ABBA Superbike hydraulic lift.............
 

.............does anyone have/use one of these for their 999?

I have just bought one second hand (in excellent condition) and have just ordered the 999 & VFR bobbin kits from ABBA.

Has anyone used one? I'm keen to understand if there are any issues regarding the use/positioning before lifting, i.e. where to anchor the front pad etc...........

[Edited on 2-3-2004 by everton]

What does this look like?

The pictures on their site are not that good but here is the link:

Abba Superbike Lift

I am most concerned about how to locate the front supporting pad. The rear is supported using bobbins through the frame.

It sure looks like the front is meant to support the bike on the exhaust header. That's fine for in-line four bikes as it distributes to load over four header pipes. A pretty sound way to support the bike.

On the Duke, however, I am not so sure. Assuming you don't have a full belly pan and leave the standard fairing on, I think you'd find the point where the front cyclinder exhaust pipe is exposed is too far back. It might dent or bend the pipe.

Maybe you could rig something up where it picks up the front cylinder at the bottom of the head. But, that would require removal of side fairings first. Plus, you'd have extend the stand's pad vertically to reach the cylinder head.

Hmmm...

Thanks for your comments Felix............all the points you made were right.

Got it all working great over the weekend.

The bobbins locate on the frame nice & snug. However, the side panels have to come off to locate the pad under the front exhaust down pipe. I used a slat of wood to distribute the weight.

The mate who I bought it off used to have a blade and was convinced that locating the front pad on the exhaust was fine................I wasn't so sure..............we got the bike fixed securely and prepared to lift and I bottled it :lol::lol::lol::lol:

I could see the exhaust buckling in my minds eye so called one of the mechanics at OnYerBike for advice. Frankly I couldn't see any other place to locate the front pad.

OYB's response.............oh that's fine, we secure and lift on exhausts all the time............:o:o:o

My mate said 'told you so' and off we went. No problems what so ever. I guess at least 66% - 75% of the weight is taken by the frame where the bobbins locate on the swing arm pivot.

Totally secure.............now no more scraped knees and bad backs trying to clean the wheels, adjust chain etc, etc.

So thanks for the advice Felix.........thought I'd let you know how it turned out.

[Edited on 8-3-2004 by everton]

Dave, I've just been swapping the front end in my Fireblade and used the downpipes to take the weight, but what I do is place a suitably sized piece of wood between the downpipes and the crank cases to take the stress off the exhaust studs.

Hi Kev,

How you doing? Yep - I have used the wood trick successfully. Works well.

Took a couple of piccies.................

Here's a detailed picture showing the wood block....

Dave I meant I had put a piece of wood above the exhaust sandwiching it between the exhaust and the crankcases.
Still it looks like a useful bit of kit & doesn't take up as much room as Senna3's hydraulic ramp.
Think i'll add one to my wish list.

Kev