Where the Hell is the V7 II Centre Stand?

[rob-mg]

The bike has been out in Europe for what, a year?

Lots of cosmetic offerings and Ewan McGregor razzmatazz.

But nothing practical, like a centre stand, for which there's a clear market and lots of profit.

And no engine guard, also lots of profit.

In Europe, in particular, how does Moto Guzzi wind up with no centre stand a year after releasing the V7 II? And with no statement about when, if ever, it will do so.

As a new V7 II owner, I'd just like to know whether Moto Guzzi is, or is not, going to make a centre stand available. Is this too much to ask?

[rob-mg]

Hepco Becker makes one.

Thanks, I'm aware of that. I want a Moto Guzzi stand that is designed for this bike, not least because there are suggestions that the HB stand is touchy, something that I don't want in a stand. I also want MG engine guards.

It really surprises me that a year into the V7 II, Moto Guzzi is offering lots of allegedly pretty cosmetic bits, but has yet to provide something as elementary to a European bike as a centre stand. I'm happy to pay a pretty good dollar for one.

[swordds]

I have a center stand on my V7II.  It was installed by the dealer as an optional accessory which I requested when I ordered my bike. It works great, no complaints.

[kirkemon]

It really surprises me that a year into the V7 II, Moto Guzzi is offering lots of allegedly pretty cosmetic bits, but has yet to provide something as elementary to a European bike as a centre stand.

I agree.
HB list it as 20lbs. which seems a bit much to me.

[Muzz]

My 2003 Breva does not have one either.

[stevet]

I have a center stand on my V7II.  It was installed by the dealer as an optional accessory which I requested when I ordered my bike. It works great, no complaints.

swords-

Which center stand did they install on your bike, the Hepco & Becker center stand, or an OEM Moto Guzzi center stand?  When did you buy your bike?

OEM stand, do you have a part number?

If you have the HB unit, how stable of a stand is it?  Searching this board shows user impressions of the HB to be quite unstable, as though it seems to easily roll forward off the center stand.  I have no interest in something like that on my bike.

I took delivery of my bike in late August.  I worked an OEM center stand into my purchase- still waiting.  Guzzi sent a center stand to my dealer back in August, ordered/spec'ed for the V7II, and there was no way it was going to fit without redesigning the MC frame and/or center stand.  It obviously was not designed for the V7II, not by a long shot (well, over 1" of structural mounting difference, anyway).

Thanks,
Steve.

[Vagrant]

Kawasaki doesn't have one for their 2015 and I think earlier Versys 650 and it has a chain to maintain.

[Arizona Wayne]

My 2003 Breva does not have one either.

There's a factory centerstand made for the 750 Breva and it might fit all the newer variants too.  I have 1 on my `04 750 Breva I installed myself after buying the bike used.    Check with your favorite Guzzi dealer.

[sib]

And no engine guard, also lots of profit.

I think the gripes about the absence of a center stand are justified, especially because it is an advertised V7II accessory on the MG-USA web site.  Interestingly, the MG web site states that this center stand (GU983164) also fits the previous generation of V7's.  While the latter may be true, I doubt that this or any other center stand for the Breva or V7 will fit the V7II's, the frames are significantly different in that area.  I think that the AF1 Racing web site is more accurate here; it states that this stand will NOT fit the V7II's.  However, in the case of the engine guard, Agostini makes one for the V7II that is virtually identical to the one that MG sold for the V7 as part GU31450266 (or, as a kit, GU973217200008), except that the kit for the V7II comes with an extra, needed plate to attach the bar to the top front of the frame.

[swordds]

I  picked my bike up on 12/11/2015 from Adventure Motorsports of NWF.  The stand cost $250 and labor to install it was $133. I  don't know who makes the stand and I  am no great motorcycle  expert but it feels fine and stable to me. I also know that my other motorcycle, a 2016 Suzuki TU250X, which is a wonderful motorcycle, has absolutely no provisions for a center stand. If you want a center stand on that motorcycle you have to be a welder and a machinist and you have to create the stand from scratch yourself and weld your own attachment lugs to the frame and since that is a chain driven motorcycle a center stand would make life much simpler. My impression is that center stands are becoming as obsolete as kick starters so I am just appreciative of the fact that I could even get a center stand as an option.

[stevet]

Okay, thanks.  I bet it's the H&B stand they installed.

Tire changes and valve adjustments are my reason for the center stand.

And that Suzuki is one cool bike!

Steve.

[swordds]

Yes! The Suzuki TU250X is a wonderful motorcycle.  Light, fuel efficient (75+mpg), quiet, smooth transmission, great forum, great looks, people always thinking it is a classic British bike and asking me if I restored it. But when I walk out my front door the motorcycle I most want to ride on is my V7II. Go figure?

[rob-mg]

I think the gripes about the absence of a center stand are justified, especially because it is an advertised V7II accessory on the MG-USA web site.  Interestingly, the MG web site states that this center stand (GU983164) also fits the previous generation of V7's.  While the latter may be true, I doubt that this or any other center stand for the Breva or V7 will fit the V7II's, the frames are significantly different in that area.  I think that the AF1 Racing web site is more accurate here; it states that this stand will NOT fit the V7II's.  However, in the case of the engine guard, Agostini makes one for the V7II that is virtually identical to the one that MG sold for the V7 as part GU31450266 (or, as a kit, GU973217200008), except that the kit for the V7II comes with an extra, needed plate to attach the bar to the top front of the frame.

The U.S. site has the centre stand under accessories and says that it fits the V7, no claim that it fits the V7 II. My dealer has spoken with Moto Guzzi North America about both the V7 centre stand and the V7 engine guard, and has confirmed that neither will work. My dealer's impression is that a centre stand will materialize ... eventually. I guess Moto Guzzi takes the view that whether, and when, it offers a centre stand is a secret.

[JeffOlson]

The U.S. site has the centre stand under accessories and says that it fits the V7, no claim that it fits the V7 II. My dealer has spoken with Moto Guzzi North America about both the V7 centre stand and the V7 engine guard, and has confirmed that neither will work. My dealer's impression is that a centre stand will materialize ... eventually.

Call Luca at Agostini next door to Moto Guzzi, 011-39-0341-735448, or send him an email, assistenza@agostinimandello.com. They might have what you need.

[rob-mg]

Call Luca at Agostini next door to Moto Guzzi, 011-39-0341-735448, or send him an email, assistenza@agostinimandello.com. They might have what you need.

Thanks, good idea. Worth asking whether they're going to make a centre stand or know what MG is doing. Given what I suspect is a pretty healthy margin on centre stands, it's mystifying why MG has had this bike on the market for quite some time without offering one. I guess they're making too much money selling green camouflage gas tanks to bother.

[Lank]

prob as expensive as hell as an add on, certainly costs more than a couple blocks of wood and a strap or two....I seriously doubt that most owners would be interested in one, hell maybe that's why they don't come with one 

[Arizona Wayne]

prob as expensive as hell as an add on, certainly costs more than a couple blocks of wood and a strap or two....I seriously doubt that most owners would be interested in one, hell maybe that's why they don't come with one

It seems MG isn't the only brand not supplying centerstands with new bike models.  Most other brands are doing the same thing now.      Really stupid, IMHO.   Many new bikes don't have a frame to attach a centerstand to now. 

[canuguzzi]

It seems MG isn't the only brand not supplying centerstands with new bike models.  Most other brands are doing the same thing now.      Really stupid, IMHO.   Many new bikes don't have a frame to attach a centerstand to now. 

Sure but how many brands say they have one but don't?

Maybe its time to throw in the towel, ask for a refund and put that money into an alternative, after all, it might work better anyway. If its going to be in the 300-400 dollar range as someone else paid for a stand and install, you are getting halfway there to a bike lift.

[jackson]

When I bought a used 2007 Breva 750, it had a HB center stand already installed.  The bike was very easy to get on the center stand; BUT, it also would come off the center stand too easily.  If you were parked on the slightest incline with the front of the bike pointed down the incline, the bike would move off the center stand with the slightest pressure to the handlebars or gas tank.  It made me very uneasy re. where I would use the CS. 
My V7 Classic has the MG center stand and although it requires more grunt to get it up on the stand, it's rock steady once it's there.  I have a motorcycle lift so I rarely use the CS but if HB is still making the "too-easy to come off the stand" model for the newer models, I would pass and wait on the MG (or another mfg.). 
If you're really only going to use it for maintenance and you have the room in your garage, consider a motorcycle lift.  I have a high quality chock mounted on the front of my Harbor Freight lift so the front wheel sits firmly locked in the chock.  I also tie down the front end using the crash bars (but you could use the handlebars) and use a scissor jack with a block of wood that I cut to fit against the bottom of the frame to lift the rear wheel when it's on the lift.  Something to consider.

[malik]

....I seriously doubt that most owners would be interested in one, hell maybe that's why they don't come with one

Get a flat out in the boonies without one, & you'd wish it was there. Yes, there are alternatives, such as the IB Emergency Bike Lift (http://www.ibbikelifts.biz/lifts-and-accessories/emergency-portable-bike-lift/), if you've got one & remembered to pack it. I've had enough flat tyres out on the road to know that I prefer to have a centre stand, if one can be fitted. Especially if running tubes.

BTW, I have found the OEM stand on both the V7's very easy to use & very stable.

Mal

[sib]

You might be interested to know that Stucchi-Luigi offers a center stand for the V7II that looks quite different from the H&B stand.  The description seems to indicate that the stand is stable on slopes.

http://lgccompany.it/en/home-page/9216-central-stand-for-v7-ii.html

[jackson]

You might be interested to know that Stucchi-Luigi offers a center stand for the V7II that looks quite different from the H&B stand.  The description seems to indicate that the stand is stable on slopes.
http://lgccompany.it/en/home-page/9216-central-stand-for-v7-ii.html

Yep, that looks like it would do the job.

[Karl Von]

Would one off a old V50 or V65 fit ?

[Arizona Wayne]

When my bikes/scooters are at rest in the garage they all are on their centerstands.  It's better for the tires and to work on them if they're not on my 2 MC lifts.  When you're on the road it's hard to get a good oil level reading w/o a centerstand.  Far as I'm concerned CSs are a necessity.

[canuguzzi]

^

Also for checking tire pressures.

When manufacturers started using the engines as stressed members was that coincidental to fewer models coming with center stands or is it just a miney thing?

[rob-mg]

You might be interested to know that Stucchi-Luigi offers a center stand for the V7II that looks quite different from the H&B stand.  The description seems to indicate that the stand is stable on slopes.

http://lgccompany.it/en/home-page/9216-central-stand-for-v7-ii.html

Thanks, another good lead. Still want the MG stand, if and when MG offers one, and I have maybe three months for that to happen.

[rob-mg]

prob as expensive as hell as an add on, certainly costs more than a couple blocks of wood and a strap or two....I seriously doubt that most owners would be interested in one, hell maybe that's why they don't come with one

You are probably right about the U.S., but I suspect that in Europe there is a ready market for a V7 II centre stand. I think it's likely that Moto Guzzi will offer one, but I'm surprised that it's yet to happen and that MG apparently won't say if and when it intends to do so.

I'm aware of the fact that Ducati has yet to offer a centre stand for its new scrambler, and I'm hoping that MG is not following suit.

That said, as others have pointed out, there are companies that will fill the need if Moto Guzzi decides to leave this money on the table. The issue is whether those options are as well built (Piaggio, unsurprisingly, does know how to make solid centre stands).

It's possible that production is complicated by the V7 complication about making a centre stand that worked with U.S. requirements about side stands. It's unfortunate if those requirements would result in no centre stand, including outside the U.S.

Personally, if I had to make a choice, I'd take a centre stand over a side stand. Indeed, if MG offers the former, I could see myself removing the side stand.

But like many people resident in Europe (which I was at the time), I learned to to ride a bike on a scooter. For a scooter rider, a centre stand is just obvious.

Others in this thread have offered really good reasons to use centre stands. Here are some less compelling reasons that many people who have used them find appealing. The bike is upright when one gets gas/petrol. The bike is upright when you're loading/unloading groceries. There's a kind of cool physical and psychological feeling when one raises or lowers the bike. It involves a leverage/physics trick that I've never gotten tired of.

[mgmark]

Personally, if I had to make a choice, I'd take a centre stand over a side stand. Indeed, if MG offers the former, I could see myself removing the side stand.

This is me. I always remove the suicidal side stand off my Tonti framed bikes. Just to remove any chance of using it and regretting it later.

[JeffOlson]

Unlike most of you, I hardly ever use my center stand. The only time I ever use it is if I am fiddling with my bike. Otherwise, my Norge rests securely on its easily deployed and very secure side stand.

[Clancy]

You might be interested to know that Stucchi-Luigi offers a center stand for the V7II that looks quite different from the H&B stand.  The description seems to indicate that the stand is stable on slopes.

http://lgccompany.it/en/home-page/9216-central-stand-for-v7-ii.html

I'd be keen to hear more on this if anyone has one.
I feel like I'm missing limb without a centre stand.