budguy207 Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Just ordered a front and rear set of Michelin Pilot Road 2's for my almost 4000 mile VFR12. Local bike shops are quoting me 180-200$ to ride in and have them swap the tires as opposed to what I have done on past bikes which is just bring them the wheels (30 per tire that way) and leave my bike on a jack in the garage.. I am no rookie to mechanic work but for the life of me I cant find an easy way to lift this thing short of buying a pitbull stand for 170$.. Anyone have any trick of getting the bike in the air to remove the wheels without buying extra equipment. I haveva motorycle jack but i dont see it being useful... Should I just pay the 180$ ??? Thanks!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted February 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted February 17, 2013 Pitbull or buy the oem center stand. The VFR requires one or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted February 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted February 17, 2013 Put slabs under the belly pan. Put a block of wood on the slabs. Push the rear down, lifting the front while at the same time use one foot to slide the wood under the belly pan/headers. The rear is of the ground still, so theoretically i could remove that one as well. Not the most stable. Ymmv ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volfy Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Easiest way is with both front and rear stands. Centerstand will work as a rear stand. They are not that expensive, so you might as well get them. Alternatively, I have propped up the bike with a steel rod through the swingarm pivot center hole, then support the rod on both ends with jack stands. I do this if I have to do some work that require some muscling around, which might be a bit precarious with the centerstand's narrow footing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 When removing both wheels, I put the bike on the center stand. I have two large hooks in the ceiling joists of the garage to use as attachment points and use ratchet straps going from those and attaching to the handlebars. Basically I suspend the front from the ceiling. It's quite sturdy and seems to work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 You can jack the 1200 up with a small hydro car jack. Honda put a specific JACK POINT under the bike in the middle of all the exhaust pipes if you look closely. It is also well balanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue_Biker Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 You need that centerstand to lift the bike up at both ends. Either that or a service stand. But a Service Stand at the rear makes it tough to lift the front end up because the center of gravity shifts to the front. With a Centerstand, the center of gravity is at the center. So you can lift the rear with the centerstand, remove rear wheel, then easily lift the front end up using a cheap scissor jack (block of wood) between jack and headers) to also remove the front wheel. The bike just pivots on its centerstand and is stable as long as you don't lift the front too high. See Dutchy's picture above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR Capt.Bob Posted February 18, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted February 18, 2013 Waisted a long and brilliant reply not realizing this was a veefallo question. Never mind. Buy a set of stands and tire mounting eqipment. Very easy to become your own tire man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volfy Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 FYI, with the VFR on center stand, I couldn't use a front stand to raise the front wheel. The rear tire will hit the ground and threaten to push the bike off the center stand. I ended up having to remove the rear wheel first, then raise the front end with a PitBull stand. The ceiling trick might work better, since you can dial in just enough lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam2 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 FYI, with the VFR on center stand, I couldn't use a front stand to raise the front wheel. The rear tire will hit the ground and threaten to push the bike off the center stand. I ended up having to remove the rear wheel first, then raise the front end with a PitBull stand. The ceiling trick might work better, since you can dial in just enough lift. Which Pitbull stand are you using? The website isn't real specific except for the rear stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GadiantonRob Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 I got T-rex front and rear stands for the same price as one Pitbull stand. Very impressed with build quality. A must have if you don't have a centerstand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam2 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 I got T-rex front and rear stands for the same price as one Pitbull stand. Very impressed with build quality. A must have if you don't have a centerstand. Mind sharing which stands you have? I was literally just about to hit the button on the Pitbulls when I saw this. These T-Rex stands are tons cheaper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer zupatun Posted February 18, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted February 18, 2013 Front Pit bull use the steering stem. keep mine with a nice coating of latex paint so people don't steal it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volfy Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 FYI, with the VFR on center stand, I couldn't use a front stand to raise the front wheel. The rear tire will hit the ground and threaten to push the bike off the center stand. I ended up having to remove the rear wheel first, then raise the front end with a PitBull stand. The ceiling trick might work better, since you can dial in just enough lift. Which Pitbull stand are you using? The website isn't real specific except for the rear stand. It's the regular forklift stand. I do have the steering stem converter for it, and according to Pitbull's chart http://www.pit-bull.com/fitting_chart_pins.pdf the standard pin works for the VFR1200. I didn't try to see if that works, since I was swapping out both tires, so the rear wheel had to come off anyway. No biggie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GadiantonRob Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 I got T-rex front and rear stands for the same price as one Pitbull stand. Very impressed with build quality. A must have if you don't have a centerstand. Mind sharing which stands you have? I was literally just about to hit the button on the Pitbulls when I saw this. These T-Rex stands are tons cheaper! Well, TBH I don't know if they will fit your 7th gen, I just got the VFR SSSA stand and the standard front fork stand, both in black. I got 2 free spools too, don't know what to use them for, though :/ http://t-rex-racing.com/catalog.php?item=63 http://t-rex-racing.com/catalog.php?item=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted February 18, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted February 18, 2013 I got T-rex front and rear stands for the same price as one Pitbull stand. Very impressed with build quality. A must have if you don't have a centerstand. Mind sharing which stands you have? I was literally just about to hit the button on the Pitbulls when I saw this. These T-Rex stands are tons cheaper! Do you know where to get the best price on a Pitbull? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 You don't need any of that stuff!! Look under the bike between the exhaust pipes. HONDA PUT A BALANCED JACKING POINT for you. A small hydraulic car jack is all you need to change tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam2 Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 You don't need any of that stuff!! Look under the bike between the exhaust pipes. HONDA PUT A BALANCED JACKING POINT for you. A small hydraulic car jack is all you need to change tires. I know what you're saying, but having had a bike fall off a car jack before, it's worth the price of admission to me. I also usually have the bike on my lift and that's a long way down if it falls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budguy207 Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Great replies guys, i think im going to bite the bullet and order the pitbull stand for the rear and try to use the jack point or ratchet strap method for the front... Its a little more money now but should pay for itself in 2 sets of tires. Seriously, thanks for all the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted February 19, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted February 19, 2013 Great replies guys, i think im going to bite the bullet and order the pitbull stand for the rear and try to use the jack point or ratchet strap method for the front... Its a little more money now but should pay for itself in 2 sets of tires. Seriously, thanks for all the input. If you hunt around you can always find them used (Pitbulls) but not the rear stand for the VFR12. I've got (2) spooled rear stands that I got 2nd hand (Pitbulls are indestructible). I've got the old style stem style front stand (the one that takes serious effort) and I just picked up the newer front stand that folds and doesn't require the effort. All bought a substantial savings over new. I just wish they weren't so darn expensive but in this case you do get what you pay for. They are phenomenal stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volfy Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 If you hunt around you can always find them used (Pitbulls) but not the rear stand for the VFR12. I've got (2) spooled rear stands that I got 2nd hand (Pitbulls are indestructible). I've got the old style stem style front stand (the one that takes serious effort) and I just picked up the newer front stand that folds and doesn't require the effort. All bought a substantial savings over new. I just wish they weren't so darn expensive but in this case you do get what you pay for. They are phenomenal stands. My F&R Pitbull stands came with a bike I bought. They are a bit pricey brand new, but they definitely are quality. Front Pit bull use the steering stem. keep mine with a nice coating of latex paint so people don't steal it. My PitBulls stay in the garage. For track days, I bring my Harborfreight aluminum rear stand. They are lightweight, compact, and inexpensive. They are no PitBull, but they actually work surprisingly well. I can't say that about all things sold at HF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anbark22 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Just ordered a front and rear set of Michelin Pilot Road 2's for my almost 4000 mile VFR12. Local bike shops are quoting me 180-200$ to ride in and have them swap the tires as opposed to what I have done on past bikes which is just bring them the wheels (30 per tire that way) and leave my bike on a jack in the garage.. I am no rookie to mechanic work but for the life of me I cant find an easy way to lift this thing short of buying a pitbull stand for 170$.. Anyone have any trick of getting the bike in the air to remove the wheels without buying extra equipment. I haveva motorycle jack but i dont see it being useful... Should I just pay the 180$ ??? Thanks!!!! I have a Pit Bull rear stand in excellent condition I can sell you at a very good price. Only used 3 times by the Honda dealer to change my tires. I didn't want them suspending my bike by it's Heli Bars and they were too cheap to buy the stand themselves since they never work on the VFR 1200s. PM me for pics and details. I hope I am not violating any forum rules. I can also post the stand in classifieds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam2 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 A little more thread-jacking, but I think worthwhile. I ordered a set of front and rear stands from Pit Bull yesterday. I chose the cheap shipping option (at $36 and change). The stands are already going to be delivered tomorrow AND the company refunded $13 of the shipping charge (assuming because I'm not clear across the country from them). This is a big deal to me since most companies would charge whatever they charge for shipping and pocket whatever was leftover when they sent the merchandise. I think this says a lot about these folks and I will buy from them again in the future because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luvtoleanit Posted February 21, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted February 21, 2013 Just ordered a front and rear set of Michelin Pilot Road 2's for my almost 4000 mile VFR12. Local bike shops are quoting me 180-200$ to ride in and have them swap the tires as opposed to what I have done on past bikes which is just bring them the wheels (30 per tire that way) and leave my bike on a jack in the garage.. I am no rookie to mechanic work but for the life of me I cant find an easy way to lift this thing short of buying a pitbull stand for 170$.. Anyone have any trick of getting the bike in the air to remove the wheels without buying extra equipment. I haveva motorycle jack but i dont see it being useful... Should I just pay the 180$ ??? Thanks!!!! I have a Pit Bull rear stand in excellent condition I can sell you at a very good price. Only used 3 times by the Honda dealer to change my tires. I didn't want them suspending my bike by it's Heli Bars and they were too cheap to buy the stand themselves since they never work on the VFR 1200s. PM me for pics and details. I hope I am not violating any forum rules. I can also post the stand in classifieds. Sent you PM, interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volfy Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I have a Pit Bull rear stand in excellent condition I can sell you at a very good price. Only used 3 times by the Honda dealer to change my tires. I didn't want them suspending my bike by it's Heli Bars and they were too cheap to buy the stand themselves since they never work on the VFR 1200s. PM me for pics and details. I hope I am not violating any forum rules. I can also post the stand in classifieds. Sorry to say this, but that is one cheap ass Honda dealer you got there. I can understand if this were an independent shop that cannot afford to buy equipment specific to every make... or even another dealer (Yamaha, Kawi, etc.). But a Honda dealer needing the customer to provide service equipment to work on their own brand of bikes?! If it were me, I would've complained all the way up the food chain. Sounds like you are at peace with it, so all is well. Pardon my rant. Good thing is somebody will get a good deal on it. I would buy it if it were usable with the center stand install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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