groove into a 2X4, radius it for the contour of the pipe and bolted it to the jack. Works like a charm. To stabilize the bike, I built flat plates, welded a loop to them and concrete anchored them to my garage floor (out of the way) with 3/8" Redhead anchors. I spread the anchor plates apart as if I were tieing my bike down on a trailer and use tie downs to hold the bike vertical then place the jack under the pipe and up it goes. Kinda the hard way to go about it...having a weld shop helps though. |
