Hi All,
Is the Front Stand a good design which normally functions properly? If I try and use the front stand when removing the front wheel, the stand passes completely under the wheel and drops the wheel back on the floor again. What should cause the stand to reach a "stop" and support the front end? There is an illustration on page 166 of Bacon's Twin Restoration and this shows the stand vertical, but not what holds it in that position. The 1954 S/A has the forks with the LH threaded spindle and single clamp below the nearside leg base. Because my front stand does not have a stop, it simply pivots until it reaches the fork, then spreads out a little, mainly on the offside where the fork tube end is rounded, making it look like the stand might operate better if it was bolted to the inside of the forks lugs. All the illustrations I can find appear to show the stand bolted to the outside of the leg, similar to the front mudguard front bracket, so I must be wrong. Can anyone please offer any advice on the correct usage of these stands or explain where I am going wrong? Thanks for reading.
Put the bike on the centre stand first, then lower the front stand and lifting the front wheel by hand, position the stand under the wheel. You could if you wanted to, nip the two bolts, but not necessary, although a suitable block under the rear tyre will make it very stable. The bike cannot go anywhere, but you do need the centre stand up.
Thanks Malcolm, my centre stand is in use so I have quite a bit of investigating to do now but at least I know what should happen. The centre stand fitted is not the one fitted to the machine when I bought it. This was a horseshoe shaped casting and did not have an extended bar on the nearside for the foot operation. Looking at the Draganfly book, this stand should be fitted to B/M rigid and plunger machines, so I bought new what I thought to be the correct one. When on the centre stand, my rear wheel is about 1/2 an inch off the floor which does not allow the complete machine to pivot on the centre stand and provide sufficient space for the front stand to fit under the front wheel. To achieve this I need to put timber under the centre stand to lift it off the floor. Anyone, particularly with an early '54 S/A A10 GF: just as a guide for me, how far off the floor is your front wheel when the centre stand is up? Also I have heard that in the early days, if a correct part was not available for a new build at the factory, the nearest equivalent was used. Has anyone any experience of this, as this could explain my horseshoe stand. Again, thanks for reading.