use of front stand with centerstand

i was wondering if any of you have tried to lift the front of your 5th gen with a front stand while the machine is resting on its own centerstand. I have a vortex front stand, (steering stem type) just need a pin for the vfr, just wondering if i could get away without having to buy another rear stand (i have 2 and really don't want a third, but they are for regular swingarms). Yesterday i got the wheels off of the vfr for a tire change by using the centerstand, took the back wheel off, then, had Lauren push down on the rear a couple inches so i could get regular car type jack stands under the forks. It worked well but i would rather use my front stand. I quess my worry is lifting the front with a stand while the bike is on the centerstand would it lift to high and be unstable on the centerstand, or even lift enough for the centerstand to come off the ground all together, if the rear wheel was still on.

 

It won't hurt to just try it. I don't see it becoming unstable on the center stand; though you might be right about the rear wheel contacting the ground before you get the front fully up on the stand. You could solve this by putting a thick piece of plywood under the center stand first, to raise the entire bike higher before using the front stand. (warning, this will make it a little tougher to lift the bike onto the center stand as it will decrease your leverage).
That center stand is stable and strong. Just experiment, I am sure you can solve this. The only thing you need to watch for is the bike being pushed forward where it might come off the center stand.

Before I had either stand I used to back my bike up against the wall of the garage, and while it was on the center stand, I attached a cranking tie-downs to the grab rails on the rear and hooked the other end to a bolt I put in the wall stud down by the floor. Tightening the tie-downs would lever the front of the bike up and balance it on the center stand. This allowed me to take off both wheels and take them to the shop for cheaper tire changes.

 

worked fine on 6th gen...

 

It works fine on my 6th gen but you have to take the rear wheel off first otherwise you will lift the bike off the centerstand. Pitbull does not reccomend having the bike up on the front (pin style) stand alone as the little pin is the only think holding the bike upright.

 

Big Bubbles........No Troubles..........

+1 Deltazulu

Current pic of my 6th gen.





A rear wheel stand will provide you with a much wider supporting base Phil but as long as the bike is parked on a flat smooth level surface,and you're not a clumsy goob like me (ya know,like turning around and walking into your bike while you've got it up on the stands :redface: :lol,you should have no problems using the centerstand/front wheel stand combination.
I've done it that way for decades with every bike I've ever owned that came equipped with a centerstand and never had a problem. Trust me I've bumped into my bikes plenty hard many,many times over the years and never once knocked one of them off the stands.

With my bike on the centerstand it's not necessary to remove the rear wheel when levering the front end off the ground with my Lockhart Phillips front stand. That's because I lowered the bike and the swingarm is now rotated slightly more towards the rear subframe.
The rear wheel is off in this pic only because I'm doing some work at the back end of the bike.

 

yeah thats what i was worried about, on my other machines i put the rear stand under the swingarm first then move to the front. i would never rely soley on a front stand to hold my bike up, that could end up being a bad day.