My paddock stand looks like the above. My CBR1000RR rests on this paddock stand on some little aluminium bobbins that are welded to my swingarm. The warning label on the paddock stand says you cannot do these things while the bike is on it * Do not start the engine * Do not sit on the motorcycle * Do not drink a cup of tea * Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 I asked a friend and he said "That's nonsense, they just nonsense they write to indemnify themselves." This is what I want to do 1. Leave the bike parked on the paddock stand. They say it's healthier for your rear tyre and it should maintain it's air-pressure longer if it's parked for a week unused. 2. Start the bike on the paddock stand in neutral, shift to first with clutch in and front brake pulled (for the clonk) feather the clutch in 1st gear to spin the rear wheel so I can spray the chain with wax. 3. Sit on the bike with my girlfriend (total 130kg) so we can test out new handles and seats etc. The stand is made of thin tubular steel. It does not state what the max weight is. Assuming I do the above with care, is it safe?
Second what Lozzy is saying there. Never ever lube a chain with the engine on and the bike in gear. Never ever ever. I also have come across a case of the owner losing parts of his fingers due to trying that method.
Hi unity. Please please don't lube you chain with the bike in gear!! Just don't do it. Put your bike on the paddock stand with the gear in neutral and spray lube onto the the lower part of the chain and just move the rear wheel by hand. That's all it takes. Your bike will be fine to be left on the paddock stand
I leave my bike on paddock stand all winter... never had a problem. However, I wouldn't have the faith to sit on the bike (let alone with my gf) whilst the bike is on the paddock stand... the stand is probably designed to cope with over half the bike's weight, so say 150kg... you're going to nigh-on double that load... personally I wouldn't risk it. Oh, and DO NOT lube your chain with the engine running and bike in gear! Years ago Superbike had a little montage of the resulting injuries from this type of stupidity/laziness.... lots and lots of severed finger tips!
I know someone who thought it was a clever idea to put there bike on the rear stand and run it in first gear, then using a brick while the wheel is spinning, rub the coating off the new tyre. I'm sure you can guess what happened, brick thrown back at his face breaking his nose and damaging his eye. Running the bike to do work on the back wheel is never the best idea
Wow. Fascinating replies... But what if you understand the risk of putting your fingers in the chain and simply don't put your fingers in there... The spray can has a 1" pipe hanging off the edge and then you hold it another inch away. Some might say that 2 inches from losing your finger is too close... But I work with power tools that can cause grievous bodily harm all the time. You simply need to respect their power and be careful. I also work with high voltages from time to time testing them while they're powered up with my hands and tools near or with probes etc touching live points on circuit boards. Although shit happens. I once drilled through the side of my finger, and have shocked myself with 220v a bunch of times. Now I take a lot more precautions when I work with live electricity. I make sure I always wear rubber soles and rubber gloves and keep away from metal chassis etc. And if there is a risk of shock, I make sure the current won't flow between my arms, because that means potentially through my heart, which is the cardiac arrest risk. So one has to weigh up risks and rewards and choose a comfort level. Doing things safer is worth sacrificing convenience. When I sprayed my chain last I got a friend to spin the wheel with their hands while I sprayed it. That's quite similar to the engine spinning it in the sense that the wheel has inertia and combined with the leverage of a friends arms, that could probably take your finger off too. The other idea I had is to put a 13mm rod in a hand-drill and position it under the wheel to spin it in neutral. That way it's not filling the garage with toxic fumes, spinning slowly, and the wheel/rod would slip if there was some kind of jam. But I'm aware that spinning it with any of the 3 methods mentioned here (engine/friends hands/electric drill) is more dangerous than spraying it while it's stationary. But remember guys, we ride motorcycles. That itself is highly dangerous and it takes a lot of care to do it without injury or death. So the same applies. Risks are all relative and deserve careful consideration.
I just spin the wheel by hand! As for sitting on it I say on my mate zx7r yard back weighing a near 13 stone and the paddock stand gave way. Same looking stand as the picture. Luckily for him I was I riding position as we were realigning a hump so I managed to catch it. Dare say if anyone were on back it would have been mangled. If you want try the handles out go and ride it, my Mrs loves handles just ordered the seat cover aswell as she was sliding down the seat on heavier braking!
Amazing feedback guys. Yeah the paddock stand I have does look too weak for the additional weight of 1 or 2 riders. Strangely the previous owner said he sits on the bike and he feathers the clutch in 1st gear to wax it. I think sitting on it is a really bad idea. A rod through the rear axle seems like the best solution for a strong and secure paddock stand. Something you can "lock down" somehow so it doesn't go anywhere and handles all the weight of 1 or 2 riders.
Reality is that lubricating your chain is a simple job and doesn't need your bike running to do it. Your fingers, so your choice to do it however you want. You work with power tools, so you know about doing things the right way and wrong and consequences of doing so. I doubt many people will agree with the method your asking about and most will agree with the simple way of turning your wheel by yourself as you do that chain
On the plus side if it goes tits up you can always entertain any future sprogs with The Bikers Fingerbobs story
I have exactly the same paddock stand. Fine for keeping the bike on over winter. I have sat on it but it flexes so I don't trust it. Also the bar with the U on it is only held in situ by the screw and the fact it's hex bar into a round hole...all a bit shonky. I weigh 10 stone BTW so hardly pushing it...
Plenty of things would concern me about 2 people sitting on your bike....its a 2nd hand paddock stand that you don't know the quality of or what kind of a life it's had. Also why have you got bobbins welded to the swing arm, why aren't they in the bolt holes? Even without those worries, two people on a bike on a paddock stand is very bad practice, you could anticipate a paddock stand collapse before long if you made a habit of it. Just take it off the stand to test your handles or better still go out for a ride. Lubeing the chain with the bike in gear offers no benefits. If you're going to say it saves time then you are applying too much lube. Keep your trade principles in mind....isolate the energy where possible. Good luck buddy!
Maybe your Mrs would be even more comfy with the lower pillion foot pegs that I have advertised in the "for sale" section? Just a thought...
She's only 5 ft 1 think if I lowered them any shed struggle stay on lol being honest aswell I don't like the lol of them, I'd rather not take her out!
I've done the really naughty thing that everyone says not to do I feel really conflicted about even telling people that I've done it now because I don't want anyone to be encouraged and hurt themselves. Disclaimer: The following is very dangerous. Don't do it, you or others may experience seriously injured and/or death to persons, property or animals. I laid a sheet of newspaper down ontop of the paddock stand after putting the bike on it. (so if there's any drips, it won't go on the stand, but onto the paper instead. There was almost zero wind, which is good. But regardless of wind, In future I'd like some method to ensure the newspaper stays down. Some weights on either side would work. So I started the bike on the paddock stand in neutral, raised the kickstand, shifted to first with the clutch pulled, kept the clutch pulled in all the way. The rear wheel started to spin, fairly slowly actually, but about the fastest anyone could spin by hand if they had a dedicated wheel spinning person really sweating it. I figure if I'm going to risk running the motor on the stand, in gear, it's better to have the clutch pulled the whole time so at least the amount of power going into the wheel is minimal, but obviously there's plenty inertia in the moving parts to destroy anyone's finger so the benefit is kind of relative in a questionably useful way. I got my girlfriend to hold the clutch. Before spraying the chain I decided upon the best position/angle to spray it from, the best body and arm position. I stood from far out of range, arm fully extended holding the spray can with it's 1 inch straw, I leaned back with my weight biased backwards (so that I cannot become closer by straightening my arm, and moving back would be much easier/faster than forwards. I chose an approach angle to ensure my hand is as far as possible from any moving parts. No sleeves/clothing involved or dangling hair, laces, etc. I sprayed the chain on the top of the sprocket for maybe 3 chain rotations and I was done. I left the wax to soak in. I spent about 5 seconds approaching the chain, and 10 seconds spraying it in a few bursts and then continuously. Next time I'll probably just spray continuously for less time. I don't want to encourage anyone, which I know that unavoidably this message could do. But hey, it's a dangerous world. You can cut off fingers using power tools, you can easily die from an angle grinder disk explosion, riding a motorbike through a green light or crossing the street, slip and die in the shower, etc etc. I am by no means trivializing danger, just saying this is not the only dangerous thing in my life. So my inner conflict is that I don't want anyone to hurt themselves, I don't want to encourage it. However I value truth, freedom and self-responsibility above anything. So that's the truth. I did it. And I'm probably going to keep doing it. I'm just telling my story, not recommending this as a good method. It's a dangerous method and you should never do it. So don't do it. Be safe. I'm extremely careful, and I do think about how the whole thing could go wrong etc, as I do when dealing with anything dangerous. I try to always respect what is dangerous, be alert, pay attention, assess risks and take care. Many people say they're happy to spend the extra time and care spinning the wheel by hand, because they value the added safety more than the time saved. And I respect that 100%. Each to their own. Next I'll figure out a way to strap something around the clutch and around the front brake, so I don't need my gf to hold the clutch for me. My entire reason for wanting to spray the chain while it's moving at a decent speed is because it comes out of the can really fast and if the chain is not moving the spray all globs together and then drips off. I want a nice even distribution. Maybe this story is better left unpublished. If the consensus after a while is that I should remove it to avoid anyone being encouraged to do it, I'll remove it. However we're adults right? I feel really conflicted about sharing this story. To not say anything is censorship due to fear that people are too dumb or reckless to read it without coming to harm. But then why should 99% of people have to suffer from censorship (can't read truth and make their own decisions and form their own opinions) because 1% have no common-sense and that's seen as normal these days, so everyone has to lower their standards to accomodate them. So everything is censored, dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. Basically we're all limited because some people can't get through life without mollycoddling? What is a good/easy way to wrap something around the brake lever while it's on the paddock stand, for a little extra stability? I'm thinking maybe one of those zapper things? (bungee cords with hooks) The problem with those is likely a lack of things to hook onto. I know some would use cable ties, but I'd prefer not to use and cut a cable tie every time I put it on the stand and want extra stability.
Never buy cheap stands. I use an ABBA stand for all my bikes. Easy to use and safer with no risk of a bike falling off.
I'm the least risk averse person there is but I think you may be a contender for the Darwin Awards if you try that buddy lol
