Side Stand Maint.

Just a note on something to keep in mind. The 01 I have has 97K and the side stand id shot. I never really looked at iyt till the spring came off when using the center stand last fall. Keep it greased or it will slowly self distruct. It developes so much slop that it allows itself to be pulled towards the center of the bike, then get in the way of the center stand.
New stands are over $80 with the bolt and nut plus shipping.
Grease it!

SIR, YES SIR!!

Is it the sidestand, the hole/tab on the frame or both.

I know on my 1100 there was a lot of slop and the same issue. There is a few fixes out there. I have seen where some have welded up the hole and redrilled it, made a shim to take up some of the slack (that would be easiest for you Mark) or use a BFH to pound the U shaped part of the sidestand so it is a little tighter on the tab of the frame. I did the latter and it took care of a lot of the slop.

Normally it's the hole in the tab that wallows out. I've tried the 'pounding' method, but it opened back up after a while. I went with a washer that I ground very thin and wedged it between the stand and the tab and that seems to fix it. It takes a lot of patience but it can be done.

Uncle Phil said:

Normally it's the hole in the tab that wallows out. I've tried the 'pounding' method, but it opened back up after a while. I went with a washer that I ground very thin and wedged it between the stand and the tab and that seems to fix it. It takes a lot of patience but it can be done.

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Being Mark is a machinist by trade I assumed that the shim would be the best route for him. I don't see a need to spend $80 on a new sidestand at this point.

Trekker Dave said:

I tried to loosen that bolt without much luck.... what might I be doing wrong? (my sidestand is getting loose as well)

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Mine was hard too. Try some penetrating oil for a while and maybe some heat.

sennister said:

Is it the sidestand, the hole/tab on the frame or both.

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Both. That is why I am going with a new one. That way I can work with a shim to correct the tab issue and not need to mess with the U of the stand as well. Sucks to spend the money, but it will be better and quicker.
Did I mention,,,,grease it?

Bigmak96 said:

Both. That is why I am going with a new one. That way I can work with a shim to correct the tab issue and not need to mess with the U of the stand as well. Sucks to spend the money, but it will be better and quicker.
Did I mention,,,,grease it?

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Mark - Mine (on two of my ST1100s) were fixed with just the shim. They still have the original sidestands on them. I experience the 'spring fling' which knocked the spring off the center stand and the side stand on the road - a rather unpleasant situation the next time you stop for gas.

I thought about just working with what I had but the stand is badly worn. The U is .05 wider at the top than it is at the bottom. I will still have to do some work on the tang to get it as parralell as posible, then shim too. I just didn't want to fight with all surfaces involved.

Bigmak96 said:

Try some penetrating oil for a while and maybe some heat.

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Bigmak96 said:

Did I mention,,,,grease it?

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Trekker Dave said:

Thanks big guy.... I'll let ya know when I get it apart.

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Might I suggest not using grease until after the 'heat' is complete?

Trekker Dave said:

Huh, huh, huh.... your said tang.....

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It's a tang thang

Trekker Dave said:

Hmmm...... why?

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Oh... never mind...

This is an old thread, I know, but I'm feeling chatty and wanted to thank contributors for their remedies for a worn out side stand on the ST1100. I bought mine in April 2015 and have never liked the degree of lean I get on the side stand. This afternoon I took the bolt out, beat on the clevis a bit and made a couple shims from some galvanized roof flashing to fill up the remaining gap; about .007in. That tightened things up nicely but there is ever so much drag on the movement of the stand. I will have to be careful that it's fully retracted until things wear in a little.

The side stand on my '99 with 60k miles is very tight. It seems most guys are saying theirs are loose. ?????? I spray mine with silicone spray which doesn't help much and then it's back to tight within a week or so. What am I doing wrong? Shouldn't a side stand be kicked up and snap up. I have to kick it all the way up to frame.

I've never found silicone spray to be very effective on mechanical parts. Grab a 14mm spanner, take it off, clean it and inspect it for rust/dirt. Then put a coating of lithium grease on it.

bikerdrumr said:

What am I doing wrong?

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Maybe nothing. Just a guess here, but the pinch bolt may be too tight. Try loosening it and see if the side stand moves more freely. If so, use locktite on the threads and only snug the bolt. The side stand should retract without have to assist the spring.

The bolt is not a pinch bolt Kevin. I am pretty sure it is a shoulder bolt. So any looseness comes from yolk wear.

Bigmak96 said:

So any looseness comes from yolk wear

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Mark - What about his tightness issue then? post 17

Not sure, I could be wrong too, let's not rule that out.

What I learned from taking the side stand off is that the bolt is a shoulder bolt and can't be tightened to take play out of the worn clevis. The shoulder bolt and the hole in the frame that it goes through seemed to be OK - the stand itself was deformed. Mine was generally "sprung open" and the inside of the outer finger on the clevis showed a lot of wear, (rounded off) right at the very end of it. Sorry, a picture would be helpful but I already reassembled it. I was a bit concerned about banging on it with a hammer and cracking it, or making it too tight, so I opted for shims until I need to tend to it next time. Of all the parts, the stand seems to have taken the most beating over the years - 86M.

Any way, if it's too tight it should be removed and inspected for damage and lubricated.