Center Stand v. Side Stand

[JeffOlson]

If you have both, which do you prefer?

Also, on a bike with shaft drive, what advantages are there to a center stand? (I suppose it facilitates the rare removal of the rear wheel, but what about the front wheel?)

Just curious. For some reason, my Ducati ST2 owner's manual recommends using the center stand over the side stand. However, it seems that the bike is more likely to fall over if placed on the center stand than if placed on the side stand. Further, in my experience, a side stand is much easier to deploy than a center stand.

I have a new Norge on its way, and I have read that the center stand drags easily and is also prone to coming loose. I am wondering if I should just remove it and avoid those problems from the start...

[Kev m]

I like both for different reasons.

I USUALLY store the bike on the sidestand (because the lean fits well with the other bikes all in a row).

Of course, for long term storage it is nice to lift more weight off both wheels using the centerstand.

I also prefer to fuel up on the centerstand to get every last drop (especially when touring). And I like to load up on the centerstand.

I use the centerstand to remove the front or rear wheel (simply place a block of wood under it for more height).

I also like to use the centerstand for checking oil or some maintenance operations.

But most of the time I just park it on the sidestand.


PS - I can't STAND that our Duc doesn't have/can't have a centerstand... that makes NO SENSE on a chain drive bike!

[blackcat]

Center stand. I rarely use the side stand unless conditions do not permit.

[Doppelgaenger]

With my current storage location, I am completely incapable of putting my Breva 1100 up on the centerstand. It also gets in the way of me putting my foot down in a comfortable manner as I can on the left side. I have thought about removing it for all these reasons. The only thing stopping me is having the ability to change the tires since there really aren't any aftermarket stands for the bike

[Wayne Orwig]

I always use the side stand.
I do use the center stand for rear tire changes, which are every 4 months or so. Plus oil changes and for other maintenance.
One bike I have doesn't have a center stand, so it is a pain to do some maintenance.

[johnr]

The side stand for just parking it but the center stand for longer term or if I am working on the bike.... pretty much what Kevin said. If I had to have one or the other, it would be the center stand.

[sturgeon]

And for a completely different kind of input, I tore my Achilles tendon in half using a centre stand, 7 years ago. 750 VStrom, gravel road in N Ont, raining. Decided my chain needed some lube. Bike on a slight downward slant. Foot slipped off the peg on the centre stand, slammed into the road with most of my 180 lbs behind it, snap. 30 km ride to the hospital, surgery, 8 weeks in a cast during one of the nicest autumns in years. So, by all means, use a centre stand (I still do), but exercise caution. I painted my peg yellow as one of those 'caution, slippery when wet' kinda signs :D

[Lannis]

I always use the side stand.
I do use the center stand for rear tire changes, which are every 4 months or so. Plus oil changes and for other maintenance.
One bike I have doesn't have a center stand, so it is a pain to do some maintenance.

Yep, me too.   And I'll put an aftermarket centerstand on a bike that doesn't have one.

Lannis

[Gliderjohn]

As a Norge owner of a 2011 8V I would want a center stand on any bike I owned. I will admit that it is a bit of an effort to get the Norge on the stand, especially compared to my T-3 which is quite a bit less effort. Concerning dragging the center stand, you have to be leaning pretty good. The boots I ride with will generally contact the road with the outer edge of the sole before the stand contacts. In fact I have never touched the stand.
GliderJohn

[RinkRat II]

 Since owning a BMW I've gotten spoiled and I use the centerstand 99% of the time. Bikes I've purchased since, all now have centerstands.  Some aftermarket, some homebuilt if the factory doesn't make one. Sidestands are useful for the short term parking jobs. YMMV ~;  Homemade/adapted for my V11 Sport.

     Paul B :BEER:

[Stevex]

LM2, hate that self retracting sidestand so much I removed it.

[Carlo DeSantis]

Since owning a BMW I've gotten spoiled and I use the centerstand 99% of the time. Bikes I've purchased since, all now have centerstands.  Some aftermarket, some homebuilt if the factory doesn't make one. Sidestands are useful for the short term parking jobs. YMMV ~;  Homemade/adapted for my V11 Sport.

     Paul B :BEER:

Beemer pilots seem to use the centerstand more than owners of other marques, IMO.  When I got my first BMW years ago I got into it as well.  Something in the culture :)

Since then I've gotten back to using the side/center stand as does Wayne -- even with my BMW.  Jim B at Rosefarm once told me that BMW literature referred to the center stand as the "service stand."  Good enough for me.

Best,

Carlo

[sib]

I use the side stand exclusively since my V7 Stone doesn't have a center stand.  If it did, I would use it for fuel fill-ups but probably not much else on the road.  For oil changes, valve adjustments, etc., I have a front wheel chock and a scissors jack which, together, keep the bike upright and stable in the garage.  The chock and jack together cost a lot less than a center stand, and I don't have to carry the extra weight around.

My previous bike, a generation or two ago, was a Honda CB-77 (305 cc), which came with both a side stand and a center stand.  I didn't use the center stand very much except for servicing.

[Park Ridge Phil]

 I think a center stand is a must have for reasons already posted. When I put mine on the Jakal right after I bought it, I cutoff about 2" of the stem so it wouldn't be so hideous or in the way.

[Kev m]

Back in the 90s I worked with a guy who did a real nice job of prettying up his airhead GS before we took a group trip down the Blue Ridge.

Powdercoated frame and valve covers to match in a gleaming white. Installed new suspension bits etc.

Thing is, he was a little short.

And he used the centerstand a lot.

And once it was on the stand he had to climb up into the saddle (where he looked like a little kid on a $0.10 pony ride in front of the supermarket swinging his feet that no longer touched the ground).

So to get it off the stand he'd stand up on the pegs and kinda rock back and forth until it rolled forward off the stand from the motion, where the suspension would compress enough for him to just get a foot on the ground.

Of course, the ground wasn't always level.

And he returned home with scuffs on one (or both, I forget) of those pretty valve covers.

[pyoungbl]

With that new Norge, what do you plan to do if you get a flat rear tire while on the road?  With a centerstand it's pretty simple to take off the caliper and then the rear wheel so you can fix the flat.  Without a centerstand.....I guess you could just lay that pretty new bike over on its side and do the same, but I wouldn't.  You can keep the stand from dragging by just increasing the rear preload a bit.  Easy-peasy.

Peter Y.

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from pyoungbl:

With that new Norge, what do you plan to do if you get a flat rear tire while on the road?  With a centerstand it's pretty simple to take off the caliper and then the rear wheel so you can fix the flat.  Without a centerstand.....I guess you could just lay that pretty new bike over on its side and do the same, but I wouldn't.  You can keep the stand from dragging by just increasing the rear preload a bit.

Most likely one could plug the tire so no need to take it off.
GliderJohn

[Wayne Orwig]

With that new Norge, what do you plan to do if you get a flat rear tire while on the road?  With a centerstand it's pretty simple to take off the caliper and then the rear wheel so you can fix the flat.  Without a centerstand.....I guess you could just lay that pretty new bike over on its side and do the same, but I wouldn't.  

 ::)   Didn't you know that there is some magic powder that you put in the tire and eliminate the risk of ever having a flat tire?

It also brightens your teeth I'll bet.


 :beat_horse

[Guido Valvole]

I'm amazed that anyone would trust an Italian side stand. When I had my Ducati Darmah long ago, it had both. Center stand was remarkably well-designed for easy operation (they made up for that later with the one on the Pantahs) and the side stand was short so it left the bike at an unstable angle. It also locked in place as I recall, was not deployable on the bike, and if you rode off without first retracting in you'd get tossed at the first left-hander.

Spring-loaded Guzzi side stands, at least on my old ones, leave the bike at an unstable angle and can't be deployed while on the bike. Which has to be vertical or even a little past (invitation to disaster there) in order to get the stand down or back up. At that point it's easier to use the center stand. Which is also more stable.
cr

[drlapo]

I use the center stands on my T140 and my BMW R80 almost  always
otherwise the T140 leans too much and the BMW side stand is a stupid design; it retracts by itself and is hard to get at

[Nic in Western NYS]

Crazy not to have a centerstand on a chain drive bike.

With shaft, I prefer not to have a centerstand.  2 incidents have colored my views on this: #1 I used to scrape my RT's centerstand - very annoying; #2 One hot day long ago I lifted my ST2 onto its centerstand which over the course of a workday SANK into the blacktop.  It had the 'suicide' stand which was it's own problem.  Best for shaft - side stand without auto retract and use the metal plate solution for sidestand/tarmac sink issue.  With the Sport1100, I had a beautiful shop stand which I used when doing maintenance.

[Loftness]

If I had to have just one it would be the center stand.  I really wish my V7 had one...at some point I may install the option.  My garage set up would be a lot easier to manage if all of them could be up straight.

[jazzamoto]

Jeff,

Ducati side stands are bolted to the cast aluminum engine case and they recommend not putting any excess weight on them - such as sitting on the bike while it's on the side stand. It doesn't take much to crack the case and then you might as well total the bike given what it will cost to replace the case. I paid through the nose for a used center stand for my 2006 Multistrada but it's worth every penny.

John

[jetmechmarty]

I was camping with my bike.  My bike was one foot away from my tent.  Dipsh!t put it on the center stand.  During the night it fell over.  I won the 50/50 raffle as it fell away rather than on top of me.  Never use a center stand on soft ground!  Lesson learned.

[rocker59]

Jeff,

Ducati side stands are bolted to the cast aluminum engine case and they recommend not putting any excess weight on them - such as sitting on the bike while it's on the side stand. It doesn't take much to crack the case and then you might as well total the bike given what it will cost to replace the case. I paid through the nose for a used center stand for my 2006 Multistrada but it's worth every penny.

John

The cases can be welded.  DAMHIK.    ~;

[pete mcgee]

The original side stand on the mk 3 lemans was a miracle of italian engineering, a miracle they didnt hang the designer.
So around 25 years ago I moved it and redesigned it so it actually worked.
Also modified the centre stand after it cracked.
So I use both.
At rallys with dirt I use the side stand with a alloy plate under it or a crused beer can.
Centre stand for storage.
Havent heard that sickening "crunch" as your bike hits the ground behind you as you leave it on the sidestand in 25 years.

[rocker59]

1) If you have both, which do you prefer?

2) I have read that the center stand drags easily and is also prone to coming loose.

3) I am wondering if I should just remove it and avoid those problems from the start...

1) I use whichever is appropriate.  

2) That was reported with the 2007 Norges, which had soft rear springs.  I do not recall much talk on the matter over the past few years, as the bikes have been improved.

3) That would be real inconvenient in the event of a rear flat.  I have had a couple of rear flats on bikes without centerstands, and it makes the repair job tougher.  In fact, my V11 LeMans sidestand was so long the bike would not stand with a flat rear tire, the bike would fall to the right...

Keep the center stand.  

[sib]

I'm amazed that anyone would trust an Italian side stand. When I had my Ducati Darmah long ago, it had both. Center stand was remarkably well-designed for easy operation (they made up for that later with the one on the Pantahs) and the side stand was short so it left the bike at an unstable angle. It also locked in place as I recall, was not deployable on the bike, and if you rode off without first retracting in you'd get tossed at the first left-hander.

Spring-loaded Guzzi side stands, at least on my old ones, leave the bike at an unstable angle and can't be deployed while on the bike. Which has to be vertical or even a little past (invitation to disaster there) in order to get the stand down or back up. At that point it's easier to use the center stand. Which is also more stable.
cr

Well, the newer V7 Guzzis come here with a specific USA-approved side stand that is quite stable.  Thank the Gummint for that.  And they can be deployed easily while the bike is vertical or leaning a bit either way.  Also, the "idiot-proof" interlock system prevents roaring off with the side stand down, saving you some embarrassment.  Thank the Gummint again.  The only drawback is the USA side stand makes the center stand inconvenient to use, although they're not completely incompatible, if you insist on adding a center stand.

[redrider90]

And for a completely different kind of input, I tore my Achilles tendon in half using a centre stand, 7 years ago. 750 VStrom, gravel road in N Ont, raining. Decided my chain needed some lube. Bike on a slight downward slant. Foot slipped off the peg on the centre stand, slammed into the road with most of my 180 lbs behind it, snap. 30 km ride to the hospital, surgery, 8 weeks in a cast during one of the nicest autumns in years. So, by all means, use a centre stand (I still do), but exercise caution. I painted my peg yellow as one of those 'caution, slippery when wet' kinda signs :D

That is a freak accident. Reminds me of a few broken feet/ankles I saw working in the hospital. People with panic stop and hit the breaks as hard as they could. Upon impact the forces of pressing on the brake and hitting whatever it was there were hitting was enough to break a few bones.

[kirkemon]

I like both for different reasons.

I USUALLY store the bike on the sidestand (because the lean fits well with the other bikes all in a row).

Of course, for long term storage it is nice to lift more weight off both wheels using the centerstand.

I also prefer to fuel up on the centerstand to get every last drop (especially when touring). And I like to load up on the centerstand.

I use the centerstand to remove the front or rear wheel (simply place a block of wood under it for more height).

I also like to use the centerstand for checking oil or some maintenance operations.

But most of the time I just park it on the sidestand.


PS - I can't STAND that our Duc doesn't have/can't have a centerstand... that makes NO SENSE on a chain drive bike!

:+1
I'm exactly the same.
I can understand having no centerstand on my Ducati Superlight, but I think a Monster would have one.