Side stand problems

[CB900SS]

My sidestand is screwed, and I was wondering if this is a common problem and what people have done to fix it.

The problem is the hole in the frame has ovaled, and the sidestand spring pulls the sidestand more upright and it interferes with the exhaust when up. When using the sidestand I need to pull it out with my foot to make the bike sit properly and not to upright.

Bushing in the frame? Over sized shoulder bolt?

[Agemax]

drill the hole larger and sleeve the origonal shoulder bolt, thats what i would do. a bigger shoulder bolt may look out of place.

[CB900SS]

drill the hole larger and sleeve the origonal shoulder bolt, thats what i would do. a bigger shoulder bolt may look out of place.

My problem with that is the frame already wore out. If I drill the frame and sidestand hole larger the frame will just wear out again, leaving me with the same problem but less material to work with.

[Nessism]

For one thing we have no idea what kind of bike you have other than you identify yourself with Hondas so its hard to guess, in general though the GS sidestands are not problematic. Oversize bolt or weld up the hole are ideas that come to mind.

[simon kuether]

You could fill the hole with weld and redrill to the correct size.If you do , disconnect your battery before you weld . Cheers , Simon.

[Agemax]

well you already mentioned bushing the frame or an oversize shoulder bolt. your only other option is to find a write off from a breakers yard and grind off the whole bracket. then grind off yours and have it welded on.
or, make a new bracket

[CB900SS]

For one thing we have no idea what kind of bike you have other than you identify yourself with Hondas so its hard to guess, in general though the GS sidestands are not problematic. Oversize bolt or weld up the hole are ideas that come to mind.

Well, I'm not talking about a Honda, if I was I would be on CB1100F.NET... Maybe looking at my signature picture will help with your HARD guess. Looks like a GS1150E to me.

Anyone else have this problem? It seems to me like it should be a common problem, my bike only has 8,500 miles on it.

[teet]

I had a similar problem with a elongated hole for the side stand mount on one of my CB750's some time ago. I filled the hole by welding, ground it smooth and drilled a new hole. It worked well for many years, and the new owner has never had an issue with it again either as far as I know.

I would just keep the contacting surfaces clean to prevent elongating in the future. Road dirt and grime works wonders as a abrasive in those areas...

Jeff (teet)

[CB900SS]

Thanks for all of the replies! I'm going to order a new bolt soon, and probably end up welding the hole shut and re-drilling. That seems like the best way to fix it.

I will have to borrow my uncle's mig welder, as mine is flux core. Also, that seems like a big hole to fill with weld... Any tips on this process?

[rphillips]

Hard to believe the hole wore like that within 8500 mi. If that were the case, these GS's with 60K or 90K mi the holes would be completely worn thru the frame. GS's have never leaned as far as Honda's, Kawa's, & Harley's, (except for "L" models) when on the sidestand. I've seen our dealer slightly bend a bunch of GS side stands, over the years, to make them lean a little farther. I'm wondering if the PO of your bike may have elongated the hole so the bike would lean a little farther, & it didn't work exactly right because of the spring pressure. Like I said, I don't see how that hole wore that much within 8500mi.

[CB900SS]

Hard to believe the hole wore like that within 8500 mi. If that were the case, these GS's with 60K or 90K mi the holes would be completely worn thru the frame. GS's have never leaned as far as Honda's, Kawa's, & Harley's, (except for "L" models) when on the sidestand. I've seen our dealer slightly bend a bunch of GS side stands, over the years, to make them lean a little farther. I'm wondering if the PO of your bike may have elongated the hole so the bike would lean a little farther, & it didn't work exactly right because of the spring pressure. Like I said, I don't see how that hole wore that much within 8500mi.

I was also pretty shocked with the hole elongating with such little mileage. But indeed it has... Possibly due to the previous owner as your wondering. Either way, I need to fix it.

[Agemax]

seems very excessive wear for 8.5k!! my gs is 31 years old with 44k on the clock and no signs of any wear at all

[Marine36]

If you weld in a sleeve for the original shoulder bolt you will not have a large hole to fill. Otherwise use a small washer to help fill the hole.

[Nessism]

Most likely the bolt vibrated loose thus leading to the elongated hole. This is NOT a common problem on GS Suzuki's.

Regarding your photo, it was not showing earlier when I posted. Regardless, it baffles me why anyone would use a Honda derived screen name on a Suzuki site. Oh well, we won't hold it against you...much.

[teet]

Thanks for all of the replies! I'm going to order a new bolt soon, and probably end up welding the hole shut and re-drilling. That seems like the best way to fix it.

I will have to borrow my uncle's mig welder, as mine is flux core. Also, that seems like a big hole to fill with weld... Any tips on this process?

Yeah..flux cored will work if you can see through the smoke cloud, but mig with shielding gas is much better.

I just ran a bead to stitch the hole up from one side to the other, and back and forth... I'm not an expert welder or know the exact terminology, but it worked perfectly, and had excellent penetration...I used a flattened out piece of copper pipe clamped to the backside of the hole to eliminate the splatter and whatnot on the "blind" side of the hole I was filling. It would be hard to grind away excess weld in that small cavity.

If you search for welding holes on google you will find some useful info..

Good luck!

Jeff (teet)