R100/7 side stand

[Granpita]

I just acquired a R100/7 and love it, with the exception that the side stand will fold up the minute I begin to take any weight off of it. It's also awkward to extend because I have to get it on the tip of my toe to get it far enough forward under the cylinder. Is this normal? If so, are there any fixes (other than practice)? Seems awfully tenuous.

My R1150RT side stand requires positive action to close it.

Thank you

[sumran]

Yes it is normal. If your legs are long enough to reach the stand when it is in the down position, you will be able to work the stand well with practice. I believe the spring can be mounted differently to prevent the autoretracting feature. However, it is more difficult to get the stand up than down IMO. The lean angle with the factory sidestand is a little scary sometimes. I mostly use mine to dismount comfortably and then put the bike on the center stand.

There are aftermaket stands available that work like the stands you are used to. They are a bit expensive. They mount in the shifter area and you will need to make sure that the bracket doesn't interfere with the shifter's movement.

I started out thinking the stand on my bike must have been a homemade addition by the previous owner. When I found out otherwise, I decided it was a terrible design and needed to be changed ASAP. Now that I am used to it, changing the stand is on my "one-of-these-days" list. Since there always seem to be more urgent things to spend my parts money on, the stand may be with me a long time.

[brickrider]

That side stand has GOT to be the goofiest attachment to a motorcycle I have ever seen. One of those came on my 83 R100RT. The first thing I did was to throw that thing in the trash. At the time, there was a sidestand called a Brown (probably the creator's name). It was a robust unit and worked just like the one on my 26" bicycle, which withstood thousands of up/down movements on my newspaper route over 3 years, bike always overloaded. You might check Bob's BMW or one of the other regular advertisers in the MOA Mag, as I believe the Brown is no longer made. If you can't find a good replacement, use a 4-foot long 2x2. :lol (Seriously, something decent should be out there.)

[26667]

Hey, Sum' ! You can find a Brown side stand for $100 lots of places on the i'net It installs in about ten minutes. and a couple months ago I saw a bit about a "fix" for the oem in the "OA News" Sort of a bolt-on extender.

I've used browns on 4 different airheads now and find it easy to deploy, retract, and a solid base for my scoot.
Good luck (and thx again for the offer of help on the tank deal yesterday)

[20774]

It's also awkward to extend because I have to get it on the tip of my toe to get it far enough forward under the cylinder. Is this normal? If so, are there any fixes (other than practice)? Seems awfully tenuous.

My R1150RT side stand requires positive action to close it.


The /7 stand is a love/hate situation...I personally find it OK. It does hold the bike fairly upright, but I've determined that's due to running metric profile tires rather than the inch-size tires. I will buy inch-size next time around...

You can get the stand to stay down by altering the point at which the spring goes over center...if you look at the action you should be able to figure it out. I've not investigated it since I've left the stand as-is. But you'll need to loosen a bolt and rotate a plate that holds the spring and then retighten the bolt...something like that.

If you're used to positive action or always having to reach down and retract the stand, then maybe this is the fix for you. I'm sure you can image what will happen if the stand is left down and you take a left turn. You may find yourself on the ground!! Some devise reminders (like those red flags on aircraft that say "Remove Before Flight") to be sure and pull the stand up.

But if you perform the fix, you may have another problem, which is how to reach it under the cylinder to retract it, since you are having difficulty extending it due to a short inseam.

As mentioned, practice will help in being able to extend the stand in its stock configuration. I'm sure others will chime in with their "method" to do it. So, here's mine... I use my heel to begin the extension. Once I've got the far end of the stand touching the ground, I then lean the bike to the left, enough to put a little weight on the stand...my heel remains on the stand at all times. Then I gently roll the bike to the rear still keeping a little bike weight on the stand, feeling the point at which the spring has gone over center and the stand has hit its forward stop. I can then put full weight on the side stand and dismount the bike. It should also be noted that when using the side stand, it's best to have the bike engaged in a gear so there's no danger of it rolling forward and having the stand collapse due to the spring. During this process, I've had the bike in gear but clutch lever pulled in. Then when the stand is fully extended, I release the lever.

As an alternative, since I'm tall enough and feel confident in doing it, I dismount onto my left foot, swinging my right across the seat, balancing the bike with both hands on the bars. Then I can extend the side stand from the left side of the bike.

Anyway, the side stand works for me.

[Isamemon]

1) the above mentioined fix works to hold the sidestand in the down position
2) The brown sidestand is still available
3) In the "on" magazine you will see advertised a fixer bracket, which works well too

the only thing I do not like about the brown is the narrow footprint, that will sink in mud, soft tar, etc....sure you can carry around something, but why not have one that is attached ?
thre was a guy making a really nice one, out of california, that had a foot , but havent seen his info in a while. It also ran about the same price as the brown

[mandypants]

http://schneidersinc.com/side_stand_fixer.htm

That's what I got for my R100R. Works like a charm.

Just remember to put it back UP before you fly!:wave

[SheRidesABeemer]

Mandy had a lot of expertise in this matter. See related post (http://www.yearroundriders.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1609). :)

[sumran]

Hey, Sum' ! You can find a Brown side stand for $100 lots of places on the i'net ...

Thanks. I have seen those, but can bring myself to turn loose of the $100 + dollars. I have a fairly long list of things that I would like to do to the bike and many of them rank ahead of the side stand on my desire-o-meter. The stock stand may even evolve into a lovable quirk instead of an irritation given enough time. When I take my parts in for powder coating I might even throw the stand on the pile to accelerate the process.:)

[sumran]

It does hold the bike fairly upright ...

I am wondering if my stand has been bent or altered, because mine leaves the bike at a substantial lean. I would like it to be more upright. Perhaps it is my tires. The stand seems to snap back and lock into place properly. I may try to mount a plate to elevate the bike a bit more.

What size tires are you running Kurt? I am going to verify my size so I can compare tire height.

[PAGoldsby]

I rarely use my side stand. The most it's ever been used was when I replaced my main stand.

I flip the main stand down to the ground using the small lever, dismount, move my right hand to the grab bar, slide my left foot into the crook of the main stand, and hoist it up. Always. Maybe once a month, I will park for a minute on the side stand with the motor running, but I never park the bike hot and not running on the side stand.

Maybe I'm not doing it right. Frankly, some days hoisting my /7 up on the main stand is as close to exercise as I get!

:hide

[20774]

I am wondering if my stand has been bent or altered, because mine leaves the bike at a substantial lean. I would like it to be more upright. Perhaps it is my tires. The stand seems to snap back and lock into place properly. I may try to mount a plate to elevate the bike a bit more.

What size tires are you running Kurt? I am going to verify my size so I can compare tire height.

I've got 90/90-19 Bridgestone on front and a 110/90-18 Dunlop on the back. Could be it has something to do with the overall height of the '80 model vs the '78 model. Also, if the sidestand has been abused somewhat, the hinge point could have some lateral play, exaggerating the lean angle. My sidestand doesn't get much use as I mostly use the center stand (Reynolds, actually).

As much as my sidestand is OK, I'm definitely aware of how upright it stands. A couple of years ago, while on a trip, I pulled up to a pump and used the sidestand. I turned around to swipe my credit card and when I turned back to the bike, it was falling away from me. The wind had pushed it up enough to get it going over. I grabbed what I could to "easy the blow". My left hand grabbed a handlebar...my right hand got something near the muffler. Ouch! I paid for that for the next few days. From that point on, I looked for situations where the ground sloped away on the left side or where I could get the front tire up onto a different section of concrete in order to gain more lateral lean on the sidestand.

[DennisDarrow]

The method of getting off the bike and THEN extending the sidestand is, for me, the acceptable way to deploy the sidestand. One other technique I use is after it settles on the stand is to grasp the lift handle and the bar end and lift to the rear slightly. This takes the load off of the suspension and allows a bit more of a lean onto the stand.

Have used the non-retracting style in the past and the spook city pucker factor that occurs when you begin to accelerate leaning to the left with an extended side stand is one that will imprint upon you to replace or remember.

One other bit about the sidestands is leaving the bike in gear, not neutral, while pointed slightly down hill...............to turn around a see how your bike rolled forward off the sidestand and on down the hill/slope is not a joy............Dennis

[Braddog]

I rarely use my side stand. The most it's ever been used was when I replaced my main stand.

I flip the main stand down to the ground using the small lever, dismount, move my right hand to the grab bar, slide my left foot into the crook of the main stand, and hoist it up. Always. Maybe once a month, I will park for a minute on the side stand with the motor running, but I never park the bike hot and not running on the side stand.

Maybe I'm not doing it right. Frankly, some days hoisting my /7 up on the main stand is as close to exercise as I get!

:hide

I have Brown sidestands on both of my airheads, and I really like them. Yes, they're spendy, but if you're persistent (and lucky)you maybe be able to find one on e-bay and other sites that sell used parts.

I used to be one of those buys that always used the centerstand. Then one day, my red bike tipped over in a parking lot while on its centerstand. See, when on the centerstand, ALL of the bike's weight is on the centerstand "footprint". If asphalt/gravel/etc. starts to give way, it goes down rather fast. If your bike is on it's sidestand, the majority of the bike's weight is still on its wheels, and you're only putting the "lean weight" on the sidestand. Plus, if you're sidestand starts to go down, it's usually a much slower, less damaging fall.

I carry a plastic disc in the pocket of my jacket so that the sidestand will always have a nice, flat place to rest. Beer/pop cans, a little square of wood, etc. will also work well in a pinch.

[20774]

I used to be one of those buys that always used the centerstand. Then one day, my red bike tipped over in a parking lot while on its centerstand. See, when on the centerstand, ALL of the bike's weight is on the centerstand "footprint". If asphalt/gravel/etc. starts to give way, it goes down rather fast. If your bike is on it's sidestand, the majority of the bike's weight is still on its wheels, and you're only putting the "lean weight" on the sidestand. Plus, if you're sidestand starts to go down, it's usually a much slower, less damaging fall.

That's why I like the Reynolds centerstand...part of the weight of the bike rests on the wheels. There's less of a tendency for the center stand to sink into the dirt/gravel. Yes, if it does sink too much, then the stand gets unloaded and could tip over. But one really must evaluate where you park your bike in terms of firmness, slope, etc., for any centerstand or sidestand you use. Just common sense.