I need a set of stand for this winter and am wondering if any of the cheap ones on ebay are any good.
Also should I put spools on the bike or just find a stand that raises by the swing arm.

 

I bought a set of ebay stands a few weeks ago. Including shipping it ran me 80 or 90 bucks. They work just fine. I got the rear stand that raises the bike by the swingarm.

 

i got mine from a company on ebay. 113 bucks shipped. they have a website mjmotogear.com

 

I'd go with a swingarm lift as yo can lift a wide variety of bikes with it. If you go with one for spools then you are stuck with putting spools on anything you want to lift that don't already have them installed

 

I recommend T-Rex stands. You can find them on ebay for about $150 shipped and that includes the triple tree attachment. I would compare these to Pitbulls at a fraction of the cost!

 

^I have T-Rex and they're great. Super easy to use and adjust. However I don't have the triple tree attachment. But they still work great.

 

A couple people here and on 600rr.net have mentioned that they really like the stands from gpi industries. I'm going to be getting a set this week or next. I looked at pitbull but dont have the money. T-rex i dont like how they are screwed together. The stands from gpi are one piece tubing, so they would be stronger. $110 for a front and rear set.

www.gpiindustries.com

 

I have used those at the track (buddy bought some), didn't care much for them because since they are one piece, you can bend them easily...which means they suddenly won't fit. So, try to balance a bike with no kick-stand and rebend the stand to fit the spools was a real pain.

Several folks I know have said they don't care for the T-Rex because of the screws, but I've never seen them fail/bend at those points. Lots of folks use them also.

I personally use PitBull, I use my bike for body position demonstrations and even hang off the bike. Very stable, but not cheap.

I have seen the very cheap ones collapse and make the bike fall over. Common failure is the little wheels break and then allows the tubing to bend.

 

I got the cheapie swingarm stand from HarborFreight.com, works fine

 

HAHa I am right there with you on the Harbor Frieght ones. They were 30 bucks and held my bike for 2 years now with not a single problem. 60 total for the front and rear.