Sidelined by sidestand spring

[rbryson]

My sidestand on my R90/6 had gotten loose due to a stretched spring and the kickstand was dragging some when cornering left. Ordered new spring, removed old, but could not for the sake of me put the new one on. There has to be a trick. I am six feet and two-hundred pounds, surely strong enough. Any one ever replaced the spring on an R90/6 sidestand? Any advice would be appreciated.

[donbmw]

Loop some wire around the hook of the spring and pull with vise gripe pliers to help stretch the spring and guide on to post.

Don

[PGlaves]

My sidestand on my R90/6 had gotten loose due to a stretched spring and the kickstand was dragging some when cornering left. Ordered new spring, removed old, but could not for the sake of me put the new one on. There has to be a trick. I am six feet and two-hundred pounds, surely strong enough. Any one ever replaced the spring on an R90/6 sidestand? Any advice would be appreciated.

Leverage. This is hard to describe but I'll try. This is rather generic technique - I don't remember exactly what each end of the spring hooks to on a /6. But .... Take a large screwdriver. Hook one end of the spring onto its pin. Then hook athe other end onto the screwdriver shank with the tip of the screwdriver on the other pin. As you pry you stretch the spring. It needs to slide along the screwdriver toward the tip where you are prying, and then slide onto the pin. It takes some patience, careful work with the screwdriver, and a little twisting motion at the end.

[Bill Burke]

Or do what I did after all else failed. Go to your bike shop with the new spring and ask 'em if they wouldn't mind putting it on. They have the brake spring pliers which makes it a 5 second job. Or buy a cheap brake spring pliers and do it yourself.

[flash412]

Cost you 50 cents, fully refundable.

Get a roll of pennies. Push the spring one way and insert a penny between the coils. Push the spring the other way and repeat. Repeat, repeat repeat. Eventually, it'll be long enough to install. Then take a pair of pliers and yank the pennies out one by one.

[sumran]

Cost you 50 cents, fully refundable.

Get a roll of pennies. Push the spring one way and insert a penny between the coils. Push the spring the other way and repeat. Repeat, repeat repeat. Eventually, it'll be long enough to install. Then take a pair of pliers and yank the pennies out one by one.

Now that is a good trick. Thanks for sharing. If you are the one that thought it up, it is a brilliant bit of common sense. I like this method much better than the one I used. I might have to take my spring off just to try it.:D

I got mine on with a screwdriver. I got an old screwdriver I didn't care about and bent a slight curve in the tip. I attached the spring, leaving the stand end loose. with the stand 85% toward the "up" position, I hooked the spring and used the post on the stand as a lever point. Once the spring was past the post, the screwdriver slid down. I had to work it a bit to get the screwdriver out. I fought with it for an hour before this method got the spring in place.

[rbryson]

Believe it or not I thought of the penny solution last night after I went to bed (mind was turning) but I was planning on using washers instead of pennies....same idea. I also like the screwdriver technique (may require some finesse) which is similar to how you put a pool cover on that has tight springs. Position the tool (pipe which fits over post where spring eventually will seat), use some leverage and pull back so that the spring slides down the pipe onto the post. As all of these ideas were germinating, keeping me awake, I remembered seeing a spring tool once. Armed with three techniques I am about to venture back to the garage. It's going to be 70 degrees today (Durham, NC) and even if I have to wire the kickstand closed and use only the center stand, I'm riding. Will let all know which solution worked. Thanks for your advice. Love BMW MOA Forums.:wave

[PGlaves]

Cost you 50 cents, fully refundable.

Get a roll of pennies. Push the spring one way and insert a penny between the coils. Push the spring the other way and repeat. Repeat, repeat repeat. Eventually, it'll be long enough to install. Then take a pair of pliers and yank the pennies out one by one.

This is as ingenious a method as I've ever seen! I will try to remember this - but ...

[jdmetzger]

I'm one of the "vice grip" guys; just attach one end, grab the other end (slightly above the hook) with vice grips and then pull it into place. I've gotten pretty good with it - only takes a few seconds.

Make sure to wear safety glasses when playing with springs - if something manages to fly across the garage you don't want to end up with it in your eye. :hungover

[r11rs94]

Cost you 50 cents, fully refundable.

Get a roll of pennies. Push the spring one way and insert a penny between the coils. Push the spring the other way and repeat. Repeat, repeat repeat. Eventually, it'll be long enough to install. Then take a pair of pliers and yank the pennies out one by one.

Great Idea, If you were to replace the pennies with copper washers, you could proberly market this and sell it for $25.00. :laugh

[OHScot]

Did mine with brake spring pliers, safe effective no muss or fuss. But I really like the penny solution. Oh and eye protection or a face shield is a good idea for those not used to taking a spring in the face!

[rvbeemer]

I saw the penny idea in Rider magazine several years ago and was thinking about that while reading this forum and then.... there it is. Only you don't have to pull them out with pliers, you just swing the sidestand down and most will fall out.

[flash412]

I saw the penny idea in Rider magazine several years ago and was thinking about that while reading this forum and then.... there it is. Only you don't have to pull them out with pliers, you just swing the sidestand down and most will fall out.That must be where I first learned it.

Another GREAT tip from that same source is this... to repair plastic parts, use SuperGlue even when the glue will not effectively hold the pieces together. What you do is apply the glue to the broken edges and then make a fillet of glue at the joint. Sprinkle baking soda on the fillet. Let the thing harden for a few hours before returning to service.

I read this tip and within a few days a small plastic mirror mount cover popped off of a car I had. The p.o.s. cover had two plastic "mushroom" tabs cast into it that pressed into o-rings and one of the tabs had broken at its base. I tried this trick. Four years later when I sold the car, the cover was still securely mounted. I have since used this trick on all sorts of plastic parts with excellent success. Sometimes the glue will not stick the parts together, but with the baking soda... it's like concrete.

Heck, I've stockpiled enough of these effective wrenching tricks over the years to write a column.

[sumran]

Heck, I've stockpiled enough of these effective wrenching tricks over the years to write a column.

If you write it we'll read it! :thumb

[flash412]

If you write it we'll read it! :thumbWho will publish it?

[rbryson]

The ingenious penny solution worked, although I was cramped for space and had to use washers instead. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this solution. I rode for three hours today, went to a Xmas party, and had a great dinner with my wife. Life doesn't get any better. THANKS and MERRY CHRISTMAS!:wave

[Jeff488]

Who will publish it?

I bet ON would.:thumb

[sumran]

I guarantee a montlhy column that featured great shop "tricks" would be one of the most popular and frequently referred to features of the magazine. It would be a compliment to the good stuff that is already there.

[rbryson]

I could not agree more, however, necessity is the mother of invention. By that I mean someone with a specific problem should be the one to start the THREAD. For example, like I did. I never thought I would need to ask anyone how to put on a sidestand spring, but lo and behold I was humbled by the task, hence the frantic post yesterday for help. It's human nature to respond and help...as so many did, and I thank you again. So I suggest that we offer more THREADS that beg for specific solutions. The "penny in the spring" solution is just one example of possibly hundreds of inexpensive and time saving techniques that experienced and savvy mechanics use every day. By asking specific questions in forums might we tease out more ingenious strategies for everyone to use. I would hope so.:thumb

[flash412]

In a recent thread about replacing an airhead neutral switch, someone, not me, mentions chamfering the leading edges of the spacer and freezing it before installation. That's a pair of tips I posted within a few months of when this website was created.

"It takes a grain of sand to encourage an oyster to produce a pearl." - David A. Braun