On my return to the UK to reconfigure the XT600E and to dump a load of stuff which I had bought which was unecessary (would have been stuck in belgium until friday anyway).

I got a puncture on the motorway , I fixed this by laying the bike down on its side undoing everything popping a new tube in and going on my merry way...

It seems kind of clandestine though , but there was no other option no centre stand and big rocks aren't common on the M6 either and thus when I got home I discovered I could wedge a hammer (with a rubberised handle) under the swing arm to prop up the rear wheel and also the same hammer under the bash plate to undo the front wheel.

Does anybody have any more elegant solutions to this rather than laying it on the side or taking a fairly beefy hammer, and on thta thought how well does the side stand cope with this? , my NTV could easily take this , so could my CBR, the XT I don't know. With my solution to this being to take two hammers to take the strain off the side stand completely which is even less elegant and weighs more.

Don't want a centre stand as they reduce ground clearance and at £150 seem to be bad value for money.

I've considered a bottle jack which weighs 2.3 kilos which can go right under the centre of the bash plate , but its bulky and the hammers have secondary uses ie hammering in pegs into hard ground , and can work as an impromptu bead breaker.

Any thoughts?

Ta

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There used to be a product called a 'Jack Stick' or something, which was basically an internally threaded tube with a foot on a rod one end, and cup on a rod at the other.

The foot went on the ground, the cup under your swingarm, and you rotated the joining tube to extend the thing.

Done a Google search for it but not coming up with anything...

I've got something called a "liftstick" which I bought from a mail order company in Germany called Louis

Basically it is a threaded stick with the turning handle in the middle - i think it cost me forty quid and does the job of lifting one wheel off the ground perfectly, assuming you have a sidestand

I'll try and find a link for you

Get one!
I would not worry about 'ground clearance' unless you want your bike just for off-roading.
The reality of most people who travel with their bikes seems to be to be reliability and ease to 'fix' things when they goose up.
I really can't fathom the concept of a 2.3 kgs hydraulic jack or hammers on a bike.
It is all about choice of course-
Some are happy to lay their bikes down (cheapest option)
Others will use their touring cases
Some will hope to find a big rock
Others use whatever is at hand (or not then lie their bikes down!)
You can carry long straps (ratchet straps) and use these to hoist the bike up from a branch of a tree but that's assuming you can get near a tree and that there is one when you need one!
I'm an old git - I prefer my center stand to change my tyres and tubes
Horses for courses - only you can decide what works best for you.

Have a look at this

AUFBOCKGERAET LIFTSTICK - Louis - Motorrad & Freizeit

That's the thing! I was close...

With that 'prop' I can just see it all landing in a big heap!

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'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Maybe it will, but they do supply a clever bungee strap thingy to apply the front brake at the same time so that the bike doesn't move

Max capacity = 100 Kgs
Sounds like you may need 2 for a big bike but it is an innovative and interesting concept-

In my limited experience the main clearance issue with a centre stand isn't catching it off road so much as the feet grinding into the tarmac when cornering, hence most bikes that are likely to get leant over a fair whack just having a side stand. I have always found that a pannier/log/rock/random object does the job ok - always better of you can use something you would have anyway

In the bad old days when bikes were designed for real use in the real world, the mudguard stays were engineered to swivel down and hold front or rear wheel off the ground.
( normally in conjunction with the centre stand)
You might want to re-invent this, as mentioning the possibility of a puncture does not sell bikes to those with unrealistic expectations of 100,000 miles with no maintenance. Very odd as most bikes can barely manage three hours between garage stops.

Once I had a puncture in a hire car on the motorway, the car had no jack. so I reversed up the far end of a taperred crash barrier after a bridge, and changed the wheel. (rear wheel puncture).

You can just about make out my $10 collapsible walking stick from a charity shop that I used for my 'other side stand'.

On this day, I think I tried using some large rocks but just didn't find anything that stable. It's a bit precarious doing it this way but it was light and did the job, though I'd rather have a centre stand any day.

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Mike


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I use a Liftstick and it's fine - used it to lift up my old zrx1100 (230kg) with no probs. You need to be careful where you position it, mind, and to stop the front wheel from moving forward. Recommended.

G'day, I don't have a centre stand and was looking at this lift. Seems to be a simple light weight solution.The cost is about $55 Ozzie dollars. Google. ib mini lift.

Aerostich / Rider Warehouse sells a variety of lift stick type tools as well.

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