What's with these #!%^*! stands?

[Ken in Oklahoma]

. . .
The /5 and /6 retractable side stand was such that a person could elect to have it flip up automatically, or stay down. How can one complain about that aspect?
. . .

I'm guessing that the ability to have it either way was more by accident than design. I have a mental image of God and the BMW engineers getting together in a meeting and deciding that BMW side stands must go up automatically.

What I don't know is whether it was at the same meeting when they decided that the center stands must stay down until manually (make that pedally) are raised up.

I personally agree with God and BMW.


Ken, agreeable in Oklahoma

[DucatiPete]

My RS's centre stand has suffered under the burden of some "repairs" in the past so now it's up to me to attempt a working resto... it would be nice to check out a good working example first.

I was going to get a Surefoot, but M'bins don't have any in stock at the mo... then i thought: i'll just make my own Sfoot/Browns/Luftmeister et al copy/clone/upgrade. i just need to get a good look at one or two (or 3). (I'll be all over Steve's and Grant's when we next meet.)

Meanwhile, i;ve been dwelling on possible reasons why beemer stands are so idiosyncratic:
* Lukas, the German prince of darkness, was on the design team
* Designed at the end of "frei bier tag"
* Designed by an engineer poached from NVT (following promotions for designing the top triple-tree & the Mark IV Commando starter motor)
* Something to do with the Teutonic "sense of humour"

pete

[ME 109]

Pete, there are some pics of my c/stand on another thread 'centre stand fix for 84 r100' a bit further down the index page.
I can post other pics in more detail if you need.

[Sunbeem]

I like my Surefoot Pete, let me know if you need any pics, measurements, etc.

Sunbeem.

[DucatiPete]

Thanks for the direction to your stand rebuild pics, Jeff. They'll be a great help for when i have a go at doing mine properly. But there does seem to be something queer going on with my setup. My front wheel is ~3-4" off the ground but the angle of the stand is quite severe - like yours (Jeff) *before* the rebuild.
Also, apparently, BMW changed the stand setup in '82 meaning different (longer) springs and separate hangers are no longer used. It also appears that the spring lugs on the stands changed. Mine has the earlier lug setup - indicating it's a replacement part from an earlier model. therefore i've got to replace the lugs as per the later stands and then sus out the height issue. It appears if i make mine more vertical then the front wheel will be way up there... i'll have to see how this pans out. I've been umming & arring about gettng a table lift and more working on the ground to get this stand issue sorted is just the more incentive to go out and get one.

Oh, BTW, the bushes i made are bearing BRONZE, NOT BRASS as I said earlier. Common brass would probably be far too soft for this application but i think the bronze will be OK, of course time will tell...

Hi Sunbeem, yeah i'm really interested in all details about these stands - I'm particularly interested in how they are attached to the bike - but anything relevant you might have lying about would be good (schematic diagram?).

[SteveD]

Where are you Pete? My bike will be parked in Box Hill tomorrow whilst I'm at work...ride over, measure, take pictures of the stands etc if you're not too far away?

[DucatiPete]

Hey Steve,
I;m in Myrniong (1/2 way btween Bacchus & Ballan).
i think I've got a prior arrangement for tomorrow... I've gotta call first to see if it's still on. If not, I could prolly get over there. if the weather is OK it might be nice to stretch the legs of 'ol No. 5.
Here to BH = ~90kms.

[SteveD]

Oops.. missed the reply. Sorry 'bout that.

If you want pictures, what exactly would you want? I can do them tonight.

[Sunbeem]

Morning Pete, I've no schematic drawings, but I can easily measure the details if you decide on the Surefoot.
The appearance of it put me off at first sight, as the fastener is a bit remote from the centre of the action, but it is rock-solid.
I've inadvertently attempted the pole-vault a couple of times, and it has forgiven my lapses. For that reason, I maintain a little slop in the pivot bolt. Though I've nothing to compare it with BMW wise, I'd give it 10 out of 10.

Sunbeem.

PS. Take particular note of the ultra-lightweight gear pedal rubbers, a "must" for the serious racer.

[SteveD]

Yours is different to mine Sunbeem. Mine doesn't incorporate the footpeg.

#91694 for 81-84. http://www.motobins.co.uk/displayfinal. ... oot&go=GO#