Do I need a center stand?

[banjoboy]

I've never been able to easily get my NT up on the center stand. Either the concrete floor is too slippery or I'm slow. I think I've given up trying to use it and I'm guessing it weighs 10 pounds or so. My heel of my boot sometimes hits it when I'm riding. Has anyone here simply taken it off? Is there a reason to keep it on if I don't use it?

Terry

 

[Chuck 500]

Personally, I use the center stand almost weekly. Whenever I check tires and oil I put the NT up on the stand. It gets the tires free to rotate for inspections and the bike level for checking the oil. I also use it for washing the bike. Things are much easier to get to on the stand.

Now for the other side. I don't know how big or tall you are. I am 5' 6" and weigh 150 lb on a good day. Getting the bike on the stand is a bit of a challenge for me. I can offer some tips and technique to try.

1. Make sure the bike is in neutral and hold the clutch lever in. The back wheel must rotate or you will never get it onto the stand. (ask how I know :redface::redface

2. Lower the stand and make sure both feet (of the stand) are firmly planted.

3. Face the front of the bike with left hand on the left handle bar and right hand on the grab rail (palm outward is how I do it).

4. Rock forward and then backward jumping HARD on the center stand lever.

Bike should pop up onto the stand. I find that if the bike starts to move, it goes up, if it just sits there, I didn't jump hard enough. Sometimes takes two or three tries.

You might get someone to "spot" you few times until you get the feel of it. My dealer did for me when I took delivery of my NT.

Both my bikes have had stands and I don't think I would want a bike without one.

Hope this helps,

Chuck

 

[Warren]

I've never been able to easily get my NT up on the center stand. Either the concrete floor is too slippery or I'm slow. I think I've given up trying to use it and I'm guessing it weighs 10 pounds or so. My heel of my boot sometimes hits it when I'm riding. Has anyone here simply taken it off? Is there a reason to keep it on if I don't use it?

Terry

I guess logic would say if you don't ever use it and don't think you will ever use it then you could remove it. I do use mine for both parking and when I want the back wheel off the ground like when checking tire pressure and cleaning it. There are also times like checking oil level etc. when you want the bike vertical and not leaned over.

 

[ohblackwater]

I am 5' 6" and weigh 150 lb on a good day.

Chuck

Chuck, my question to you is: at 5'6" tall, do you have any issues with seat height/touching both feet on the ground, etc?

 

[dnktng]

Never had a motorcycle without a centerstand. Still looking for the kickstarter on the NT700. I use the center stand often, even when filling it up with gas. I'm about 175#. Makes cleaning and inspecting the rear wheel/tire easy.

Additional tips to make it easy.
1. wear firm soled boots, shoes. soft running shoes can hurt your feet doing this. no flip flops.
2. (must) straighten the front wheel while balancing bike. right hand on passenger grip, left hand on left grip.
3. lower center stand to touch ground. rock bike to the bike's left & right gently until you feel both feet of center stand touch.
4. step on center stand lever and pull up and back.

before you take it off, consider how difficult it may be to get back on.

 

[Chuck 500]

Chuck, my question to you is: at 5'6" tall, do you have any issues with seat height/touching both feet on the ground, etc?

Not really, but it was a bit of a learning curve. I mainly forced me to become more aware of where my feet were going when I stopped, what the surface was etc. Also, I greatly improved the process of coming to a stop. On my first bike (Suzuki GS500F) which was a good bit lower, I could just stop and plant both feet, catching the bike whichever way it flopped over. No can do with the NT. I have plan stop so i know which way the lean will go. Normally I stop with my left foot out and down. If the road is heavily banked left, though, i can't do that so I have to stop with my right foot out and down. The right foot stop is a little trickier because you lose the rear break and have complete the maneuver with the front brake only. I now "rate" stops in my head for smoothness and timing. A "stuck landing" means wheels stopped smoothly and foot firmly down at exactly the same moment.

The first four months I rode with the stock seat. I now have a low Sargent seat. It helps get more foot pressure but I still can't "flat foot". I overcame the Flat Foot thing with some coaching and conversation over on Sport Touring dot Net.

Overall, the both feet thing has been far less of an issue than I thought it would. I'm still glad I opted for the lighter NT versus ST or FJR though.

Hope this helps keeping the shiny side up,

Chuck

 

[karl]

Find a friend to give you a hand and become one with the stand. For a track bike take it off, for a road bike learn to love it. Once you are comfortable in using it you will.

 

[ARKNT]

I don't use the centerstand often but it makes maint much easyer.
The NT stand acts slightly different to me than others I have used. I believe it levers over a little farther than some. I have more trouble getting the bike OFF the stand than on it. The feet want to slide on the garage floor. Not much problem if outside on a rough surface where the feet grip.
I can put the NT on stand much easier than my old Connie. I was beginning to get uncomfortable with that one. Probably one reason I downsized to NT.
Try some of these tips from the forum but if you are not comfortable with putting it on the centerstand don't. Remember you can lose control of it while trying out the stand and drop it. There is already a rash of SAD (see other thread) so don't add to that group. Try to get someone to steady the bike while you experiment.
If it doesn't work for you don't use it or take it off.

Brad

 

[Deleted member 540]

The main stand spring can be difficult to remove or install without a spring removal tool. I would keep the main stand, once you figure it out you will use it more and I'm sure the shop guys would rather it be left on.

 

[Rob]

This is an interesting thread to me. I ONLY use the centerstand. Then again I'm a new rider without years of kickstand reflex. The center stand feels so much more solid to me.

My left foot does indeed often rest just slightly on it when I put my feet back a bit and I've just come to accept that.

Sent from my Android phone via Tapatalk

 

[Phil Tarman]

Rob,

The centerstand for normal parking works fine, but there are times when it's not the most stable solution. To visualize why it's not, draw a triangle representing your front wheel and the two legs of the centerstand and then draw a triangle representing the two wheels and the sidestand. The one with the widest spread is the most stable.

Now having said that, I can also say that the only time my sidestand wasn't stable was when I parked it crosswise to canyon winds I had not anticipated. They reached 90+ mph and I had the bike parked so the sidestand was on the upwind side. Those winds were strong enough to lift the NT off the sidestand and blow it over on to the right side. From now on, I'll park it so that the sidestand is on the downwind side.

Of course, if I'd put the bike on the centerstand Tuesday morning it wouldn't have fallen over three times as the sidestand sank into the soft asphalt later in the day. I probably would have had to hire a crane to pull the centerstand out of the pavement, though.

 

[Rob]

Lol Phil. And yeah, I'd use the kickstand if there was an incline or harsh winds. For temporary summer asphalt parking I just figured it would be better to spread the weight on the two pressure points rather than the one, but since weight is lifted from one tire, it probably doesn't matter.

Or maybe it's because I tend to put my helmet on top of my tank bag and with the kickstand it wouldn't stay but on center everything stays level! I do shutter at the thought of the center stand sinking in the asphalt! That would not be fun...

Sent from my Android phone via Tapatalk

 

[charlie b]

The only time I've had the centerstand 'sink' it did so unevenly and dumped the bike. Regular parking the sidestand is superior.

I only use the centerstand for maintenance.

And I can easily get it up on the stand. But, boots and 200lb helps

 

[banjoboy]

Well, I'm five feet eleven and 185 pounds and I need to have my neighbor (rides a Triumph) over and give me a hand and tips until I get used to it. Good advice. Thanks.

Terry

 

[charlie b]

One last tip.

When I am feeling a bit lazy I will rock mine onto the center stand.

Stand facing the bike, left hand on the left grip and right hand on the passenger grab bar. Right foot on the center stand.

Pull bike till it rolls backward a little, immediately push down on centerstand. May take me a couple of tries.

Especially useful if the bike is parked slightly nose up.

This method can be a bit precarious. If you let it roll too far you will lose your balance. Important to leave the sidestand down when you do this so the bike does not fall on you (and keep your left foot out from under the sidestand!).

 

[ARKNT]

Good point Simba,
Just goes to show we are never satisfied leaving things alone. That is why farkling is so popular.

Brad

 

[RedLdr1]

Alot of people with only a side-stand are trying to get a center-stand and here you are trying to get rid of it.....

The silly part is on the NT I don't really "need" a center stand...but I still use it all the time. I buy a new V-Strom and my first farkle, at about $200, is the optional OEM center stand so I can lube the chain and do other required maintenance...

 

[Phil Tarman]

I buy a new V-Strom and my first farkle, at about $200, is the optional OEM center stand so I can lube the chain and do other required maintenance...

That's what you get for having a chain!

 

[elizilla]

That's what you get for having a chain!

Yeah, it's crazy. I can't think of any shafties that don't have centerstands. But chain bikes, which are the ones where a centerstand is so much more important, only rarely have them!

 

[Herb]

I only use for maintenance. I'd leave it on and keep working at it. I too had trouble getting it to work, but practice makes... Better.