I found a good quality paddock stand near me at a cheap price so I'm looking at a way to use it on the Street Twin, looks to me like an 8mm hollow in the axle, maybe 9mm. Anyhoo I don't want to spend $100 or more, so I'm wondering is there any downside, to simply putting a long threaded bolt down the axle to use on the stand, maybe just screw on a bolt and a large flat washer on each side. I can't see this would cause a problem, for oiling the chain, or changing the coolant. Is there any issue with this that I'm not getting? Or maybe even use a non threaded metal rod, I mean I can't see the bike slipping off it.
Welp, I found a piece of rebar that went through until i discovered that the chain side of the axle is narrower. So I carefully ground it down and it seems to be good, however it's wider than the mufflers, so now I do not know how much the springs will compress when I lift it onto a paddock stand, otherwise I'll have to cut it down to clear the mufflers which I'd rather not do unless I have to.
Yeah I saw that on youtube but it's not available in Australia, plus it would be well over $100 with delivery. Not only that but on their video they have quite a bit of thread sticking out the right side to screw the bobbin on, but my bike only has much smaller amount of thread only two bits of thread, they have four, it appears that I have a larger smooth bit. So that might be something for others to be aware of. Edit: I see there's one on eBay but it's $130 with tax and delivery at least. It appears that I can take the hooks off the paddock stand and put the bolt through the stand, that should make it more secure.
I think you have the right idea with the rebar. The suspension should not compress any more than it is while standing straight up off the side stand. The wheel hub doesn't know if the tyre is taking the load or your bar. You could suspend it across a set of jack stands. It's just getting it up on them that could be a hair raising experience. Putting my Speedy on the paddock stand still gives me pause. I have nightmares of tipping it over into the other bikes or the wife's car, or on top of me, etc..
I also bought the TEC bobbin kit. It fits with a threaded bar through the axle so there's no reason a piece of threaded bar on it's own or, as suggested, a piece or rebar couldn't be used to raise the bike. Obviously, with the bobbin kit you get a nicely finished item that you can leave on the bike. On a (lot more) expensive note I can recommend an ABBA Skylift for more serious cleaning and strip down/repair/maintenance duties. I use one for the Z and it makes working on a 260kg machine easy.
Ah yes Newton's third law, of course! I shall take note of your advice to be careful with the paddock stand, maybe get help with a steadying hand. This is the stand I'm picking up today, looks pretty sturdy...
@Hobnail, you are correct it was a little nerve-wracking getting it up the first time. Hmmm maybe I need to rephrase that. However after starting the bike a little more upright with a bit of wood under the side stand, it was much easier. This works quite well because once the hooks are touching, it can't really slip off, and I don't need to cut it down. To celebrate I gave the back wheel an early clean ;¬)
