What do you use when you want to work on the bike. (i.e. Swing Arm, front wheel, etc....) I currently can lift the bike up to sit on a milk crate which is pretty solid however, I have to remove the exhaust. (Still not a biggie since I only have a straight pipe right now.)
I am looking at all the alternatives before I go buy something else. :icon_idea: (Now there's an idea.)
Aww, why take off the center stand? It's so useful!
Get a standard (nonspooled) rear stand, and both front stands (the fork lift and the steering stem lift - you'll want the former for when you're doing anything other than work on the forks, and the latter when you're working on the forks). Don't cheap out - get a solid brand, like Pitbull.
I have a 4 inch aluminul tubing I built into a free standing frame. I had 3-4 that have no center stand, incuding that sv1K.
Cool.
Buddha.
QuoteAww, why take off the center stand? It's so useful!
Absolutely! Especially when they weigh so much! In reality, I am missing that thing just because it was so easy to flip the bike up and go to work. But it really was heavy and seems as though I read somewhere it could be very dangerous if leaned far left. :icon_eek:
Buddha: Any pics?
When you need to work on your bike you can put the centerstand back on in less than 10 seconds. Don't waste time with the bolts or the springs. Just slide a screwdriver thru the bolt holes. It'll hold just fine for working on the bike. (took me 3 years to figure this out :D)
Having said that, like roadstergal said, I have all the pitbull stuff and it's awesome.
Quote from: cboling on July 24, 2009, 10:32:08 AMI read somewhere it could be very dangerous if leaned far left. :icon_eek:
I read it on the Internets! ;)
The danger is with levering the rear wheel off of the ground if you lean low enough. On a track bike, you'll want to take off both center and sidestands, but for a street bike, I'd keep the utility.
One of my biggest complaints about the SV I picked up is the lack of a center stand. Maintenance is soooo much easier with a center stand. And while I don't claim to be any "great rider", I have been told by people (mostly those that ride bigger heavier sport bikes :laugh:) that I lean the bike over really far in turns and I've never touched the centerstand on my '89 or '01 GS500's. I'd recommend leaving it on until you find it's a problem.
And on a side note: Off the bike I am a cluts. The '01 did not have a center stand on it when I bought it. That all changed when I had the rear tire off it one day and I knocked the bike off the race stand. While the bike came out pretty much unscaved I really hurt my wrist trying to catch it.
My 2 cents...
-Jessie
I've never hit the centerstand either, I get scared when my feet are rubbing on the ground in turns, and still haven't found the centerstand.
Have not used a center stand since 1988, which that would have been on my ZX-10. All my bikes since then never had them and I use spooled s/a stands instead. Sportbikes and dirtbikes do not have them, so I got used to not having one.
Quote from: qwertydude on July 24, 2009, 06:57:35 PM
I've never hit the centerstand either, I get scared when my feet are rubbing on the ground in turns, and still haven't found the centerstand.
I'm with Qwertydude, at least on the right: my toeslider touched first, at about the same time the peg scraped. Never been that far over on the left.
I like the temporary screwdriver suggestion. Sounds lots easier than buying + storing a stand. If you're going to be cleaning & lubing the chain, what's another minute attaching and removing the c-stand?
All good points. I didn't realize this might be a significant subject so, many thanks! :cheers:
In a bit of haste, I sold my center stand with the thought of buying a good rear stand but I am still not convinced I need to go that far. Maybe a replacement center stand that is less dirty and rusty than the one I had?
I dunno, I guess haste really does make waste. :embarrassed:
fwiw if you do decide to go with a rear stand, look for t-rex stands on ebay. Mine works great, came well recommended, and is well made, I can't imagine paying double for a pitbull stand :dunno_white: