Lifting Tourer properly

[westsidevalk]

I have the jack adapter and i have a good motorcycle jack.
I have used a level to ensure the jack is on flat ground.

When I lift my tourer in this position the back end lifts higher than the front and does not seem stable.

What am I doing wrong?

[hubcapsc]

Which jack adapter? The "stays-on-the-bike" one?

You don't have so many balance choices when you use the
stays-on-the-bike adapter... but it is the one I use, I like it
more than the oh-cr*p-I-forgot-to-remove-it adapters 

I barely jack my bike up, I remove the rear fender section when I change
tires and I use a board between the scissors to lock the jack since I
don't jack it up far enough to reach the first lock point. I spend a lot of time
sitting on the ground when working on my bike...

-Mike

[sandy]

The jack you have is probably one of the more common ones. They're made of cheap steel and flex badly. That's the unsteadiness you mention. Sears sells an aluminum jack for $200 retail. I've used it and it's a very good jack. Much more stable than the Larins and Harbor Freight jacks. If you want to spend more money, get a Pitt Bull lift. They're made of cold rolled steel and are strong like my Dunwell, which is no longer made.

[Chrisj CMA]

move the position of the lift forward a couple inches and see if that doesnt settle things down......balance and strength together, then tie it down, make sure the lift is resting on a safety catch not the hydraulic presure of the jack

[steve 3054]

I also have the Pit Bull jack and Love it!!!  I lift my bikes all the time as I do not like bending or sitting on the floor....however the back of the bike lifts first, by 6 inches maybe, but it does seem to be level and I'm thinking the suspension is causing what appears to be unlevel...

[westsidevalk]

I also have the Pit Bull jack and Love it!!!  I lift my bikes all the time as I do not like bending or sitting on the floor....however the back of the bike lifts first, by 6 inches maybe, but it does seem to be level and I'm thinking the suspension is causing what appears to be unlevel...

that is what I am trying to describe, that the back of the bike lifts first by 6 inches maybe, I didn't know if that was normal or if I was doing something wrong.

I can see your point, it might be the rear suspension is creating the difference rather than the actual leveling and balancing of the bike and lift.

I havent gone up far enough to see if it eventually looks more even.

I had to pull the front wheel and I just needed enough lift to get the wheel out from under the fender but to do that I had the back tire off the ground quite a bit more, which didn't seem correct.
I ended up positioning the jack father forward and the front wheel came up enough to remove it while the back stayed down, not sure if that was the best in terms of jack placement though.

I have the stay on the bike metal adapter.

I have a good craftsman bike lift, so I'm okay there.

Thanks for all your replies.

[steve 3054]

Ya.  My adaptor stays on my lift, but having said that it does seem level even though it does not appear that way at first.....