► Centre and side stands

[lawe]

But isn't it redicoulus that we pay a lot of money for a bike and then needs to replace the centre stand.... That isn't the first thing that comes to one's mind when starting to think about mods for the bike...

But what about the stand? Is the function as good or better that std.? Can't say I like the one BMW mounted on the bike.

 

[chrisjk]

I don't care for the stand on my 800 but I certainly would not replace it for this reason alone. It does work well enough even if it looks a bit naff.

If I had the 650, I'd probably take my MIG welder and a bit of steel rod to it to make something I could get hold of with my foot.

If I had known before I bought the bike what it was like, I'd have ordered it without the stand and hoped the Motech one would be better (which has not yet been said/proved)

 

[jessehere]

So How does the sw motech stand work? Can somebody post up some photos with it up and down
Thanks

 

[TERRY RYAN]

weel when I ordered my bike I did not chose the centre stand because of its looks and not finding it very easy to put on/take of the stand
so I have made do with the side stand/and a paddock stand until now
so this is how I fitted the centre stand without a spring pull

 

[TERRY RYAN]

few more pic

 

[TERRY RYAN]

forgot to say I layed the bike down for ease of pulling the spring in place
better angle to pull from

 

[TERRY RYAN]

1. The BMW item is certainly ugly, but I wonder how those tiny little feet on the SW Motech unit are going to fare in soft dirt.

2. Did your GS come with those tires or have you already worn out a set of Bridgestones? I'm hoping the US bikes don't come with the Buttle Wings.

the 800 comes out with a mixture of tyres I have mich anakee fitted (dont like them myself)some have
Buttle wings as you put it Chris G had the o.e tryes taken of and have
Conti Tkc fitted

I not worried about the tiny feet on the centre stand in the dirt if you look at the side stand it has the Touratech side stand plate plate for the soft dirt

 

[BLUEJAY]

To me, looking at the pictures, this Motech stand looks much better than BMW one.

Well done Bud !


Bluejay

 

[snowlife_9999]

off topic, which crash bars are those? form this angle they look similar to givi but not the same.

 

[Billy Bunter]

Centre Stands

If going on a long trip, say three months, and wanting to save as much weight as possible with the addition of luggage etc What do people think are the advantages of keeping the centre stand on?

Went away for 18 months a couple of years ago on a KTM without a centre stand and the main problem was adjusting the chain, however, with the BM its one of the few bikes the chain is adjusted on the side stand.

The only scenario i can think of is the removal of wheels to repair punctures, but you can get around this as i did with the KTM.

Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated?

 

[Micky]

Yeah ... removal of wheels in case of punctures and the oiling of said chain. Also handy to keep the bike upright when packing. I certainly wouldn't remove the centre stand

Just how much weight are you going to save by removing it

The weight of the centre stand is so very low down you wouldn't notice the difference

Diet?



www.adventure.gs

 

[Billy Bunter]

Yeah, two good points... the weight of the stand is at the best place for it to be really, and yeah, the extra weight i carry isnt! with all these things, the best way to go is the hardest!! no more nights in tthe pub for me for a while i suspect such is life eh!

 

[Tim Cullis]

You'll find that with a heavily laden bike the side stand is suspect--it's too far forward and the bike is liable to twist around it and fall over.

When parking up on the side stand try to find somewhere either completely flat or sloping gently to the right.

Tim

 

[oblertone]

F650 Twin Sidestand Anomaly

Having recently purchased a sidestand Fatfoot for my 1150GSA from Rugged Roads and being very pleased with it I decided to get one for Jaq's factory lowered F650 Twin. Said item is currently advertised on their (RR) online shop so it was ordered, promptly delivered and wrapped for Christmas.

After the general feasting had died down I took it into the garage along with other festive goodies for a fitting session; sadly it was nowhere near the correct size

After a short exchange of emails with Chad (from RR) it became apparent that Jaq's F650 was fitted with a much larger side-stand footplate than the one used by RR as a pattern for their manufacturing process.

I then called Ocean (bike suppliers) who were at first bemused as their system showed two different (by length) side-stands but both with the same smallish footplate with only one radiused corner.

The Ocean parts chap then went into the showroom and examined two F650's, one factory lowered and one 'standard', only to find that their lowered one also had a larger footplate, approximately twice the size with two radiused corners.

Perhaps BMW feel that their more 'vertically challenged' customers need more assistance to prevent that 'sinking feeling' Anyway, the point of all the above drivel is to point out the difference should you contemplate a Fatfoot for your 'Factory Lowered' F650 Twin.

Throughout this mini-saga I have to say that Rugged Roads customer service has been nothing short of brilliant and I have no hesitation in recommending their growing range of very reasonably priced 'bling' to any discerning rider of 'Adventure Motorcycles'.

 

[llessur]

Retrofit main stand

I purchased a 650 twin - factory lowered. This only comes with the side stand and there is no option for a main stand. When travelling on ferry crossings I do prefer a main stand, especially when the bike is well loaded and they make chain oiling , punctures etc so muck easier. So I purchased the standard 650 main stand and fittings. I tried fitting it initially and it was just too tall to be able to haul the bike onto it so I cut out 20mm from each leg just above the cross bar and welded it back up. Its now just perfect. Easy to get the bike on and off. My original worry that it would hang too low in its upright position and scrape when leaning have been unfounded so far. So for anyone else thinkinking of doing the same - cutting 20mm out works fine.

 

[Tim Cullis]

Good post, but due to the sheer forces involved you'd be better leaving the bike on the side stand on ferries.

Tim

 

[big_nige]

F800GS Sidestand problems

Blasted thing. Took the bike in for a remap the other day & complained the sidestand pops back too easily making it hard to trust it. Well, the same day after i got it back it did it & i couldn't hold the bike. Over it went onto some soft shale ground. One mashed peg, gear lever bent, side panel scratched & twisted bars. Christ i wasn't even moving. Took it back to BMW & to be fair to them they are doing it all under warranty. It also burned a hoile in nmy new HG cruise pants as the bike went over my leg hit the exhaust. They are buying me a new pair of them, so i can't complain. Anyone else had a problem with the sidestand not locking in place? They have fixed it by grinding more off the locating bit so it goes further forward now.

 

[Emmbeedee]

Blasted thing. Took the bike in for a remap the other day & complained the sidestand pops back too easily making it hard to trust it. Well, the same day after i got it back it did it & i couldn't hold the bike. Over it went onto some soft shale ground. One mashed peg, gear lever bent, side panel scratched & twisted bars. Christ i wasn't even moving. Took it back to BMW & to be fair to them they are doing it all under warranty. It also burned a hoile in nmy new HG cruise pants as the bike went over my leg hit the exhaust. They are buying me a new pair of them, so i can't complain. Anyone else had a problem with the sidestand not locking in place? They have fixed it by grinding more off the locating bit so it goes further forward now.

Wow, what a dealer! Frozen North? Which continent? I wouldn't mind a dealer like that.

I've never noticed the stand on my F8GS do that, though. Hadn't even thought it might.

 

[everywherevirtually]

Thats a heck of a lot of damage for a drop. I've dropped mine 3 times now. First time it went down it was fully loaded and it snapped the end of the clutch lever off. Peg was fine as were panels and bars.

2nd time I had handguards on and the third time a car did a u-turn in front of me and again no damage other than a smudge to the windscreen where the car door made contact and that I managed to rub out.

Thats real bad luck that you managed to do so much damage but good luck that your dealer fixed it.

 

[Micky]

Yeah ... it 'appened to me too

No damage though

Trouble is the side stand too short on my bike, it leans over far too much when on the prop stand, but if the stand was any bloody longer I wouldn't be able to get it down because the 'bike has to be verticle to do so

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr