Motorcycle fell over?????

[cspcrx]

I came home last night to find my motorcycle, 07 FXST, on its side still in the floor stand . I picked up a stand from harbor freight like this one.

I have been putting the bike in it for about 6 or 7 months now, never with any issues. The front wheel was still in the stand so it did not fall out of the stand. Has anyone ever had a stand like fall over? We have no kids, pets or guests so I have no idea how this could have happened.

 

[LXCam]

Might be time to call ghost busters.

 

[BillK]

Earthquake ? There was a 3.5 in Yucca Valley yesterday ... anywhere close to you ? Anything else in the house look like it moved ? I know when there was an earthquake about 100 miles from us a few years ago I had crankshafts fall over at the shop.

 

[cspcrx]

Looking up the number now. LOL

Yucca is about 250mi as the crow flies. Nothing else was disturbed in the garage or house. I have all kinds of smaller weight items that would have easily moved.

Just driving me nuts thinking about it.

 

[BillK]

I have all kinds of smaller weight items that would have easily moved.

Smaller stuff wont move but if you get something large and heavy to start swaying ..........

When ours hit I was sitting right here at the shop and you could feel the floor move. Three or four crankshafts that were standing on their ends just fell over I dont remember anything small moving. I didnt have a clue what was happening as we had never had an earthquake here in Maryland, at least not one you could feel. All I know is I got out of the building real fast

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I have that chock on my lift (mine is bolted down). I don't trust it until the bike is tied down. I can't imagine it would stay attached to the wheel if the bike fell over.
Was the stand damaged?

 

[cspcrx]

Nope no damage to the stand at all. It was still attached to the front wheel of the bike. I had to pull it off before getting it righted.

That is what just blows my mind. I was worried about using it when I first got it. I really like how it makes it so the bike takes up less room in the space. That bike had been in the stand for about two weeks without issue and I have been using it for almost six months without issue.

Just has me scratching my head how it all just went over together.

 

[nafterclifen]

I can't see it too good in the picture you posted. Is it an adjustable wheel chock? If so, make sure that the cradle is positioned so that the tire is off the ground or barely touching the ground. I've seen people wheel a bike into a wheel chock and the front tire is very loose in the chock, almost where the bike wants to fall over.

 

[imagineer]

Did you have any straps running from the bike to the hook points on the stand? When you put it away, was it right after riding?

I have the identical stand from HF (but only use it with straps). One thing I noticed was that a while (an hour or so) after parking a hot bike, it seemed to get a little looser, and I felt the need to snug down the straps a bit. I attributed it to the front tire cooling down and thus, slightly less air pressure.

Maybe the same occurred with your bike. Also, the front tire on your Harley isn't all that wide (as compared to the 150 tire on my cruiser) leaving the potential for a loose fit inside the vertical stand component..

There might have been enough play for your bike to slowly shift to one side, throwing off the balance enough for it to topple, but (and assuming it was still in gear) not allow the bike to roll back during the fall, and pulling the stand over with it?

I should also add that I have my stand bolted to a 7' length of 8" wide aluminum C channel. That way 100% of the weight of the bike is in play keeping everything more stable.

 

[cspcrx]

Yes its an adjustable unit. The tire does not touch the ground, I made sure of that when I adjusted it.

The front tire is narrow on this bike, only a 90. because of that the front tire is a bit lose in the front part of the stand. Do you have any pics of your mods. I also thought about making the front wider by bolting it to a large piece of angle iron. That would make it harder to lever over.

 

[imagineer]

Yes its an adjustable unit. The tire does not touch the ground, I made sure of that when I adjusted it.

The front tire is narrow on this bike, only a 90. because of that the front tire is a bit lose in the front part of the stand. Do you have any pics of your mods. I also thought about making the front wider by bolting it to a large piece of angle iron. That would make it harder to lever over.

I'll try and remember to take a picture of the stand and post it later tonight.

One thing I did on my HF stand to make it fit my sport bike (2002 GSF1200, 110mm tire) better, was to temporarily (duct tape) fit two pieces of 3/4" thick x 3" wide pine board on the angled sides of the vertical stand component. This ensured the front tire didn't bottom out on the flat end and was forced to remain centered on the stand.

You didn't answer if you use straps or not. Not strapping a bike down on any type of stand is asking for a problem,

 

[cspcrx]

Nope no straps, just pull into the stand.

I may need to look at adding material to the sides of the front portion. There is a lot of play but again, never and issue before.