electric jack

[darryl]

I'm thinking of adding an electric actuator to my bike to deploy the service stand. For some reason I've lost the kickstand, but I'm not too fond of them anyway. Maybe that's why I 'lost' it- I don't know. At any rate, it's getting more difficult to use the service stand. The way my back has been lately it's getting to be a bit of a strain to drag the bike backwards and upwards to deploy the stand. I can still do it fairly easily, but I'm really starting to look for ways to minimize the potential damage I could do to myself.

I've checked out the mechanicals of it, and all I need is to extend an actuator by about three inches. Within that range I have both full deployment and full retraction with some upward pressure left so it isn't left loose at all. There is room for a motorized gearbox if that isn't too large, and the entire thing has to be 9 inches long or shorter between mounting points.

Since it's a 12v system, I'm thinking that I could find some kind of actuator that would work here. I could make up a hydraulic cylinder to fit, then power it from a small pump mounted in the frame somewhere, or it could be a completely self-contained screw jack. My thought was that maybe there is already an electric screw jack made for small cars, etc. Anybody know of such a thing?

I'm guessing that I'm going to need about 300 lbs of force to actuate the stand, given the geometry involved. That should be enough to push the stand all the way over while lifting the rear of the bike off the ground.

I've decided to go ahead with the cargo container retrofit, so there's likely to be a load on the back when I'm out on the road for a few days or more. One of the other options I've considered is having a pair of deployable feet that would simply extend downwards to act as stabilizer feet when I'm parked. I do like the idea of having these feet as far apart as possible for the best in stability. Often enough, when I'm out on the road, stopping in parks and overnight areas, there's kids around that want to sit on the bike. I guess I can understand why, and I don't mind giving them the chance (parents often want to take pictures of their kids sitting on a bike), but it would also be easier on my mind if the bike had a wider stance when parked. With the cargo container fitted, it would essentially be about 30 inches wide, so this is something I could incorporate right into the structure. The feet on the current stand are only about 8 or 9 inches apart.

To incorporate deployable struts mounted inside the cargo container, I'd have to make sure I had mounting points arranged to take the load without stressing the container or the points where it mounts. That's just another detail though, something that can be designed in.

Thoughts?

[flylo]

www.surpluscenter.com has quite a few. https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=5-1577-8&catname=electric is almost 8" stroke 12V $87 but only rated 110# but they have others.

[winchman]

Will the tilt/trim actuator from an outboard engine do that?

[flylo]

Could you put air shocks on the bike that raised it high enough to swing down the center stand than lower them enough to raise the rear tire with the stand down?

[KIMFAB]

That chopper show had a bike that had pressure cylinders like the lo riders that would be up to drive and to park it you release the pressure and it sets on the frame.

Probably a little harder to drive if your pressure system is inop tho. :D

[rdfeil]

Darryl,

Check out this site. http://www.firgelliauto.com/default.php Linear actuators might be what you want. I have used several from various suppliers and all have worked well as long as you use them within their ratings.

[Your Old Dog]

Check this out: http://images.harborfreight.com/manuals/94000-94999/94491.pdf

These are cheap at Harbor Freight and are quite powefull. I have a 2" diameter 4 foot long brass tube with an antenna coil inside it and associated hardware and with almost no mechanical advantage it lifts the arrangement 90 degrees in 1 minutes time.

In your application, it wouldn't have to start lifting until the stands touched the ground, at that point it would be near full mechanical advantage. There is no reason this wouldn't work well to raise a motorcycle of any size. At the thickest the assembly is about 3 inches thick but located near the rear tire it would cost you nothing in ground clearance.

It is very easy to dis-assemble and has easy mounting positions.

If I can find a pick of my application I'll make an edit here.

[davidh]

how about a power seat motor and screw. they can raise a suitable size person . .

[darryl]

Thanks for all the ideas. One of them should work out for me.

Last night I stripped off the old cargo bags and everything else non-bike that I had on it. I'm considering making the rear fender from fiberglass as well, as that is one of the final components of the frame extending rearward. If I can mold that part into the total new assembly, it will make the whole thing very solid, partly because I'd get to use a few more of the mounting holes in the existing frame. The steel fender has a plastic liner which I would duplicate inside the fiberglass fender section.

Doing it this way, I'll have the entire rear fender with lights, etc, intact. I could simply remount that in place of this container I'm building, and the bike will return to stock. Led lighting will be molded into the cargo container, taking the place of the existing signal, brake, and clearance lighting. I will most likely add some side lighting as well so I'm more visible day or night.

Sorry (or happy) to say there will be very little metalworking content in this project, except perhaps for some hinge parts and the stand mechanism. I'll show what I'm doing anyway after I'm underway.

My goal today is to make up some molded corner sections and cardboard templates.