Wilsons Sandbox

On Tue, 05 Jun 2007 18:53:37 -0000 "b.gray" writes:

> I am thinking about putting on a center stand to make it a bit more > stable when working on my 05--I remember a while back seeing some > negative posts about the stand dropping down on rough trails etc., > any > one have experience with these either way? Also any brand > preferred > over another? > Blaine

<><><><><><> <><><><><><> Blaine, I use a centerstand on my 2003 KLR 650. I added a kicker foot to the stand as a little guy like me usually can't get the bike on the stand without help. With the kicker foot I can put the bike on the centerstand easily. Even easily on the centerstand when fully loaded with touring gear. I think Happy Trails used to offer the kicker foot for an additional $35. If you add one to yours make sure it won't interfere with the passenger footpeg or sidestand. (As an aside... I've also added a 1" flat washer to the bottom of my sidestand to increase the footprint.) My centerstand is a Studebaker which is a knock off of the Dual Star type stand. I got it a few years ago and it was one of the last three sold by Cycle-Analyst in IL.??? I bought three from him so I got a pretty good deal at the time. I've heard my centerstand bouncing around on rough terrain but it doesn't happen enough to bother me or make me want to do something about it. I do lube the pivot bushings every once in a while and also put a dab of grease on the rubber bumper in the center of it as that rubs on the dog bone part of the rear suspension. I've heard stories of guys ripping off a centerstand and also the footpegs by hitting a rock at some speed. Repairs can be welding the footpeg on to retapping the bolt holes for larger bolts. I've replaced the bolts for my footpegs with one size larger. And now they stay tight and I don't wonder if a footpeg will fall off. Many folks don't do anything special with the mounting bolts and never have a problem. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT

My wife and I each have center stands and her's is lowered 3 inches and mine is lowered 2 inches. We aren't as gnarly riders as we once were on our offroad dirt bikes. Yes on some terrain we will hear and feel the clunk of the centerstand bottoming out but not often and we haven't had to do any repair work on the center stand. Alot just depends on how extreme you are going to get offroad. We've ridden 14,000 miles in 6 foreign countries in the last 10 months (4 months worth of riding) and I'm glad I had the center stand. It made maintenance much easier.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "b.gray" wrote: > > I am thinking about putting on a center stand to make it a bit more > stable when working on my 05--I remember a while back seeing some > negative posts about the stand dropping down on rough trails etc., any > one have experience with these either way? Also any brand preferred > over another? > Blaine >

Blaine-- I've never used one on the KLR and never missed it--you quickly get used to looking in the ditch for a scrap of wood to prop the wheel up etc. The two big drawbacks are the weight, ground clearance, and potentially greater risk of shearing the footpeg bolts (oops, that's three). I say if the first two don't deter you, don't sweat the third. Even without a center stand, I tore off both my footpegs in rocks, and I know 100% certain that the second one was good and tight when it tore off--it was later the same day, and I'd checked it after wrecking the first one! Tons of other folks ride with stands with no problems. Point being, when it's your (footpeg's) time to go, it's time. Luke --- "b.gray" wrote:

> I am thinking about putting on a center stand to > make it a bit more > stable when working on my 05--I remember a while > back seeing some > negative posts about the stand dropping down on > rough trails etc., any > one have experience with these either way? Also any > brand preferred > over another? > Blaine > >

Brooklyn NY 92 CB750 nighthawk--naked simpleton 03 KLR650--fat girl with a dirty mind ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/

I had a studebaker? center stand. It was very nice for touring but it was a liability in bumpy and off road terrain so I took it off and sold it. Don't use a center stand off road. Use one if you tour on road or hard pack. A $70 Sears or Harbor Freight moto jack is "mo better" for working on the bike in the garage. The stnad/jack gets the KLR higher = easier to work on. For emergency work on the trail or road you can usually rustle something up. But if you do your maintenance at home emergency repairs are rather few and far between. For lubing the chain etc make a PVC or stick prop rod. Much lighter, cheaper and easier. Center stands are nice on the road, but they are expensive, decrease the KLRs clearance and will shear the foot peg bolts if the center stand drags or is bottomed out. JF

On 6/5/07, b.gray wrote: > > I am thinking about putting on a center stand to make it a bit more > stable when working on my 05--I remember a while back seeing some > negative posts about the stand dropping down on rough trails etc., any > one have experience with these either way? Also any brand preferred > over another? > Blaine > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I, too, use a milkcrate for short-term jobs in the garage, but be aware that a KLR will crush a regular milkcrate if left up there too long. A bike with RL1 links will sit nicely on one, both wheel touching the ground but balanced. A 2x4 on the rear of the crate raises the back, a 2x4 up front raises the front. Luke (perhaps stating the obvious, or perhaps saving someone a nasy discovery the next morning) --- Kyle wrote:

> > I use a milk crate. It also serves has a rear trunk > to carry spare > oil, tools, camping gear, beer, etc etc. If you get > a flat, utilize > the milk crate has a center stand. I believe a > lowered KLR can use a > regular milk crate (bike stand/wheel crate) but I > got a milk crate > made from UFO that`s a little taller than the > regular ones and it > lifts both wheels off the ground. I find it really > super > handy........and cheap. My 2 cents worth. Kyle > >

Brooklyn NY 92 CB750 nighthawk--naked simpleton 03 KLR650--fat girl with a dirty mind ____________________________________________________________________________________ It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/

I had one from klr650.com and sent it back. After getting it mounted it looked like a liability in rocky ground and even more so if you ride hard enough to bottom now and then. Other than that I think mine had a built quality issue since it wouldn't raise the back tire off the ground. The parts must have wiggled around in the jig when it was welded up. It was nice to stand the bike up straight anytime you wanted but there were just too many negatives for me to stick with it. Steve

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "b.gray" wrote: > > I am thinking about putting on a center stand to make it a bit more > stable when working on my 05--I remember a while back seeing some > negative posts about the stand dropping down on rough trails etc., any > one have experience with these either way? Also any brand preferred > over another? > Blaine >

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "ssridesred" wrote:

> hard enough to bottom now and then. Other than that I think mine had a > built quality issue since it wouldn't raise the back tire off the > ground.

No, you just had a taller rear tire than it was designed for. It was designed for the OEM-sized rear tire, which has a fairly short and squat profile /70 profile. You had an inch-denominated rear tire like a Kenda 270, which has a tall /90 profile. Those of us with a short /70 profile tire have a hard time getting our bikes up onto a centerstand made for a bike with a tall /90 profile tire, and as you discovered, a stand made for a bike with a short /70 profile tire won't get a tall /90 profile tire off the ground. Yet another reason why I took the centerstand off my bike. Not to mention that it was utterly useless on anything but hard pavement. I remember stopping at the end of a dirt road, about to go onto pavement for the long ride home, and trying to put the bike up on the centerstand to WD-40 the chain to get all the dirt off. It just sank like a rock. I ended up kicking one of my Givi bags under the skidplate to get the bike off the ground. A milk crate bungeed to the rear luggage rack could serve the same purpose . -E