Gotta clean the bottom of your bike?

[BAGN1T]

got one of these?



Well you can't really get at the bottom of the engine/frame with that jack in the way. Thats the issue I've encountered recently...my bike came with a bad oil leak so the bottom of the bike is covered in oil. I didn't feel like getting all of the heavy cleaners and whatnot all over my semi-new jack so I came up with these little things this morning...

Tools:
-drill
-drill bit index
-7/8" drill bit
-screwdriver bit
-saw
-tape measure
-pencil
-straight edge
-socket and driver
-wrench

Materials:
-5 2"x6"x8'
-4 eye bolts
-8 nuts
-8 washers
-8 lock washers
~100 2.5" wood screws...I got a box that said 1lb and it was enough...had a few left over.

Take one of the 2x6s and cut it in half and screw it together with 6 screws (I predrilled all of my screw holes just in case). Drill a hole big enough for your eye bolt about 4" in from each end. Unscrew the two boards and put the eye bolt, nuts, washers, and lock washers on in the orientation below.



On the top of the bottom board, you will need to drill an expanded hole (7/8") to fit the nut and lock washer...my apologies for the lack of a nice hole here...i had the wrong type of bit for the job.



Next you'll need to cut five 18" lengths to stack. You'll also need four 6 1/4" lengths. Screw the 6 1/4" lengths together so they are flush with each other. Place these alongside the 4' boards and put an 18" board on top.



Clamp the boards together to keep everything flush and tight with each other. Predrill and screw the 18" board to the two 6 1/4" blocks and the 4' board.



Then just stack 'em on up...screwing in each board of course...



Add some small blocks on the front and back of the top board to prevent the bike from rolling forward or backward.







And there ya have it...make two of them...slide them in under your tires whenthe bike is jacked up and you can lower the bike down and strap it to the stands and its just as secure as in a truck going down the highway.

I did not put the eye bolts in the rear of mine...and its plenty secure but I want to add just a little bit more so I'll be taking the back one apart and installing some eye bolts on the back.

The overall dimensions are 12"H 18"W 4'L. The height of the platform that the tires sit on is 10.5". Because everything is put together with screws, you can add or subtract boards as necessary to get your desired height. 10.5" just barely slid in under my tires with the craftsman jack all the way up.

whaddaya think? all useful comments are appreciated

[rickr01]

Nice job. I seem to do things the hard way. I lay on my back on the bikes right side with a spot light shining under the bike and the bike on the side stand. I seem to be able to clean her up pretty good that way, although probably not nearly as good as with your set up. Thankfully mine doesn't leak. If it did, I would have to fix it. I'm don't care for leaks any longer. I had too many old shovels in the day that leaked. Good tip!

[strokerjlk]

nice job!!!!!

[Shoe]

Awesome job, but if it was me, my jack is going to get the full compliment of cleaners. I dont care that much for my floor jack that I would build something like that. Maybe I'm lazy.

Dave

[BAGN1T]

Thanks for the compliments!

I bought the eye bolts for the rear...haven't put them on yet, but I do have them. I'm also thinking about figuring out some sort of easily removable side blocking just in case a football player comes in and tries to take out my bike from the side it might stay up lol.

[BoomerBob]

Nice job and I'm sure you can use in the future to do other things besides cleaning. It really gives you good access.

Me - I'd just wheel it outside spray Simple Green all up and around and hose it off. Guess I'm just lazy that way.

I must admit my first thought was that you had a little too much time on your hands. Please don't take that the wrong way.

[BAGN1T]

Originally Posted by BoomerBob

Nice job and I'm sure you can use in the future to do other things besides cleaning. It really gives you good access.

Me - I'd just wheel it outside spray Simple Green all up and around and hose it off. Guess I'm just lazy that way.

I must admit my first thought was that you had a little too much time on your hands. Please don't take that the wrong way.

well...I guess its going to be more for accessing the bottom of the bike to work on it than to clean it. The first step in what I need to do (find an oil leak) is to clean all the oil off. I just made this thread cleaning-related b/c I couldn't really figure out which forum to put it in and wanted it to go with the section as best as possible.

and yes, I do have a lot of time on my hands this week...the girl is out of town, as well as most of my friends, and its cold...so theres not much else to do lol

[rickr01]

Originally Posted by BAGN1T

well...I guess its going to be more for accessing the bottom of the bike to work on it than to clean it. The first step in what I need to do (find an oil leak) is to clean all the oil off. I just made this thread cleaning-related b/c I couldn't really figure out which forum to put it in and wanted it to go with the section as best as possible.

and yes, I do have a lot of time on my hands this week...the girl is out of town, as well as most of my friends, and its cold...so theres not much else to do lol

Thats why I love the V-Twin forum so much, so many crafty people with the ingenuity willing to share. Nice job!