Becker Stand mod's.

[barbagris]

Possibly one of the better workshop/garage stands out there is that from Michael Becker in Germany.
Yup I know he won't ship to US because of the added product insurance he has to take out.

But IMO it still needs a bit of tweaking to make it even better.

Michael does NOT push the super duper roll-about kit for the R3 as he is worried about it all becoming rather hard work to lift - He is NOT (IMHO) wrong. But it does offer some real advantages if you need to move the R3 sideways or maybe turn it 180°.

I have been attacking the issues one by one and finally got around to the last biggie - which is not reversible.

OK - 1st mod. - Safety. For anybody with a Becker.

Remove the Black Plastic wheels.
Remove the thumbscrew wheel/bolt doodad.
Find a standard M10 bolt and either file the end to a sharp point or get a mate with a lathe to do so.
Put the sharp bolt into the stand nut a turn or two. Do NOT tighten at all.

Now - Approach with caution and fit the stand pins into the holes on the frame. Close it all together and NOW - you need either a sash clamp, a strong mate or a webbing strap. And tighten anoud the stand feet (opposite end to the pins) - Tight-ish, but not strained or squeaky tight.

Now get a spanner and tighten that sharpened bolt well and truly. You want it to make a neat dimple in the square tube - but not deform the tube.

Now undo it all - take the bit with the dimple to your drill press and accurately drill a 10mm hole. This now means that when you use the reassembled stand - the thumbscrew bolt now passes through and locks the stand sides together - You are not relying on friction and the lower part will no longer splay at all. It cannot.

I also did a hole with the stand closed up to minimum width - but that's me.

Now then - For those with the add-on roller doodad. The first thing you will notice is that is FAR more difficult to lift the R3 up. The roller doodad effectively lifts the whole stand 10mm up. The fact that the roller wheels lock is a plus - but still a strain. The easiest thing to do is drop the Pivot pins. You need a 12mm drill bit. If you don't know how to measure, mark, centre punch, centre drill and drill steel - just ask somebody else to help. I offer photos of the done deal.

Now you could simply drop the hole 10-12mm - But I decided to drop 22. There are a lot of reasons some of which have proven not to be all that sound. But whilst it will always be fairly easy to raise the pivots via other means - dropping the pins needs some prior thought. With hind sight 19-20mm might have been more sensible. Read on.

So - OK, what's the big deal.

Well - I was looking and saw some further options for improvement - esp thinking about comments from @Joesmoe . He has the roller doodad - I know - because I sent it.

These thoughts are not even marginally sensible if you don't have the extra width stability the roller doodad offers. It will make the normal stand far less stable.

Remove the spacers (M12 nuts) twixt plates and stand sides - This reduces the leverage that attempts to spread the lower extreme - and increases the mating surface of the outer/inner square tube. Or even move the plates outside the stand sides. This would really help to stop splaying.

Here's why that 20mm might have been better than 22. At 22mm drop the pivot pin nuts are just between the plates and stand sides. Had I foreseen this - I would have done 20mm or even 19mm drop.

I should add - I will never want to use my Becker for anything like wheel removal. So it's purpose is simply to put bike upright and allow me to wheel it about.

I wanted to take these photos and document before taking the final step - Cutting off the original pivot pin holes - this has to be done or the lug hits the engine support bolts.

Only then will I know if the theory stands up.

 

[barbagris]

OK - Post cutting results time.

Much much easier to lift and the clearance is SPOT on. This with slightly overlength shocks and the 1/2" taller E-max rear with a 150/70 front. The Maxton sprung forks top out straight away.

It rolls up onto the stand so easily I will probably be able to do so without my assist handle.

On the Left side - A straight cut is all you need plenty of clearance

On the right you do have to radius the rear edge to clear the engine bolt (green circle - zoom in).

And the footrest rail bolt head (red circle) just (and I mean really only just) clips the plate with the pin in.
May file a light notch or simply fit a different bolt with a domed head or something. Off to the bolts bin we go.

I for one am dead chuffed.

Ah yes - @Joesmoe suggested I clarify the pointed bolt - It is the easiest way to clearly and accurately mark the steel tube so you get the drill hole precise.

I mark, recheck and mark again - then centre punch, then centre drill, and finally drill to size. But I'm fussy.

 

[Joesmoe]

My next project -- been waiting long enough.

 

[barbagris]

It rolls up onto the stand so easily I will probably be able to do so without my assist handle.

FYI - This is indeed the case.

So good now that I will be keeping the bike garaged upright now. Get home from a ride - let it cool a bit whilst I change and up it goes.

Some final notes.

For reasons of material strengths - The minimum drop I would risk is (centre to centre) 16mm.

Less than 12 is after all not possible. And you need something for the nuts to grip when tightened up. An M12 nut is 19mm across the flats - 19-12=7. Divide by two and you need a border at least 3.5mm. 4mm sounds/feels better.

More than 22mm will be counterproductive. There will be no wheel clearance.

If I were able to go back and redo - With Hindsight - I may well have drilled at 19-20mm. Again for a whole set of reasons - some of which may well not be as sound as I currently think.

 

[Joesmoe]

Curious, your mods - particularly the hole to prevent the splaying of the uprights - make the difference between useable and not. Have you shared with Herr Becker ?

 

[barbagris]

Curious, your mods - particularly the hole to prevent the splaying of the uprights - make the difference between useable and not. Have you shared with Herr Becker ?

The problem for Herr Becker would be needing a reference table of all bikes to do the drilling. I noted that when I refitted the pins I had to jiggle around a bit to get the bolt to pass properly into the hole. There was a clue in the above photos. Look carefully.

That and (of course) I am a technical genius!. Not Mr @Speedy level god-advising genius, but up there. That and my humility makes life so difficult.

 

[Joesmoe]

I'm guessing only a few bikes are in the same class of the Rocket and needing that mod.

In these days of just-in-time production, he could provide it with the order.

Like you, I follow in your footsteps to tackle one challenge at a time.