Center Stand Debate:Just for Fun

[swordds]

Seriously, just for fun and not for an argument - I had a motorcycle with a chain and I longed for a center stand but unless you owned a machine shop and a welder there was no way to add one. I now own a V7II and the first option I bought was a center stand and I  never feel the need to use it. Many (most?) bikes don't come with them any more.  On some bikes it is practically impossible to even add one. I could see it would be great for maintenance but I have no desire to do my own maintenance. Are center stands as obsolete as kick starters?

[oldbike54]

 No .

 Dusty

[jackson]

Many people who buy a V7 will want to do their own maintenance; if they don't own a lift table or similar, the center stand is extremely necessary.
If you need to remove either wheel to repair a flat or replace a tire, you'll find it to be a necessity.
Parking in certain situations, you will find the center stand to be a better choice than using the side stand.
There are two reasons that many bikes don't come with them any more: (1) due to the lack of a frame in the areas where a center stand could be mounted (2) if there is a frame where a center stand could easily be mounted, the manufacturer cheaped out and wants to sell you the center stand as an accessory to make more money.

[Perazzimx14]

I like center stands not so much for maintenance (I have a lift for that) but for holding the bikes upright while parked. They take up a lot less area when not leaned over.

 

[stevet]

1- maintenance, such as tire replacement (any bike), chain adjustment (chain drive bikes), and engine valve adjustment (Guzzi and probably others), shaft drive maintenance (such as my Guzzi and Yamaha FJR), etc.  Not important at all if an owner utilizes professional mechanics instead of home maintenance.  Well, who goes to a mechanic every 500-1000 miles or so to have the drive chain tension checked and adjusted?

2- winter storage, I put my bikes on the centerstand and then a block of wood under the front tire and the now-dangling rear tire.  This takes up less space in my garage and gets the tires off the concrete.

I can't say that I've ever parked a motorcycle on the center stand in daily use, but some prefer to do so.  A Beemer GS guy I work with typically parks in the center stand because the bike is top heavy and the side stand is short, lots of lean on that bike.

I am very happy my Yamaha FJR came stock with one.  I'd have no idea how to effectively, and safely, lift the rear end for maintenance work.

Steve.

[Guzzistajohn]

I wouldn't have a bike w/o one. My cx100 doesn't have a side stand

[Wayne Orwig]

Makes oiling the chain so much easier on the Stelvio.

[JeffOlson]

Where I live and park (on a farm, on gravel, under a large shed overhang), I rarely use my Norge's center stand. Once in a while, I will put the Norge up on its center stand to do something (like clean the back end while washing the Norge), but the feet sink so far into the gravel that the rear wheel is barely off the ground. In addition, the Norge is much less stable on its center stand on gravel. Consequently, I always keep the Norge parked on its very study, unsinkable side stand.

As for our Vespas, which have only center stands and no side stands, I park them on large brick pavers set into the gravel.

Also, the Norge center stand drags on spirited or not-so-spirited-two-up riding. Initially I thought about simply removing it...

[willowstreetguzziguy]

Always had center stands on my bikes. Have wanted one for my 1200 Sport since I bought it in 2013. Would somebody just take theirs off and sell it to me!?!

[Rusnak_322]

I have front and rear race stands that I use to change wheels and maintainance on my other bikes. Why carry that around al, the time when you only need it every now and then?

I have never had a bike with a center stand that I would trust leaving for any length of time with the front wheel off.  I seem to remember having to tie something heavy to the back to keep the bike from falling forward.

[oldbike54]

I have front and rear race stands that I use to change wheels and maintainance on my other bikes. Why carry that around al, the time when you only need it every now and then?

I have never had a bike with a center stand that I would trust leaving for any length of time with the front wheel off.  I seem to remember having to tie something heavy to the back to keep the bike from falling forward.

 Because a centerstand is much easier to carry around than race stands .
 
 Dusty

[jackson]

I have never had a bike with a center stand that I would trust leaving for any length of time with the front wheel off.  I seem to remember having to tie something heavy to the back to keep the bike from falling forward.

Just use a floor jack with a piece of plywood under the oil sump to insure that the bike stays in place while you have the front wheel off.  Done it more times than I can remember since 1969.

[v7john]

I use both depending on how the mood takes me. Out and about it's usually the sidestand with the bike in gear (Tonti stands and I have history). At home and in the garage it's often the centre stand. On hot tarmac I never use the centre stand as it will sink. The sidestand with a puck under it is safer.

Waht I would really like is a centre stand which can be locked down as a security measure. The lock would be hard to attack and it would take some doing to carry off the bike.

[Steph]

Always keep your receipt on your official Guzzi accessory 

For example, back in 2005 a three week old optional stand for my Cali Stone   

[rodekyll]

I have front and rear race stands that I use to change wheels and maintainance on my other bikes. Why carry that around al, the time when you only need it every now and then?

[snip]

+1

The trick is to know when the emergency will occur and only carry the centerstand around when you know there will be trouble.  Otherwise, why pack the weight? 

Seriously though -- even if you generally take the bike to the shop for service the center stand is still a handy option.  I'll introduce to to my bike "Ilean" sometime.  It got the name parked against trees and walls when the sidestand spring lug broke and I had to tape it to a frame rail. Ilean had no centerstand either.

[Arizona Wayne]

I wouldn't have a bike w/o one. My cx100 doesn't have a side stand

Neither will I.   Someone took the sidestand off your CX100; maybe because some call it the suicide stand(spring loaded).

[Tom H]

On my R75/5, when on the center stand, it sits with the front wheel off the ground. Only bike I've ever had that does that.

Yes, the center stand is a must have!

Tom

[Arizona Wayne]

On my R75/5, when on the center stand, it sits with the front wheel off the ground. Only bike I've ever had that does that.

Yes, the center stand is a must have!

Tom

Airhead BMWs are noted for that.   Maybe it's to get either tire off easily.

[Dharma Bum]

That's exactly right.  The BMW stand was located for the purpose of changing either tire.

[cruzziguzzi]

So:
No chain? What gain?

So what? A but... or 5.

Or - What do my center stands do for me?

I can almost side stack the bikes for storage - no lean!
Rear tire removal by design, front tire removal if I tie/weigh the rear rim down.
Free spin of the drive shaft at maintenance/repair time.
Easy spin of front and rear to access the valve stems.
Free spinning for those rare occasions when something gets washed.


Since the bikes don't have kick starters, they give one at least one cool, wonky activity in a curb-side motorcycle ritual. Sure to amaze the cuties and set them a-cooing!


Todd.

[Rusnak_322]

Considering my bikes never have more storage then a tank bag, I don't carry many tools. Certainly not  a 55mm socket and a wrench that can take off a 170 foot lb nut to get my rear wheel off.
I do a lot of my own maintainance, but I do it at home, so that's where I keep my stands.

All the center stand bikes I had kept the front wheel on the ground and the rear in the air.  Better for chain cleaning and adjusting.

[kidsmoke]

my bike is a nearly 600# cruiser. It's on it's center stand when parked always. I use the side stand when its a no level soft surface or high traffic area only.

Love the center stand.

[Testarossa]

The centerstand on the early Tontis was a lot more stable and efficient than the short, wimpy, out-of-reach sidestand. I rode for years without a sidestand.

[travelingbyguzzi]

 

I wouldn't have a bike w/o one. My cx100 doesn't have a side stand

Well, yeah. The centerstand on the CX100 and it's brethren was horrible. My SP came with the centerstand in a cardboard box.
Of my 5 Guzzis, only the 1100 Sport is without a centerstand.
I like a centerstand.

[Beerman]

I like center stands not so much for maintenance (I have a lift for that) but for holding the bikes upright while parked. They take up a lot less area when not leaned over.

With this 100%. As is my wife, who makes a helpful comment every time she has to squeeze past my bikes in the garage.

Beerman

[Arizona Wayne]

When I 1st got my 750 Breva w/no centerstand it was  a PIA to get a good reading of it's motor oil level.    Soon bought 1 and bolted it on. 

[Larry]

Wouldn't have a bike without one if it could be fitted.
Apart from all the above I think the Stelvio just looks so darn impressive on its centre stand so I always use it.

[oldbike54]

Wouldn't have a bike without one if it could be fitted.
Apart from all the above I think the Stelvio just looks so darn impressive on its centre stand so I always use it.

 Well , there you have it 

 Dusty

[jacksonracingcomau]

Devil's advocate
Only had centre stand for 10 years, OE Le Mans sidestand off within a week of buying bike
Fitted proper sidestand late 80's but always kept centre stand on for maintenance / punctures
Last year fitted big rear rim and 150/70 tyre, stand didn't clear it, also longer shocks so new stand must be made
But lazy or whatever I haven't and by absolute fluke I've had 2 punctures one back one front in last 8000 miles
Both in very out of way places (I carry a tube & levers), managed to borrow a jack both times and used that with sidestand, not hard, breaking the bead harder, most recent one I sent Mrs to pub where there where some bikes, not sure they understood but came and I was ready with wheel on floor, broke bead with his sidestand in 2 seconds.
With a centre stand I have used my own sidestand to break bead, easy on back tyre, more tricky on front but can be done.

So , my 2c , def handy but not essential. I will (one day)  make a new one but probably in light alloy

For those that don't travel or do their own maintenance prob irrelevant as long as sidestand is good.
Even doing both is not bothering me, bike on lift for work, sure I can always get wheels off if I need to on the road.

[swordds]

I absolutely agree with nice to have and I even have one. But, I'm just saying, 20 years ago (40 years ago?) if I had posed the same question about the need for a kick-starter it would have gotten the same responses; everything from wouldn/couldn't travel without one to -it just looks cool to use it. But it seems like more and more they are either becoming add on accessories or even impossible to add on unavailable luxuries. If I  have a flat on the road and my screw-in plastic plug won't get me to a shop I will call my roadside service provider, and I like riding, not fixing or maintaining. And manufacturers (and not just MG) must be thinking the same way, ergo center stands are no longer a universal motorcycle accessory like a kick-starter once was.