Centerstand??? Any tips, tricks, words of wisdom???

I seem to be having a really hard time getting the bike on the centerstand. I'm a small guy 5'5" 125lbs. Does anyone have any advice on getting the bike up?

 

It's almost all technique and very little muscle. I say almost as a very large person could probably muscle it up the wrong way.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/I_am_havin ... terstand...

Technique.

Put the bike on the sidestand. Stand facing the seat. Put your right foot on the centerstand lever, your right hand on the grab bar, and your left hand on the left bar. (Sounds like twister?)

Push the centerstand down until the left foot touches down. When it touches down keep pushing down softly. Now tilt the bike away from you until it is verticle. You should now feel the right foot of the centerstand touch the ground.

Push down hard with your right foot. At the same time pull up and back with your right hand. Not much happens with your left hand, you want the front tire to stay pointing straight.

If you are not confident - have a friend stand on the other side... don't get them to help just hold the right bar and prevent it tipping over in the case it doesn't work properly.

Good luck, you can do it. It's not a size thing - however - the smaller you are the more you have to do it the right way, as opposed to the various trick ways.

 

LOL, I always just stand on the centerstand bar and pull back on the handlebars. :lol:

I'm 6'3" 250 lbs though...

 

I still rekon they should be electric..!

 

Thanks woot! Worked Like a charm

 

I am 5 10 and 230 lbs. I put the stand down, open the passenger left footpeg and hold it and yank ... The grab rail is too high IMHO.
Cool.
Srinath.

 

So, is there any benefit to using the centerstand over the sidestand? I've actually considered taking the centerstand off of my 650 just because it gets in the way when I go to put the sidestand down (yes, I am clumsy, I'm ok with that).

 

centerstand is really good for maintance, storage and soft pavement (when you don't have anything to put under the sidestand).

I miss having one on the cbr... but I have a swingarm stand now instead and that is nearly as good.

 

Some say that when you always use side-stand, there's more problems with the float levels on the carbs. I've also heard it's not a good idea to start a bike or leave it run when it's on the side stand. Also if storing the bike on the side stand, the left side fork spring and shock spring will have a lot more sag to them.

 

I also noticed a guy today use the centerstand to fuel up - I'm assuming that way he could get a tankful, rather than leaving that 1/4 gallon (or whatever) that won't fit when bike is leaning. I guess at 40MPG, 1/4 gallon makes a 10 mile difference - an extra 10 miles could get you home, rather than an extra 10 minutes to fill again and allowing that black cloud to dump on ya.

 

my fuel cap is off set to allow a complete fill-up while on the side stand. I thought all Maxims were like this

 

Is that why they are offset? OK - so I learned something new today!

The guy I was watching had a BMW anyways, and I didn't notice if it was offset or not - I just assumed.

 

This is where I have the problem. When my right foot is on the stand, my right arm is stretched too far to have any "pull" left in it. A cycling friend told me that it's more a matter of pulling back than up, which seems to be the case the few times I've wrestled it there.

I found it easier (at this point) to hold the stand with my left foot, and pull on the bike from behind with both hands, although the front tire has no stability, I do it gently, so as not to have the front wheel turn. It gets me by for the moment.

 

new tip alert!!!

I find it is actually easier to get the bike on its centerstand with the left bar pushed away from you (handlebars turned towards the right). As opposed to straight forward.

Re the pulling with your right arm thing: I also find its more of a standing up motion, than a pull motion.

 

When I put the bike on the centerstand(I'm 5'7", 150lbs), I grab the rear shock(right hand) and handgrip(left hand), with right foot on the stand. Find the centerpoint, then just rock it back. Works great for me.

 

XJers:

Admittedly, my baby Seca is smaller than y'all's XJs, so I have a different perspective, but I only use the centerstand. I don't trust the sidestand to keep her upright unless everything is perfect.

My first few attempts were strenuous (and humorous), but then I read somewhere that it's pressure from your foot, and not yanking back, that's the secret.

I think it probably HELPS if your right arm is straight, because then it's not trying to do any of the work. It's merely serving as a linkage between your body and the bike.

I just grab the hand rail (the one by the helmet lock, not the passenger grab rail), hold the left handlebar with my left hand, put my right foot on the centerstand, and STAND UP. You really don't have to pull back, the bike will do that by itself as it goes over-center on the stand.

The right leg, which is much stronger than the right arm, does all the work. Your arms just guide things and keep it steady.

BTW, my fuel cap is in the center of the tank, so using the centerstand does help me get it consitently full.

Have a great one-
Herb

 

Ummm, please disregard the part of my prior post where I said my gas cap is in the middle of the tank. When I walked out to my bike to ride home yesterday, I noticed that it had migrated over to the right side...

I think everyting else I said in my post is true!

Herb

 

I wish i had a video of my first attempts at getting my bike on the center stand. I tried from the side off the bike no luck. I tried on the bike no luck either. I even went as far as have my wife with her foot on the center stand and holding the handel bars with me pulling from behind No luck but probalby looked funny. With me i am 6'0" and 235lbs. With a lot of practice the only way i can get mine up on the center stand is a combination of using my weight, sitting on the bike with my left foot on the center stand and pulling back while using the hand break to keep the bike from rolling forward. When i work on my bike its in my driveway witch is very slick pavement. When i am on black top or somthing with a little more grip it seams easer.

 

When I first got my 650, I couldn't get it on the center stand to save my life. After figuring out the right technique, it's a pice of cake. I can heave the Seca up literally without thinking about it now. I can even get my 800 lb beheoth of a Goldwing up, though that's still fairly hard.

One thing I discovered is that the surface you're lifting the bike one makes a lot of difference. If it's soft - like blacktop - I find it much harder. Smooth, level concrete is the easiest.

Good reasons to use the center stand -
1. It's the only way to properly check the oil level. Even if someone is holding the bike up when you look through the window, you don't know for sure that it's level.
2. Bikes take up less room on the center stand. For those of us that have too many bikes, space is always an issue. I can get three next to each other on the center stands where two will fit on side stands. I also think it's more stable and there's less chance of knocking a bike over.

Greg

 

Very nicely said, Greg ... although, only having the two XJ's I feel small by looking at the stables of some of these REAL motorcycle collectors.

The side stand is a spring-loaded booby-trap for the neighborhood wannabees who might "admire" your ride and give your -- sometimes left unlocked -- handlebars a check-out as grab the bars for a "how it must feel" try-out. If they move the bike just the right way ... they suddenly have a handful of motorcycle you're going to find "Dumped."

So, if you live in a neighborhood where there is envy amoung the not-ready-to-ride guys ... lock the steering head, or park it where inquisitive minds fear to go. Off the street and near the house!