Life's lessons on bottle jacks....

[ryandalling]

Life's lesson number two: Some bottle jacks do not work horizontally. Thus, and mark my words here, it is always recommended to have a back up jack, and a bottle of jack, on hand, in case things go horizontal.


So, I am rebuilding a wrecked 2007 Kawasaki Ninja ZX600-R into a race bike. I pulled the wheels off the bike to put on race tires. The rear looked like it was hammered hard to stop and you could actually see through the flat spots, and the front had two plugs in it. lol. Anyway, I get some race rubber on it, and go to throw the wheel back on, and the swing arm isn't wide enough to fit the rims and spacers and rear brake mount.... weird.... I guess it had gotten pinched in the wreck and the wheel was keeping it open.... so... bottle jack spreader to the rescue.....

Except, the first bottle jack wouldn't open when I turned it on it's side... so I went to the FJ to get one out... and it worked perfectly. Weirdness. Anyhow, I do have a new swingarm coming in from eBay, so it's not like I was planning on racing with a tweaked swingarm...  but the alcohol did help... as the 5 minute wheel change ended up taking 90 minutes and some swearing... and knuckle skinning.... and a whole lotta axle grease...

So, I repeat... be ready for going horizontal... bring alcohol... protection.... and extra axle grease.

[zooom]

or just use a scissor jack the next time....

LOL

[MendoDave]

What color was the FJ again?

[fastwin]

What kind of alcohol do you recommend? And how much? ... 

[RAT900]

I hate bottle jacks under load....they kick-out sometimes which can be a shorts-soiling experience

[ryandalling]

The FJ is tan. Also, I was expecting it to have a scissor jack, when I went to grab it... it was a bottle jack... but gear driven and not fluid driven like the other one.  So, I used it, and it worked. I recommend a good strong manhattan made with rhye whiskey. It helps settle the nerves a bit and it lessens the anger when you skin nuckles or slice open fingers on sharp edges and such. However, serving it up in a martini glass is not recommended as it can cause more sharp thingies scattered about the garage. I would say a sippy cup with a bendy straw is your best bet.

[zooom]

  I would say a sippy cup with a bendy straw is your best bet.

borrowed your kids' cup for your own purposes did ya?...next thing you know, you are gonna tell us you had no cocktail nuts to chomp on, so you ganked his Cheerios too....LOL

[MendoDave]

Yea see the than ones have the Bottle jack but, If you had bought a Brown one it would have the Scissor Jack, unless it was built on the third Wednesday of a Month with a big holiday. If you have one of those they come with Hydraulic rams that lift the car up.

[SacDuc]

There is always this method:

[Rob Hilding]

There is always this method:

I wonder how much fuel is in that tank 

[fastwin]

What could possibly go wrong with that method?

Excellent drink recommendation and I'm liking the sippy cup idea too. Safety first, then drinking, then mechanic stuff.

[ryandalling]

Excellent drink recommendation and I'm liking the sippy cup idea too. Safety first, then drinking, then mechanic stuff.

I really think that Vegas has it down. They give all them tourists them cups with lids and straws that attach to a chain you wear around your neck. You can't drop it and you can't spill it. If we could do a more manly version for the garage... we would make bank.     

[fastwin]

More good thinking!

[Timmy Tucker]

So, I repeat... be ready for going horizontal... bring alcohol... protection.... and extra axle grease.

This sage advice could apply to so many things...