Center Stand

[Anonymous]

Does ANY one have a suggestion for getting a monster GS1000 on the center stand without pulling your back out? Got to be an easier way than using a 2x6.

[Anonymous]

Mine is not easy either.

Now that its up and running with good tires I can do it. When my tires were old and low on preasure it was imposible.

I have to be off the bike to do it though. I put my right foot on the foot lever, Grab the luggage rack behind the shock stud with my right hand, The left bar with my left hand, And heave it up on the stand. My foot usually has to be on the lever just between the ball of my foot and the center of my arch to get the right feel for it.

Now that I have my carbs clean and running good I use the center stand only.

[Anonymous]

I suppose that those of smaller stature may always have a problem. At 200lbs., I can do it without difficulty. Chris' advice is spot on, but I might add that pushing down hard with your foot is the key to success. Your hands pull back more than they pull up. It is the leverage afforded by the foot pedal/stand that allows you to get that rear wheel off the ground.

Remember, it is essential that you have both of the centerstand pads touching the ground before trying. Push down lightly on the pedal and rock the bike gently while upright until you feel both pads touching down. Then do the muscle thing.

[lehrin]

Re: Mine is not easy either.

Now that I have my carbs clean and running good I use the center stand only.

Why, Chris? I use the centerstand, too, but only because the side stand was ripped off of the frame...

PS... sometimes it helps to roll the bike backwards some to get a little momentum going before you put the centerstand to the ground. I'm a skinny guy (buck-fifty) but I can put my 1100 up every time.

[Anonymous]

It just seems like the right thing to do.

It just seems to make sense. When my carbs were dirty and in need of major cleaning they were worse from one side to the other becouse of the side stand. I know it never sat in storage on the side stand, so it must have been from resting on the side stand while not in storage. Just a theory. Not for sure.

[SqDancerLynn1]

It also helps to have sturdy boots on/ hard leather sole. No tennis shoes

[Anonymous]

It also helps to have sturdy boots on/ hard leather sole. No tennis shoes

None of us would ride while wearing sneakers, right? I do wear 'em when moving the bike about, and my feet suffer for using the centerstand! The right foot anyway.

[crag antler]

Re: Mine is not easy either.

PS... sometimes it helps to roll the bike backwards some to get a little momentum going before you put the centerstand to the ground. I'm a skinny guy (buck-fifty) but I can put my 1100 up every time.

I totally agree this is the easiest way. I can lift my 1100 up easier than my 250, if I rock it just a bit. I only weigh 175 so I'm not too far away from Lehrin 8O

[Paul]

Go To

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?t=11232

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with the method described above, but here's what I do on my puny 550:

With you still sitting on the bike, hold down the center stand lever with your left foot, making sure both pads are on the ground. Rock the bike side to side to make sure they are. With all your weight pull back on the bike while putting pressure on the center stand lever to make sure the bike doesn't fall to either side. When you are the farthest back, press down on the front brake and with all your weight push forward, to store as much momentum as possible in the front forks. When you compress the forks as far as they'll go, push down on the center stand lever and with all your weight push back. As you begin moving backward, release the front brake.
In summary: Rock back, hit brake, rock forward, rock back, release brake/push down on center stand. Once you get good you may go without the first rock back.

You may want to have the side stand down to prevent your left leg from hitting it.

I like this method better now that I've learned how to do it, because I feel more secure on the bike than standing next to it. It took me many tries before I could do it though. As a bonus, it looks pretty funny.

[gremlin]

center stand

if your having truble getting the bike on the center stand remove it and clean the pivet points. what i have found is even if it swings to the ground easy there will be a build up of rust, sand and gunk that will jam up just befor reaching the top.

this is a must for the center stand and rear brake lever every spring.

i am 5'9" 150lbs and can put the bike up on the center stand just as fast and easy as the side stand. every one tryes to "help" when thay see starting to put the bike on the center stand. i just tell them to stand back and watch.

[KGB]

What Al said.....push down with your leg and pull more back than up.
I use the center stand more than the side stand, just because....it seems more stable and easier to start and I don't have to worry.

Also a little lube on the pivot point will help.

It's not "muscle" it's technique

Keith

[frosty5011]

As soon as I arrive back at the house from a ride, I just have the wife come out to the garage and put it on the centerstand. She practically just picks the bike up with both hands (one on the handlebar, other on the backrest), lowers the centerstand with her foot and sets the bike back down.

I don't mess with my wife.......I don't backtalk her........I do whatever she says. Now, maybe you know why!


Frosty
(Husband of the 110lb Nazi woman }

[Anonymous]

I must have been asleep when I was taught how to put the bike on the center stand, because I spent the last couple of years trying to pull the bike back onto the stand, and it always wound up being a two-person job.

A friend of mine (with much more riding experience) had said it was a piece of cake, so one day I asked him to show me how to put my GS1000 on the center stand. He made it look really easy.

Here's what I do now. Stand on the left side facing the bike, turn your right foot outward, and put it on the lever. Make sure the bike is sitting on both sides of the center stand. Hold the handlebars with your left hand, and put your right hand on the frame under the seat. You are not trying to lift the bike on the center stand. Just pull the frame away from your right foot. With almost anyone, the distance from the frame to the lever should be about right so you are almost standing when you're holding it. The "pulling" motion is more like you're just straightening up a bit, so you have a tremendous amount of leverage. If you focus on the fact that you're just trying to create distance between the lever and the frame (rather than thinking about lifting the bike), the center stand does the rest of the work.

For the record... My brother's 5'4"-ish, 120 lb fiance has no problem putting my GS1000 on the center stand this way. Needless to say, I get a good laugh out of the way my brother and I used to try to rock the bike back onto the center stand.

Michael