Getting Up on Center Stand ??

I've found recently that pulling up on the handle just makes it harder. It's easier for me if I put the force backwards (towards the back of the bike) while stepping on the center stand.
 
dmr139

I'm normally sitting on the bike when I take it off the center stand ,I though I'd give it a try standing beside the bike , It didn't work for me.

It's definitely a pull back move that puts the bike up,not much effort is needed
 
left hand is on left grip...
right hand on pullout grab bar..
right foot on center stand pad...
i then kinda press the my right hip against my right hand and give her the ol heave ho..she'll jump right up on the center stand...

this is always done on a concrete surface...otherwise i use the side stand..
even at that i pay attention to the surface before i use the side stand too...


tsp
 
After reading all the posts, I noticed that the most critical piece of info was mentioned a few times, but never emphasized. You MUST (emphasis, not shouting) make sure both feet of the center stand are equally on the ground before doing any work....otherwise you will struggle forever.

Also, I am a lefty, so I was taught to face the rear of the motorcycle, left hand on handlebars, right hand on passenger rail (not the goofy little handle), knee bent with left foot on the center stand. Lock your upper body and straighten your left leg, and up she goes. I assume you righties can face the front of the bike and use your right foot, but since I have never tried it, I do not want to guess.

Hope this helps. BTW, I have a 29" inseam and therefore have more trouble getting the bike down off the center than up.....looks pretty funny with me rocking it back and forth a few times :)

Ride safe,
The Bat
 
After practicing with it in the garage I've got it down pretty good. I do face the front and use the handle and it goes up easy enough. The first time I tried to get it off the stand I dropped it . Fortunately it went down softly . There happened to be some cardboard boxes to the right of the bike and they cushioned the fall.
I use a little different procedure for getting it down. With the side stand down and the bike in gear I grab the handle bar with my left hand and use the passenger grab rail and make sure that I'm pulling the bike slightly towards my body as it comes off the center stand.

After reading some posts on this forum about picking the bike up after a fall I gave it a try and surprisingly I got it up. I'm a light weight at 150 lbs and 5'8" but it works using the the standard method
 
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If the bike is NOT in gear when you push it off the center stand, it can easily get away from you. If it is in gear, that will act as a "brake" to keep it from rolling too far.

The one time I did drop my bike taking it down off of the center stand was when it was in gear. I thought it was in neutral, (which is how I always park) and so had the handlebars steered slightly to the right, which normally makes the bike lean slightly into me as it rolls off of the stand. Because it was in gear it rolled a little then suddenly stopped and because of the handlebar angle it tipped slightly away from me. No way to hold it from the wrong side so down we both went!

I always park in neutral out of habit. The old English bikes like my Norton could not be kick started in gear because the starter gearing went through the clutch. Neutral was hard enough to find with engine running, nearly impossible when stopped with 50wt oil in the sump.

Later, some early Japanese bikes (my Yamaha XS750 for one) did not have a starter interlock system if the bike was in gear and you hit the starter, the bike would leap forward off of the side stand, crashing to the ground. This happened to me outside of a store one day when I returned to find some small children crawling all over it. I chased them off but failed to check that the bike was still in neutral - crash!
 
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I always park in neutral out of habit. ..........


I used to also, until the Loma Prieta earthquake rolled my Interceptor forward off the side stand onto the garage floor. Notice you are in earthquake country too, you might want to leave it in gear as I have done since then. When I stop to park I just put down the side stand and it kills the engine for me.
 
I used to also, until the Loma Prieta earthquake rolled my Interceptor forward off the side stand onto the garage floor. Notice you are in earthquake country too, you might want to leave it in gear as I have done since then. When I stop to park I just put down the side stand and it kills the engine for me.

Sounds like not a bad idea when parked on the side stand. However, I strongly recommend parking in neutral if the bike is on the center stand. If the rear wheel makes very many "landings" coming down off the center stand when you forget to pull in the clutch lever, something's gonna get hurt - most likely the rubber components of the cush drive in the rear wheel hub, possibly something more expensive and difficult to repair.
 
Please excuse my noobness, but I'm planning on buying an ST very soon. I've never owned a bike with a center stand, so my question is:

When/why do you need to use it?
 
I used to also, until the Loma Prieta earthquake rolled my Interceptor forward off the side stand onto the garage floor. Notice you are in earthquake country too, you might want to leave it in gear as I have done since then. When I stop to park I just put down the side stand and it kills the engine for me.

Maybe they were smaller quakes, I got lucky, or the earth was moving perpendicular to my bike's position, but I came through the '71 Sylmar quake (only 10 miles from the epicenter) and the '94 Northridge quake (about 25 miles from the epicenter) without the bikes falling down. In the latter quake we had bookshelf come down and a computer monitor that "walked" all the way to the end of the table and fell off. Nothing got broken though, even the monitor still worked!
 
Please excuse my noobness, but I'm planning on buying an ST very soon. I've never owned a bike with a center stand, so my question is:

When/why do you need to use it?

loading the panniers
doing an oil change
changing tires
getting gas
washing the bike
 
loading the panniers
doing an oil change
changing tires
getting gas
washing the bike
checking the oil level

There, all fixed!

You'll notice that the list doesn't include cleaning the bike but I'm sure SOME folks use it for that, too!
:D
 
The key to this is levering between the centre stand and the handle, not the handle and the floor.

Pull out the handle, push down the centre stand, put your right foot on the centre stand and now lift the bike up with the handle while simultaneously pushing down with your right foot (ie all your weight on your right foot, that's on the centre stand).

The bike will just roll back a little and up onto the stand.
 
In my videos, the only thing I'm doing with my hands is squeezing the clutch and guiding the bike. All of the movement is done with the center stand leverage. After you've practiced a few times, you'll know what the balance point feels like and you'll expend very little energy. +1 on being sure the bike is balanced on the stand before you try to get it to go up. Notice how I give a little pause after pushing the bike up-right to give it a chance to settle on the center stand feet, then I push down with my right foot. If it feels like work to get the bike on the stand, then you're definitely doing something wrong.

Here is a dumb question from someone new to centerstands:

When do you put the bike on the centerstand? I understand using it when servicing the rear tire, checking oil, and storing the bike. When else is it used?

thanks!
 
Here is a dumb question from someone new to centerstands:

When do you put the bike on the centerstand? I understand using it when servicing the rear tire, checking oil, and storing the bike. When else is it used?

thanks!


It's a personal preference thing most of the time. Personally, I only throw it up on the centerstand for maintenance or to check the oil level, which I don't do often cause it never seems to change. But I know some who use the centerstand nearly every time they park somewhere. Some like to use it when they gas up so they can get that extra few ounces of gas in the tank.
 
Thanks much for all these great suggestions guys!

It does appear there is a technique to it. Not just brute strength.

More suggestions are welcome. Meanwhile I'll keep practicing.

I am such a whimp, I run the back tire up on a 2 X 6, then it is a snap to and less fatiguing to get it up on the center stand.
My .02
 
There, all fixed!

You'll notice that the list doesn't include cleaning the bike but I'm sure SOME folks use it for that, too!
:D

What's the difference between "cleaning the bike" and "washing the bike"?

One you forgot to include on the list: "Impressing the by-standers" (or "Impressing the girls", as the case may be) :D.
 
Some people (namely me) just wash the bike - quick rinse from time to time.

I took a lot of flack for my bike's lack of cleanliness at the last AZ tech day since it seems that other folks actually clean their bike.
 
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