Centre Stand Pivot Bolt Snapped

[lunc]

As I left for my jolly joe job this morning the centre stand was dragging. Not as I thought a broken or cack filled spring but a snapped and missing pivot bolt. I later found this in my usual parking spot so I must have snapped at work and so the bike spent the night in the garage on the stand held only on one side.

Anyone else had this problem? The dealer says it's the first one he's ever ordered.

I cable tied it the stand for now and will remove it tonight pending the parts turning up at the end of the week. I hope they do because I've got tyres being fitted on Saturday for which the stand would no doubt be very helpful.

 

[ChasMill]

Me - 2006 GSA 1200 last year. Spotted by BMW Park Lane who ordered two bolts (because they only come in packs of two Sir) and fixed it during a routine service (£500 worth ....)

 

[ExpatinIstanbul]

The foot brake side of mine fell out without me noticing, until the vibration from the tyre rubbing on the stand's foot became something I thought I should really take a look at. I reckon it happens when, if like me, you tend to push the bike off the stand when seated, rather than lifting it off as should be done. I managed to get a single replacement from BMW rather than both, as it comes in its own packaging.

 

[The G Man]

Mine too, at around 45k - cost £14 for a pair of "trunnels" + bolts

G

 

[lunc]

At least I'm not the only one. I've got the stand off for now awaiting the parts (23 quid for both sides).

 

[red line]

yep, took stand off to grind down the foot, and realised that the bolt had snapped off as soon as i turned the bolt. ordered another, but was given one with a diameter larger than the original, so now need to go change it.....oh, and mine came in single

 

[Kiwi_Mike]

This has happened twice on my '06 GS. The second time was only 13 months and about 4k miles after the first time but the dealer refused to fix it under warranty as more than 12 months had past. The bike had spent most of the 13 months in storage so I've no idea why it broke again.

I bought the replacement parts for one side (around £15) and spent an entire afternoon and a lot of knuckle skin trying to get the spring back on as it is a real bugger to stretch. Ended up using the coin trick on the big spring and threading the small spring through once the big one was in place. Not an easy job for a numpty like me but saved me around £50 which is what BMW wanted to charge me for the labour.

I now take the bike off the centre stand while standing next to the bike.

 

[ExpatinIstanbul]

This has happened twice on my '06 GS. The second time was only 13 months and about 4k miles after the first time but the dealer refused to fix it under warranty as more than 12 months had past. The bike had spent most of the 13 months in storage so I've no idea why it broke again.

I bought the replacement parts for one side (around £15) and spent an entire afternoon and a lot of knuckle skin trying to get the spring back on as it is a real bugger to stretch. Ended up using the coin trick on the big spring and threading the small spring through once the big one was in place. Not an easy job for a numpty like me but saved me around £50 which is what BMW wanted to charge me for the labour.

I now take the bike off the centre stand while standing next to the bike.

I also fitted mine, but used the brute force method of aligning the bolt holes by pushing against the stand with my leg, without removing the spring. I couldn't feel the leg for two hours afterwards.

 

[Kiwi_Mike]

Haha - I also tried that method but only managed to trap the bolt on an angle between the stand and the bike - and then spent 20 mins trying to free the bolt in order to try a different method.

The BMW workshop manual shows the spring being streached using some kind of bespoke tool, must make it a very fast (and profitable) job for them.

 

[JayC]

It doesn't surprise me in the least that there are c/stand issues out there. My current (R12GS) and previous bike (F8GS) are the only two new bikes I have ever owned (ok the F8 was 600 miles old and a demo before I bought it) and are the only two bikes to stand out to me in one specific area for total crap quality - the c/stands.

These things are a total after thought, hence the guff whereby the manufacturers seem to almost celebrate their additional option packs which includes a c/stand.

These were not optional extras years ago, and in fact every bike I had owned prior to these two machines, and except for an enduro here and there, all had a c/stand as a standard piece of equipment iirc.

When you hoisted yesteryear bikes onto the c/stand it felt sturdy and well supported. The R12GS on the other hand wobbles all over the place and often gives me reason for concern as to whether it is man enough for the job. I almost cringe when I put in on the stand because I feel it will continue going backwards and simply break away from the stand.

My bike is a sub 1K miles machine and the c/stand is the biggest load of additional option chocolatised accessory crap I have ever come across!

A lot of money spent, a lot of money cut back in the build and a lot of junk parts added. That aside I love the bike!

 

[Sgt Bilco]

These things are a total after thought, hence the guff whereby the manufacturers seem to almost celebrate their additional option packs which includes a c/stand.

These were not optional extras years ago, and in fact every bike I had owned prior to these two machines, and except for an enduro here and there, all had a c/stand as a standard piece of equipment iirc.

When you hoisted yesteryear bikes onto the c/stand it felt sturdy and well supported. The R12GS on the other hand wobbles all over the place and often gives me reason for concern as to whether it is man enough for the job. I almost cringe when I put in on the stand because I feel it will continue going backwards and simply break away from the stand.

My bike is a sub 1K miles machine and the c/stand is the biggest load of additional option chocolatised accessory crap I have ever come across!

b

Feck me......get over yourself will ya The reason it feels wobbly is because of the weight and the height of the bike which is way more than any bike has the right to be especially with all the shopping loaded. The stand is plenty man enough works well.

It this the next "goods not fit for purpose" subject.....

 

[JayC]

Feck me......get over yourself will ya The reason it feels wobbly is because of the weight and the height of the bike which is way more than any bike has the right to be especially with all the shopping loaded. The stand is plenty man enough works well.

It this the next "goods not fit for purpose" subject.....

Why do I need to get over myself? I voiced an opinion, just as you have , are you special too?

Perhaps you have no clue as to what build quality means? If the weight and height are too much for the stand build a proper fecking stand!

 

[Alan R]

It doesn't surprise me in the least that there are c/stand issues out there. My current (R12GS) and previous bike (F8GS) are the only two new bikes I have ever owned (ok the F8 was 600 miles old and a demo before I bought it) and are the only two bikes to stand out to me in one specific area for total crap quality - the c/stands.

These things are a total after thought, hence the guff whereby the manufacturers seem to almost celebrate their additional option packs which includes a c/stand.

These were not optional extras years ago, and in fact every bike I had owned prior to these two machines, and except for an enduro here and there, all had a c/stand as a standard piece of equipment iirc.

When you hoisted yesteryear bikes onto the c/stand it felt sturdy and well supported. The R12GS on the other hand wobbles all over the place and often gives me reason for concern as to whether it is man enough for the job. I almost cringe when I put in on the stand because I feel it will continue going backwards and simply break away from the stand.

My bike is a sub 1K miles machine and the c/stand is the biggest load of additional option chocolatised accessory crap I have ever come across!

A lot of money spent, a lot of money cut back in the build and a lot of junk parts added. That aside I love the bike!

I understand that the centre stand on the R1200gs had a design change at sometime - were not the earlier ones more 'arched' between the stanchions? I am at a loss to understand what your complaint is with the current version. It appears to me to be as substantial as any stand fitted to any of the 40+ bikes I've owned over the years. Granted, fully loaded, dressed for touring, the bike's a big lump to heave onto the stand, but it's never felt as though the stand wasn't up to the job. Curious how different people perceive the same bit of kit differently
Alan R

 

[JayC]

I understand that the centre stand on the R1200gs had a design change at sometime - were not the earlier ones more 'arched' between the stanchions? I am at a loss to understand what your complaint is with the current version. It appears to me to be as substantial as any stand fitted to any of the 40+ bikes I've owned over the years. Granted, fully loaded, dressed for touring, the bike's a big lump to heave onto the stand, but it's never felt as though the stand wasn't up to the job. Curious how different people perceive the same bit of kit differently
Alan R

My complaint is simple , it doesn't feel sturdy enough.

Yes very interesting how perceptions can be so different because I find the R12GS is very sorted re the geometry around the c/stand to the extent I find it a very easy bike to put onto the c/stand , loaded or otherwise.

Perhaps being in engineering I expect something more substantial than this.

 

[Mr K]

My complaint is simple , it doesn't feel sturdy enough.

Yes very interesting how perceptions can be so different because I find the R12GS is very sorted re the geometry around the c/stand to the extent I find it a very easy bike to put onto the c/stand , loaded or otherwise.

Perhaps being in engineering I expect something more substantial than this.

Mine's lasted 8 years and 64,000 miles.

 

[ExpatinIstanbul]

Mine's lasted 8 years and 64,000 miles.

You've ridden 64,000 miles with the centre stand down? Bloody hell.

 

[team duvet]

Mates just had his fail ....GSA not yet 2 yrs old (2 yrs this month) with 16,000 miles.

New bolts under warranty

TD

 

[lunc]

Feck. Oh it's easy to take the thing off. Easy enough to refit the bolts, but the springs! The large one seems a bit overrated for holding the stand up.

After wrestling for a couple of hours, trying various methods and tools and almost pulling the bike over I admitted defeat and took it to my local (non BMW) dealer who was fitting tyres anyway. It took 3 people and a spring puller to get them on apparently, so I didn't stand much chance on my own with a pair of dodgy mole-grips.

Kudos to those who managed this task solo.

 

[iandavid]

Feck. Oh it's easy to take the thing off. Easy enough to refit the bolts, but the springs! The large one seems a bit overrated for holding the stand up.

After wrestling for a couple of hours, trying various methods and tools and almost pulling the bike over I admitted defeat and took it to my local (non BMW) dealer who was fitting tyres anyway. It took 3 people and a spring puller to get them on apparently, so I didn't stand much chance on my own with a pair of dodgy mole-grips.

Kudos to those who managed this task solo.

Put one end of the spring in a vice then bend spring about 120deg. insert coins into spaces between coils on one side then bend spring the other way and do the same on the other side. You now have a spring with coins between the coils that is longer. Fit to bike, put it on main stand and pull out the coins with pliers.

Job done. Dad bought me that over 30yrs ago on my old Tiger 100.

 

[Firefox]

Another centre stand

Bolt failed on my 05 R1200RT, left side. I never ride the bike off the stand, so it was not caused by that. It is obviously a manufacturing or design defect.
Had it powder coated while it was off and am now struggling to get the big spring back on, hence on here looking for some of that wonderful advice