Training and hitting the weights to get in shape for riding Motocross does not include hoisting your 200 pound-plus dirt bike onto a stand solely using muscle and grit.
There's a better way and several methods exist.
If you're new to riding, a dirt bike stand is a must in your arsenal of tools to perform general maintenance, tire changes and work on the drive chain. Think of a dirt bike stand similar to the jack for your car. You're not getting under the hood on a dirt bike but without a stand your life as a mechanic gets unnecessarily complicated.
The handful of approaches to getting your machine on a stand does not include lifting it yourself like it's a squat machine or employing friends to hulk around the bike and "on three" get it into place. Well, you could do that but why? It's actually quite easy to get your dirt bike on a stand without the fear of a hernia.
Lift Stand
Let the stand do all the work! Using a stand that lifts the bike up is the easiest method. It simply requires you to roll the dirt bike into position over the stand, then use the lift contraption on the stand to lift the bike. Done and Done. No pulled muscle, no surgery.
Some riders prefer regular stands because of cost and the weight of the jack stands but if you like the ease of use, check out the MotoSport Steel Lift Stand or the MSR Hi-Jack Stand.
Side Panel Lift
The side panel lift is the most common method to lifting your dirt bike on a stand. This is a traditional lift style and if you're old school or at least riding with someone who remembers watching Bob Hannah race then you already know about this.
The side panel lift uses a stationary and sturdy dirt bike stand where you lean your bike to the side and then using your hip and some arm muscle bump the bike onto the stand. Once you get the movement down it takes all of two seconds to get your bike on the stand. That's why it's so popular especially in the pits between Motos.
Rear Tire Lift
The rear tire lift uses the same style static dirt bike stand as the side panel but the manner in getting your bike on the stand is different. This is less popular and is in fact more advanced but easier to leverage than the side panel lift.
Grab the rear tire with your dominant hand and your weaker hand on the rear fender. Lift and slowly move your bike over the stand. Once stationary, center the front and you're good to go. The only problem with this is keeping the front wheel from squirreling out as you lift.
Triangle Stand
The triangle stand totally eliminates the need for a stand because it's more or less a kick stand for your dirt bike. It's super inexpensive and takes no effort at all. If you've just battled to the checkers you probably have little strength, much less, willpower to hip bump your bike onto a traditional dirt bike stand. So use this! It does have limitations as far as maintenance since it does not lift the bike off the ground.
Nose Wheelie
If you want to raise your level of coolness a notch or two then incorporate your skills at doing wheelies and ride the bike onto a stand.
Sorry, no clever videos to show, that we could find, so it's basically the traditional wheelie and plopping your dirt bike down on a stand.
Rear Wheelie
The rear wheelie method is much more impressive than the nose wheelie when using an operating dirt bike though considering the amount of practice time required to excel at this you might be better off honing your skills on the track. Confused? Watch below:
The less prone to accident version is done manually by rolling your dirt bike forward with the engine off, tightening the front brakes so the rear wheel lifts up then you scooting your bike over onto the stand. It requires some synchronizing with the brakes and where the dirt bike stand is.
If you're bored or in some type of "who is better contest?" with your friends the rear wheelie is a lofty approach but it's also a good way to get hurt if you underestimate the weight and momentum of your bike when you try and boot it over.
