► Centre and side stands

[Tim Cullis]

I've just been comparing the F650GS and the R1200GSA with both bikes on centre stand to make measuring easy.

The closest the GSA stand comes to the ground is 120mm at which stage it's in the 'locked down' position.

The F650GS stand sweeps down to 100mm from the ground, but then keeps going and at the 'locked down' position is 135mm from the ground. The 35mm is what causes the excess lean. The lean is so bad that when heavily loaded the bike can fall over

And when you are offroad the beast falls over (partly due to the lean, partly due to the not-fit-for-purpose tiny stand footprint), but if you find somewhere that's a bit higher on the lefthand side so it won't lean so much, you can't sweep the stand round without fouling the ground.

Duh!
Tim

 

[freeloader]

Under construction...

Poor quality photo, sorry, but its intended use should be obvious in this thread.

 

[Micky]

Yeah ... but the last time I used a side stand 'foot' (F650GS-D) the first left hander I came to it hit the deck, flew off and nearly killed my mate behind

Plus, as Tim says, extending itwould be a problem because then you can't get the bloody thing down

 

[freeloader]

I'll see how it works out when it's fitted. Security of fitting is going to be a priority, anyway - apart from the dangers of it flying off and doing untold damage, I don't really want to have to make another from scratch.

Also, its main function is intended to be to increase the contact area for soft surfaces, rather than providing a large height increase, although it will lift the stand slightly. But as I said, it's still "under construction".

 

[sijohnston]

i recently learned of the 'dropping the sidestand of the bike onto the tyre' trick when wanting to change the tube. i've since done it twice (with the bike up on the centre stand and leaning it over) and the shape of the base as it currently is is perfect for breaking the bead. of course, if you can break the bead any other way, you needn't worry. all the best with the experiment.

 

[LindaS]

Is there an aftermarket centre stand for the new 650GS?

I'm going to but a new factory lowered 650GS, which can't have a centre stand for some reason. Are there and aftermarket ones or can I modify a standard one?

Regards
Linda

 

[Thunder]

I'm going to but a new factory lowered 650GS, which can't have a centre stand for some reason. Are there and aftermarket ones or can I modify a standard one?

Regards
Linda

Hepco Becker and SW Motech both offer aftermarket stands for the 650 and 800 GS but I'm not sure if they have a version for the factory lowered bike.

Have you asked your BMW dealer about getting one for the lowered bike?

 

[VAL. H.]

I'm going to but a new factory lowered 650GS, which can't have a centre stand for some reason. Are there any aftermarket ones or can I modify a standard one?

Regards
Linda

I think the reason that there isn't a centre stand for the lowered 650, is that it catches the ground when cornering.

Val.

 

[yooop]

I think the reason that there isn't a centre stand for the lowered 650, is that it catches the ground when cornering.

Val.

- agreement.
possibly danger while conering

 

[Tim Cullis]

New centre stand from Hornig ~£105

New Centre Stand from Hornig.
Two different versions for the F650GS and F800GS, €113.85 (~£105) including shipping.



Tim

 

[Uinneag]

Looks at lot better than the ill conceived piece of crap from BMVV

 

[F800 Rob]

I have one of these installed on my F650GS Twin, and it's actually manufactured by SW-Motech.

It's great. Easy up, easy down, and solid when on it. Damn near gave myself a hernia when installing it, but otherwise quite nice overall.

 

[TERRY RYAN]

I have of them fitted to my bike as well and its a SW Motech
or looks very similar
easy to fit just need to lay the bike down on the floor to get the spring on
I think I posted some pictures on here on fitting one

 

[nikp]

I've got the SW Motech one on my 800 as well (from nippy's).

Looks miles better than than the BMW one and I'm surprised how much I actually use it - especially good for cleaning and oiling the chain

 

[maddaddy]

Any difference?

Did anyone switch from BMW to a different center stand?

What it easier to operate?

 

[freeloader]

I've had the BMW centre stand on mine since the day I collected it, and can't think of any reason why I might take it off, let alone change it for another type. It may look ugly, but it works, and better than the sidestand which, it does no harm to say, moves far further forward than it needs to, and coud have been designed a lot better. In fact, I think it's probably about the worst sidestand I've ever had on a bike...

 

[Martin]

Mine's got the BMW centre stand, and my only criticism is that it's tricky to get my boot between the rear footrest and the stand to push it down. Works fine, but can't pull the bike round when it's on it's stand like I could the 1200. Perhaps I was never supposed to?

Can't understand the previous post's complaint about the side stand being poorly designed. It works. What else should it do that it doesn't?

 

[nikp]

Mine's got the BMW centre stand, and my only criticism is that it's tricky to get my boot between the rear footrest and the stand to push it down. Works fine, but can't pull the bike round when it's on it's stand like I could the 1200. Perhaps I was never supposed to?

Can't understand the previous post's complaint about the side stand being poorly designed. It works. What else should it do that it doesn't?

The SW Motech centre stand is also a bit tricky to as noted above for getting your boot in between the side stand - especially as I wear MX boots but it's not a major gripe.

 

[freeloader]

Mine's got the BMW centre stand, and my only criticism is that it's tricky to get my boot between the rear footrest and the stand to push it down. Works fine, but can't pull the bike round when it's on it's stand like I could the 1200. Perhaps I was never supposed to?

Can't understand the previous post's complaint about the side stand being poorly designed. It works. What else should it do that it doesn't?

See post no. 28 by Tim Cullis in this thread, and my response to that (post no. 29).

 

[Bryn]

Factory lowered and Centre stand?

Lyn now has her factory lowered 650 twin. She didn't really need an ultra low one but likes the height so she's happy

I understand that you can't fit a centre stand to the factory lowered bike.

Question is: Is that just because the centrestand will be too 'tall'? If so could it be modified with a nifty bit of welding?

I'm finding that I miss the centre stand from a maintenance point of view