No jacking under the rear shock. Why not?

[GeoffCee]

I have a 2010 Midwest Workshop Manual for my RT.

It contains a strong repeated warning, not to jack up the RT using the rear shock absorber mount.

It looks to be a strong and convenient place to me, but I'm no mechanic.

Anybody know why we shouldn't do this?

"WARNING
Do not lift under rear shock absorber.
Always lift by the frame."

 

[eddieshep999]

Geoff

Not sure about the rear jacking point but if you look at one of these photos Lamonster has used an Axle stand under ther rear shock
and this must be taking some of the Weight

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?14601-Lifting-the-RT&highlight=rear+jack

Perhaps someone will have a photo of were to place the Jack - I would be interested to know as well

I have used a car ramp (Rhino ramp) to lift the rear up about 7"" off the ground
I can also use a pair of the Ramps to lift the front - Brought from the USA


Eddie Sheppard
Reading UK

 

[GeoffCee]

Perhaps someone will have a photo of were to place the Jack - I would be interested to know as well

There is a photo in my Midwest Manual which shows a trolley jack head placed at the rear end of the box-beam central "chassis" of the Spyder. This appears to be the Manual's prefered position.

Unfortunately this position tends to coincide with the centre of mass of the RT, so all three wheels lift and having your Spyder sitting precariously on a 6" diameter jack head makes it very unstable to work on. This wouldn't happen using the rear shock mount as a jacking point, the machine's weight distribution would ensure that the front wheels stayed firmly on the ground. :f_spider:

 

[ulflyer]

When I recently had a rear tire mounted by dealer I asked if he used the rear shock to jack it up and he replied "yes".

 

[Jeriatric]

Rear Shock Mount.

The rear shock mount was designed and installed to accept downward force from the shock. So the warning is saying don't use it as a jacking point because it was not designed to be used for lifting the Spyder.

Question is: If it is used to lift the Spyder. How many times will you get away with it before it fails?

 

[Bob Denman]

The rear shock mount was designed and installed to accept downward force from the shock. So the warning is saying don't use it as a jacking point because it was not designed to be used for lifting the Spyder.

Question is: If it is used to lift the Spyder. How many times will you get away with it before it fails?

:dontknow: Once you that find out because it has failed; the answer would be, "One less time!" :shocked:


I grabbed up under the center of mine with an ATV jack. There was enough smooth space there for the bike to sit there pretty easy...

 

[Jeriatric]

Jack and methods

Don't have an ATV jack so I place a block of wood just in front of the shock plate, across the *main frame* and use a floor jack. The main frame material is pretty thin so the wood spreads the force over the frame a bit more.

 

[Schnauzer]

I use the shock to lift the rear. But I'm not lfting the whole bike, but more like rotating on the front wheels to clear the ground. I will check closer when I lift next time to see if any deflection occurs.

 

[Jeriatric]

Deflection

I use the shock to lift the rear. But I'm not lfting the whole bike, but more like rotating on the front wheels to clear the ground. I will check closer when I lift next time to see if any deflection occurs.

Best guess - you will not see any deflection. Unless it has already been damaged. What's more likely to happen is catastrophic failure.

 

[Jeriatric]

Use the same method but add a case of beer to the Frunk. By the end of the you don't care if it is off balance but you are.

Never thought about adding the beer:roflblack: Thanks :thumbup:

 

[NancysToy]

If you jack up under the shock mount, the entire weight is put across a long bolt. That bolt is not made to take that loading, and can bend. It is not adviseable. If you want to jack up just the rear, a block on the flat of the swingarm, behind the shock mount, works OK. The easiest is to jack up the entire Spyder on the frame with an ATV jack, however. If you do jack up the Spyder RTS or LTD from the frame, however, especially if you take the shock loose to lower the swingarm, be sure to disconnect the ACS sensor link, so you don't bend or break it.

 

[pellcitypete]

I jacked mine up from the shock and when I finished and started it up all :cus: broke lose no acs had to air up rear shock with comp. Thank goodness when I reset the computer every thing worked OK so my advice is not to JACK UP WITH SHOCK MOUNT. my 2 cense.

 

[MarkLawson]

The Midwest Manual is a PDF file of the BRP service manual. If it warns against doing, I'm not certain of the reasoning to do it anyway. :dontknow:

 

[GeoffCee]

OK, almost nobody is in favour of jacking under the rear shock and the general feeling is abide by the warning in the Manual. Thanks. :thumbup:

 

[flybuddy]

If you do it and break something....don't be "shocked":yikes:

 

[GeoffCee]

Best guess - you will not see any deflection. Unless it has already been damaged. What's more likely to happen is catastrophic failure.

That's overstating it a little!

When I took delivery of my RT last March I only got half way home with my new machine when the bolt holding the ACS arm to the swing arm dropped out. The back end of the trike sank lower as the air bag deflated and I could no longer see over the screen. Hardly a "catastrophic" situation. The Spyder detected the problem, the display went orange and gave me the "manual" option of inflating/deflating the air bag. Easy-peasy! :thumbup:

 

[Jeriatric]

That's overstating it a little!

When I took delivery of my RT last March I only got half way home with my new machine when the bolt holding the ACS arm to the swing arm dropped out. The back end of the trike sank lower as the air bag deflated and I could no longer see over the screen. Hardly a "catastrophic" situation. The Spyder detected the problem, the display went orange and gave me the "manual" option of inflating/deflating the air bag. Easy-peasy! :thumbup:

True, but had BRP put a similar remark in their "do not" statement it would have been less questionable.

 

[Bob Denman]

If you do it and break something....don't be "shocked":yikes:

:roflblack: Very nice! :thumbup: