stock sidestand proper use/ the side stand debate

[Garnet]

I have only owned Airheadsfrom the 50s 60s and 70s so cannot comment on any of the "new" bikes.

In the 50s they didn't come stock with sidestands so that was easy.

Somtime in the mid 60s they began to come with a stock sidestand that was compltely useless. It was so short that the trinagle footprint when deployed was so narrow that the bikes could easily fall to the left if on soft pavement or ground. They also stayed down very well with no easy provsion for adjusting it to auto retract. It is possisble to fit a 70-80 airhead sidesatand to a /2 frame with not a lot of mods which I have done, and by playing with the spring mounting the stand JUST stays down, and retarcts with the slightest touch.

I have allways liked the 70s sidestand because you can easily adjust it from auto retract to staydown in a few seconds. Agian it can be set to just barely stay down, making it (to me) the safest of both worlds.

[Sunbeem]

I have the Surefoot sidestand, which is welded to the left footrest bracket. I believe one sends a footrest to the makers, and they do the business.
It is easy to deploy, strong, secure and well made. The tang of the centre-stand is obscured when the Surefoot is retracted, which serves to remind me to use it before getting off to put the bike on the centre-stand.
I like the fact that the leverage is not directly applied to the unsupported frame, but to the footrest mounting instead.
It has had four chances to do me in, but has forgiven me so far. I've not forgotten for a while.
It would not be difficult to move the pin the spring sits on, so it became automatic.
While the auto-retract model may be foolproof, I don't like to be reminded.

Sunbeem.

[vespajg]

I understand Matt's rationale (and apparently BMW's) for how and what the stock sidestand is supposed to be, but don't necessarily agree with it. Had a 79 with stock stand in great condition. Nearly impossible - scratch that - impossible to deploy while on the bike (I have no physical attributes that make deploying it difficult - perhaps mental, but not physical). Stand was useless for the most part. For some reason, I never invested in a Brown, although I considered it many times. FWIW - I ride a lot in the City, but also hit the country/mountain roads from time to time.

Bought a 71. Put a Brown sidestand on it. Wonder why I hesitated on the 79. I, for one, like the Brown and use it a majority of the time. This is partly because I want to save my CS bushings as long as possible and partly due to the ease of operation. Never had an incident where I forgot to retract the Brown before taking off, but my muscle memory hasn't left me quite yet. I'm sure it would scare the shit out of me the same way clipping a pedal in a bicycle race at 30+mph did in my more youthful days.

However, if fully loaded (the bike, not me), I will take Matt's advice and not use the SS. Maybe if I'm loaded too . . .

On a related note - does anyone know where I can get a new spring for the Brown or should I just visit the hardware store and size up a door spring?

[Jean]

My centerstand on asphalt dropped my R100s...stock sidestand impossible to deploy with 31" inseam.
and those "engineers" are the ones who gave us the outrageously "bent" driveshaft on the later GSs...with a cardan joint.
The stock stand on my /5 is OK, on the '78S it's no-good. I use an aftermarket model.

[Max Headroom]

I studied my worn side stand, and from a welders point of view decided it was easier to find increasingly sloping ground until I could afford a new stand.
Trees are good too.

Trees aren't very portable.

[Chuey]

I thank you , Matt for the tutorial. When I ride long distances, it is usually on my '84 R100RS. I could not effectively deploy that stand especially when tired and stiff from two hours in the same position. (Never mind the person who has four or five hours worth of gas between fill-ups!) The brown side stand, though not too hot looking, works for me when touring.

I had a 1997 Moto Guzzi 1100Sport and the side stand on that bike had no appreciable slop. It was the only thing I liked better than my BMWs. Oh, and it looked so sexy. Handling wise, it was a pig. I must not have been man enough for it.

Chuey

[R90Mike]

My R90S rolled off the sidestand while parked on a small incline and about destroyed my right knee.Fixed that.My R100R/T 's sidestand is a piece o'shit.Floppy and lets the bike lean waaayyy to far over,gettin a Farley as soon as I can.JMHO.

[vespajg]

What's a Farley?

[vespajg]

What's a Farley?

[Chuey]

You know, I noticed that same thing Ken mentioned. That is, on my '84, in order to put the bike on the side stand, in many situations, you'd have to lean it way over to the left to even get the stand to go forward of center. That was real spooky in some situations. One other thing, my driveway isn't too long, but it's too steep. A near level driveway would be a nice feature in a house.

Chuey

Edit: PS What's a Farley?