Bike stand required for servicing?

[ls1vzssz]

Hi,
I'm just getting into the whole bike scene and I'm one of those people who hate paying
for easy stuff like basic oil changing. My question is, and it might sound silly, but, is a stand
required to service a motorbike, or can it be done just leaning up on its own stand? What
exactly is a stand needed for besides when you need to take off your tyres and wheels? Also
if I do need a stand what options are out there for the nc30 and its single sided swing arm? I
was looking at the $200 AUD single sided stand on eBay. It comes up if you search eBay for VFR400
stand.

Cheers.

[Cammo]

My question is, and it might sound silly, but, is a stand
required to service a motorbike, or can it be done just leaning up on its own stand? What
exactly is a stand needed for besides when you need to take off your tyres and wheels?

Not much else! No, it's not really needed for any basic service items. They're mostly sold so racers can use tyre warmers - oh and the bike looks better in the garage when it's not leaning over!

Rear stands are popular because the bike is level when working on it (convenient all round and when draining oil etc).

To get the front wheel off the ground for any reason you can use a car jack very effectively. Just take off the lower bodywork and make sure to put some wood between it and the downpipes. It works a treat!

No point on spending unnecessaryily!

Put the money towards a haynes manual and some quality tools, and get stuck into all the jobs yourself. None of it is difficult if you have the right tools (and patience!).

The build quality of these bikes is so good that you can pull them apart fully and reassemble them in better condition (you'll still probably be left with 1 piece wondering where it goes though! )

[mick.mh2racing]

Abba stands are very popular and available for less than £100. I prefer paddock stands.
To be honest you have the right sort of outlook to be able to tackle lots of service tasks.
Loads of advice on here if you get stuck.

[Julesholling]

I'd say go with the Abba bike stand. Brilliantly simple to use and very very sturdy once there on and up.
Best £100 i spent on a stand :)

[eden.kwok]

Besides the advantages of using the stands for tire warmers and swapping wheels etc, they stand the bike up, which makes the bike much easier to work on, especially the left hand side of the bike. A rear stand also help when you need to lubbing your chain. Have to be careful about the stands you buy however, alot of the cheap ones flex under load (not always, sometimes you can get some good cheapo ones ), which makes it much harder to get the bike up and is much less stable when on the stand. I personally use Anderson front and rear stand and cant imagine going to a trackday/working on my bike without them.

You can get by without them to do the basic services, so it depends on what you want the stand for and how much money you have spare. Good luck.

P.s. working on your bike is a great thing. I enjoy working on the thing almost as much as I ride it......