550 Maxim brake service and front wheel removal questions

First time doing disc brake service on a cycle, so some of these questions will be pretty basic.

Supporting front of bike for wheel removal
The service manual says to put a block of wood under the crankcase to support the bike, but the crankcase itself is almost completely obscured by the exhaust. I guess there's a little gap between and just ahead of where the #2 & #3 pipes enter the exhaust joint, but that certainly can't be very stable. Can you rest the thing on the exhaust pipes themselves? I just don't want to damage anything. Also, I assume it should be on the center stand as well???

"Dry" brake system & bleeding?
I'm planning to rebuild my master cylinder and caliper, plus replace the pads at this time. I've read various references to how difficult it is to bleed a "dry" system by hand. That only applies if you're replacing the brake lines themselves, right? Also, how long will it take to replace all the fluid and get the system bled by hand?

Honing the caliper cylinder
Do you really need a 3 stone honing tool for this or can it be done by hand?

Other advice or "heads-up" comments welcome. Anything you wish somebody had told you before doing this the first time?

Thanks.

 

Support: I use an automotive jackstand placed under the frame cross-tube between pipes #2 and #3.

It just takes patience. Invest $25 in a Mity-Vac if you want to speed things up.

Caliper body will most likely NOT need honing; nor will the M/C unless it's really rough. The caliper is just a cavity; the seals and piston do the work, the piston is the key precision part.

You will need to get it apart and cleaned up before deciding if the piston itself can be reused or will need to be replaced.

The hardest part of the job is getting the seal channels in the caliper completely clean without gouging them up. A fine brass wire brush in a Dremel helps, as does patience and a homemade "dental pick"-esque device of some sort.

 

+1 on the dremel.

I supported the front end under each fork tube. I don't endorse this approach.

 

on my maxim i had to remove the oil filter housing to get a jack stand to sit properly under the bike to lift it by the frame cross tube bigfitz mentioned. my bike needed an oil change, so the timing worked well.

 

I've actually got a pair of heavy adjustable height stands that have a little bit wider "T" at the top with a lip on each end and I think one of those will just fit.

Thanks.