I have a B25 with a center stand that has no lift lever on it. That's making it awkward to hold the end to the ground and then lift the bike onto the stand.
Was thinking about attaching a bolt to the side of the stand so I could hold it down and push down on to help with the lift.
Ever hear of anyone doing something like this?
All suggestions welcome and appreciated.
Thanks.
People do modify bike stands to make them easier to use. I modified my B40 side stand to stop it leaning over so much.
I probably wouldnt use a bolt to make a lever to help get the bike on the main stand, but get a piece of bar and weld that to where you want. Make sure when the stand is up, It doesn't foul anything. You may need to bend the bar to shape, if so you will probably need to heat it until cherry red to bend it a little.
I have plans to do something like this on my M33. I have another bike which is far easier to get on the stand even though it's a hundredweight heavier, so I'm going to take some measurements from that bike's stand, and adapt the M33 stand so that it copies the angles and layout as far as possible.
I've just been out to the shed and measured the stand up on the other bike, it being a Japanese four weighing perhaps 480 lbs. It is easy to get on the stand. I apply my weight, (240 lbs) to the pad on the lever and give just a bit of an upwards pull.
Here are the measurements.
Length of centrestand, pivot to ground: 9 5/8"
Length of lever, from middle of stand foot to centre of pad (where you apply your boot): 5 5/8"
Pad: 1 3/8" square.
Angle of stand from vertical: 15.5 degrees.
This stand does allow both wheels to touch the ground, just. Make of that what you will, but perhaps these dimensions will be of help.
The lift lever almost touches the ground when the bike is on the stand, and it has a triangular brace where it is welded to the stand.
I hope this helps.
Although not really practical on the road, in the garage, rolling the back wheel on to a piece of wood about an inch thick can really help as the stand drops a bit more and the bike is rolled on to the stand rather than lifted. The wood is then moved.
Sometimes there can be can also be a problem with wear on the stops both on the stand and frame. This allows the bike to sit too far back making it more difficult to get off the stand as it needs to be lifted slightly. Looking at these stops it should be possible to see how much wear there is and therefore how much needs to be built up to restore the correct angle. Bearing in mind that the main stand is also there to facilitate maintenance, a good indicator of this wear is if both wheels touch the ground at the same time making it more difficult to remove either wheel.
Dave.
Dave,very true what you say. I had to weld some new stops onto my B40 stand to a) stop it hitting the exhaust when coming off the stand and b) to stabilise the bike a bit more when putting it onto the stand. I will also say if you have fitted new shocks or new fork springs then this can also make a difference. The replacement rears for my B40 were slightly longer than the originals.
Thanks to all.
Things to ponder :)
I have a heck of a job getting my 1965 B40 onto its centre stand. Why are they like this? Were they like this when they were new? Phil
Hi Phil,
I think it is a matter of age and wear and tear and the bikes haven't fared much better. I think though that even when new the smaller, lighter bikes would have been awkward as they tended not to have the lever to stand on and the foot of the stand had no 'roll' radius. The plunger models were just as bad. Models using the A10 type frame were better but the ultimate, but still not great were the stands on the A65/A50 and to a lesser extent the B25, with a generous 'roll on' foot. If the stand and frame could be made like new and all other dimensions correct then that would be as good as it would get. If it was easy perhaps they would not have fitted side stands?
Dave.
I suggest part of the problem is people sit on the bike when on the centre stand. Over time this bends the legs forward, being tining. The R.E 350 was another pain as legs of stand were cast extrusions with no lug to press down on, causing fun especially with steel toe caps, trying to get the stand down to park the bending problem has always and is still now a problem, I get bikes in to service that when put on centre stand still leaves both wheels touching the ground.