Is there a way I could raise the bike off the ground in the front without using a bike stand or a speciallized bike jack. I have a car jack that works pretty well is there any point where i could prop it up and put some jackstands under (where too on the chassi?).

 

you are getting into kinda dangerous territory. you should have at least the rear stand and then you could prop the front end up by putting the jack just under the exhaust headers. if you don't have a rear stand, at least find a way to keep the bike from tipping when you use the car jack. it doesn't look like there is any place to put jackstands. i used a rearstand before i used my cars' scissor jack. you can get a rearstand for a pretty good price if you look around online. worth the investment since you can use it for any bike for tire changes, chain adjustments, etc.

 

thanks michigan! i had a rear stand on the bike and i had borrowed a front stand from a friend and couldnt figure out how to use it but ended up figuring out. but will think about investing into a better one for the front because it looked pretty dangerous and tipsy if somebody nudged it in the right place. i have to admit though, rear stands are amazing. Just out of curiosity does anyone know how well the vacuum brake bleed pums work?

 

are you asking about a mityvac type device? if so, that device works very well especially if you are bleeding brakes yourself. much faster and easier than having to pump the brake lever. also another item that is a good investment.

as for front stands, there are 2 types, one that uses the steering stem as a lift point or the other that uses the bottom of the forks as a lift point. i have the steering stem one made by pitbull. i don't know which one you have used, but either one is safe. i got my particular one because it allows easy removal of the fork legs should they need to be dropped from the clamps.