Changing front tire

First question my front tire is scalloped or more like a stop sign I just noticed this the other day, but it must have been like this for a while. What would have caused this? Is there any way for the wheels to be out of alignment because that is what happens on cars.

Second question I have a 4into1 header and no centre stand any ideas on how to get the forks off of the ground to change the tire...without the bike ending up up its side:dry: The pipe go right under the engine.

I guess I don't know what scalloped like a stop sign means exactly, but just for info, the fact of the matter is front tires will always wear strangely on a motorcycle to some degree. The reason for ribbed front tires is to minimize this. With any tire with any kind of block pattern or any other pattern that is not a straight rib, you'll see wear that is noticably uneven, such as blocks that are high on one end and worn on the other. This happens from using the front brake. Of course low air pressure will make wear much worse, so check that, also roads are sometimes crowned in the center, so you may see more wear on the left side of the tire than the right. Otherwise strange wear on certain design tires is just par for the course. This is all arguable of course, as I'm sure guys don't see any wear at all out there. (Don't use the front brake probably). All I can say is in 300,000+ miles on a KZ the only front tires I've ever "not" seen strange wear is ribbed original equipment type tires, all others wear unevenly. As too jacking up without a centerstand, you can put the bike on the sidestand and use a jack under the opposite side of the frame or engine to jack the bike up. The ST is a heavy bike though so be sure the sidestand can take the weight and be careful.

Post edited by: RonKZ650, at: 2007/09/13 23:00

I have some guys say that they have actually "hung" front of bike from garage rafters with mc tie downs. Each one can support 700lbs so no problem. Sounds crazy, but seems logical!

I have put bike on the centerstand and then put weight on the rear of bike bringing the front wheel off ground. Slide a block or wood under front of engine (wood blocks won't hurt exhaust pipes) as close as possible and let bike settle on blocks. That usually gives enough ground clearance to remove front wheel and bike is secure from falling.

racer54 wrote:

I have put bike on the centerstand and then put weight on the rear of bike bringing the front wheel off ground. Slide a block or wood under front of engine (wood blocks won't hurt exhaust pipes) as close as possible and let bike settle on blocks. That usually gives enough ground clearance to remove front wheel and bike is secure from falling.

This works.

If your headers allow access to the oil filter, a short length of 2x4 with a shallow hole drilled to accomodate the head of the oil filter bolt may be used with a common automotive floor jack to lift the front end.

Bluemeanie wrote:

I have some guys say that they have actually "hung" front of bike from garage rafters with mc tie downs. Each one can support 700lbs so no problem. Sounds crazy, but seems logical!

i've done this.
used a come-along and straps. worked great.