Do the GS500's come with center stands?

[Bulwark]

I not sure if they all come with them or not.

[RiderX]

Yes.

[Old Mr. Wilson]

Unless it's (the stand) been "stolen" or something has "happened"...............YES HELL YES

[starwalt]

+1 to the above.

Most likely one of the previous owners (PO) took it off for better ground clearance.

It seems to be a "mod" that knee-draggers like to do.

I hope never to get that far over on the street, though it would make a low-side less kinetic as far as the initial impact is concerned...

[dgyver]

What's a center stand? 






btw...I have several of them if you are wanting one.

[cafeboy]

Only the kewl kids take off their center-stands...

I still have mine...  And I use it.

                 

[Alphamazing]

I hope I don't miss having a centerstand.

If you don't want to bother with the centerstand, you can get swingarm and front axle spools and use bike stands instead (i.e. PitBull)

[Chuck]

I don't miss my center stand.  Because I put it on any time I need it.

[Bulwark]

Well, I like the center stand,hehe.  I figure it will be alot safer when its in the shed than just a kick stand.

[Alphamazing]

Well, I like the center stand,hehe.  I figure it will be alot safer when its in the shed than just a kick stand.

Actually, the bike has more support on its sidestand. It has a bigger "footprint".

With the centerstand, you have two points of contact, roughly 6" apart. Then you have the front wheel, a couple feet in front of that. That creates a triangle with a base of 6", and a height of (let's say) 24", a little less than half the wheelbase. So that equates to an area of 72 in².

Now, with the sidestand, you have a point of contact roughly 5" (guess) off the centerline of the bike. But then you have two points of contacts at the wheels. That means there is 55.3" between the two wheel contacts. That equates to an area of 138.25 in².

72 in² < 138.25 in²

By a factor of ~52%

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Brian, with the math FTW!

Oh, and I hate you for your signature. I hate you so much. 

[pandy]

I miss having a centerstand. My commuter GS had one, but my SVS didn't come with one, so I use a rear stand when necessary...  but it's a pain in the boo-tay. I want my centerstand back!!! 

[gsJack]

I miss having a centerstand. My commuter GS had one, but my SVS didn't come with one, so I use a rear stand when necessary...  but it's a pain in the boo-tay. I want my centerstand back!!! 

I've never had a bike without a centerstand and hopefully never will.  The list of bikes that come with them grows shorter each year but the list of available aftermarket centerstands grows longer.

The SV650 remains on the acceptable list because there is a stand available for it.  It would be the first thing I added.

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/175/202/

If I was a half century younger and half as agile as I was then, I might consider the front and rear stands available but they're kinda hard to take along on trips.   

[Admiral Crunch]

I've always felt my bike was more stable on the centerstand.     I use it all the time.  I'd hate to not have it.

[pandy]

The SV650 remains on the acceptable list because there is a stand available for it.  It would be the first thing I added.
http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/175/202/

gsJack, I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is going on my list of things to get! 

[mjn12]

Well, I like the center stand,hehe. I figure it will be alot safer when its in the shed than just a kick stand.

Actually, the bike has more support on its sidestand. It has a bigger "footprint".

With the centerstand, you have two points of contact, roughly 6" apart. Then you have the front wheel, a couple feet in front of that. That creates a triangle with a base of 6", and a height of (let's say) 24", a little less than half the wheelbase. So that equates to an area of 72 in².

Now, with the sidestand, you have a point of contact roughly 5" (guess) off the centerline of the bike. But then you have two points of contacts at the wheels. That means there is 55.3" between the two wheel contacts. That equates to an area of 138.25 in².

72 in² < 138.25 in²

By a factor of ~52%

::::DISCLAIMER Not trying to start an argument or be mean spirited - just for the sake of academic discussion (too much anger on the board already):::

While I dont disagree that the bike is harder to push over if its on a side. I dont think the bikes footprint or "shadow" is really relevant in how hard it is to push over.  Its more a question of center of mass in relation to the width of the base paralell to the force pushing on the bike and directly under the COM.  The centerstand has a narrow width and actually raises the center of mass a few inches where as the sidestand lowers it while moving it over to the left. Theres also the question of how much easier it is to pivot the bike on the two rounded tires vs. the flat contact point of the side/center stands.   Regardless of the area of any base you could distribute the center of mass of an object in a way that it would take a smaller force to topple that object than an object with a smaller base and more ideally distributed center of mass.

Sorry, couldn't resist a phsysics/statics conversation.

[scratch]

Alright then, I'll give you a real world experience on the "stability" of a bike on the centerstand vs. the sidestand.

California earthquake of '89: of the five bikes that I owned at the time of the earthquake, the one that was up on its centerstand, fell over.  Of the other bikes on their sidestands, none of them fell (including the '78 Triumph).

Of all the bikes that were on the showroom floor of the motorcycle shop that I was the salesman at, none, except the one dirtbike (with the removable sidestand), fell over.

[mjn12]

hey i wasn't disagreeing - I said sidestand wins.  Now we have empirical proof.  Fortunately here we don't get earthquakes - But I would take a few earthquakes over snow any day.

[pandy]

I wonder if the fact that my SVS is pretty severely lowered would make it impossible to install the centerstand..... 

[mjn12]

I thought you kept your bike on its side?? Are your trying to keep someone from setting it back up?