Beginner here -

[dankatz]

OK, so my 696 is my first bike without a center stand (Ninja 500 and FZ6 other bikes). I have a few questions:
Can I adjust the suspension without having a stand?
I am assuming oiling the chain is a much bigger to do without a stand?

Looking to get a pitbull rear stand.  Anything particular people use? What's the benefit of a front stand?

Thanks for the advice!

[Raux]

a rear stand will help everything you want to do.

the suspension will be loaded with or without a rearstand. if you are trying to unload the rear shock to adjust it then you can lift the bike from under the motor.

what kind of adjustment are you trying to do?

you dont have spools (unless you added them) so you'll need a stand with the rubber L-mounts

the front will be for changing out tires etc. for the most part you can avoid them.

[dankatz]

Thanks for the comments. I am looking to return the rebound/preload to stock from whatever it is set at. The manual says that preload is 150mm when the rear tire if off the ground, so I don't really know what it would be without a stand.

Is there a pitbull model people commonly use on the 696? F0028-000? Does it matter?

[Raux]

yeah you cant use the rear stand to set that. you'll need friends to help you lift the rear off the ground or an under engine lift.

for the rear lift, i picked up a generic.

[WhiteStripe]

FWIW i picked up a used T-Rex and have no complaints.  Cheaper option, others with both may disagree, but its not rocket science.

[mstevens]

Dan, if you like I can measure where the adjuster nut is on Tracy's bike, which is bone stock. That's not the official way to do it, but it could get you fairly close.

If you have a garage, one way to lift the bike without loading the suspension is to remove the seat and use tie-down straps to suspend the bike from a rafter. I've heard of people using ladders or other things to suspend a bike from for this purpose.

[dankatz]

Hey Mark, thanks for the offer. Sure, if you get a chance to measure it I would appreciate it. I probably won't get a stand within the next week and I do want to change the preload.

[mitt]

here is a little faq on stands:

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=3406.0


mitt

[dankatz]

Thanks. I read that thread and watched the video - very useful! I just posted to see if anything new came out or people had more experiences they wanted to share.