Topic: How easy is your bike to put onto center stand

[Scott]

I have a 1975 rickman using engine etc (center stand) from a 1971 CB750.
The bike is new to me and it is quite hard to put onto center stand.
Anyone know if the stands changed at all from 1971 to 1975.(might look for a later model stand)
The bike has new rear shocks and tyres pumped up and it is still a barstard to put onto stand
Thanks for any thoughts
Scott

[Scott S]

 If it's been lowered at all, it can be a #$%*.

 Try putting a board under the centerstand for a little more leverage.

[cookindaddy]

There is of course a technique to this which makes it easier. Perhaps you know to first rock the bike slightly with your foot on the stand lever to feel that both feet of the stand are on the ground. With a firm grip on the back grab rail you then step hard on the stand lever while lifting the rail and the bike rocks up onto the stand fairly easily. Without both stand feet on the ground it is almost impossible to get the bike onto the stand.

[76CB5WI]

My fj1200 goes up easier than this K2 750..Im six four and 280 and its still a grunt to get the 750 up on
the stand....theyre just that way.

[Trav-i]

My 78 F3 is actually pretty easy to put on the center stand, once I figured out the technique.  And that is coming from someone who is 5'7" and 130 pounds.  Check out youtube there are some good videos on center stand technique.

[wixil]

Technique is everything.  I struggled for quite a while with my getting my K6 on the centerstand, but after I watched a few youtube videos on the subject (mostly big BMWs) I got it the first try.   It's like cookindaddy says.  I rock the bike back with my left hand on the bars, push down hard with my right leg with the foot on the stand (making sure both feet of the stand are touching the ground) and pulling up with my right hand on the grab bar behind the seat.  It's kind of like when you were a kid trying to figure out the patting your head while rubbing your stomach thing. 

[tlbranth]

If it's been lowered at all, it can be a #$%*.

 Try putting a board under the centerstand for a little more leverage.

That would make it worse.
The leverage on my 750 isn't too good. It's a bit of a strain. I remember once on a trip in 1973 or 4, I pulled a back muscle really bad trying to get the thing on the center stand. Now I don't have the grab bar either. My Goldwing is a snap to do - much better leverage.

[Coyote13]

Easy.  Left hand in the center of the handlebars, right hand on the left peg, right foot on the center stand.  Upsy-daisy!

[Frankenkit]

My 350 is super easy.  The 650's been lowered, so I back it up on a couple boards to raise it, then centerstand it. Still a heavy pig, but manageable that way.

[excellrec]

I only use the center stand on mine since the taller tires cause the side stand to lean it over too much for my comfort. With that said I can throw it on the center stand with one hand and my foot putting in about as much effort as it takes to open a car door.

[bollingball]

+1 tlbranth Put the board under the rear tire not the center stand. You should not need it unless something has been modded.

[jneuf]

I struggled for awhile until I figured out the proper technique...I was attempting to pull the bike back onto the centre stand, as opposed to really pushing down on it and lifting with your right hand. Now that I figured that out, it's super easy....on my cb550 and cb400f anyways...my cb750 doesn't have a centre stand, so I haven't tried a heavier bike like that yet.

[DJ_AX]

Yeah it's technique.
Like lifting something heavy... focus more on pushing with your leg muscles.
I hold the grab rail directly above (plumb) where the center stand first touches the ground to get the best leverage. No rolling or rocking. Just line everything up and press.  Works for me!

(to add: My avatar is before putting stock length shocks on and lowering just a smidgen...
on the center stand now my rear wheel is at least a few of inches off the ground.)

[burmashave]

For me, it is technique. I got rid of the side stand on my '77 750k, and after using the center stand exclusively for more than a season, I can put it up without much effort at all.

[Scott S]

+1 tlbranth Put the board under the rear tire not the center stand. You should not need it unless something has been modded.

 Yes, that is what I meant to say.

[Scott]

Thanks heaps for the replys
I'll work on technique before I go looking for a different stand.
The bike is a bare frame at the moment (pulled it down on the weekend)
But it means I can clean and paint my existing stand rather than look for a new one.
Scott

[gnarlycharlie4u]

after getting a lowered GL1000 with 2 flat tires on the centerstand solo, putting these cb750's is a snap (i'm 150lbs.)

if it's hard then try putting the back wheel on a raised surface like a 2x4

edit: whelp it's been said already^^ but yea it's a good technique.

[c(b)hris]

mine is extremely difficult.  i attribute it to the center stand being in a box somewhere in the garage.

[gnarlycharlie4u]

mine is extremely difficult.  i attribute it to the center stand being in a box somewhere in the garage.

hey for a while my center stand WAS a box in the garage.

[davesee]

i used to get someone to help me until i saw this video. i did what this guy did and i laughed at how easy it was.

Centerstanding a Goldwing, rear

[jneuf]

i used to get someone to help me until i saw this video. i did what this guy did and i laughed at how easy it was.

Centerstanding a Goldwing, rear

Ha! That's the same one I watched to help me!

[Gordon]

If you have near-stock equivalent metric size tires it will be more difficult to get on the center stand.  The standard tires these bikes were designed to use have taller sidewalls which hold the bike about an inch higher off the ground.  I was amazed at how much easier it was to get my K1 on the center stand when I put on my first standard size tire. 

[scottly]

My Seeley, with a K1 center stand, is also a pain. I suspect these frames may mount the motor and stand pivot lower??

[neverendingproject]

This thread is great! I had never gotten my CB500 or CB550 on the center stand alone without parking the rear wheel on blocks of wood until I saw this. Just went out there to nervously try it and it worked even with a flat front tire    It's now even easier and safer than it was when I was using 3" of boards under the rear tire. Thanks guys!

[dodieninja]

its super easy once you figure out the way to do it. i figured out how to on my friends bmw, and since then its been easy. except for when i got my bike in the shed, i left no room on that side so it was kinda hard.

[Cuts Crooked]

I've got a bad hip and I found it nearly impossible to get my 78K up on it's center stand. Until I discovered the trick of running the front tire up on a short piece of 2 X 4, then it becomes easy to pull it back onto the stand. Just remember to kick the 2 X 4 out from under the tire once it's up there.

[OldSchool_IsCool]

You could always build one of these.  Not easy to take with you, but easy 'nuf to keep in a handy spot in the garage.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=74140.0

[Retro Rocket]

Centre stands are for pussies    {runs away and hides}...

[scottly]

Hey, the only time my bike is on the center stand is when I have to remove a wheel; the rest of the time the stand hangs on a peg on the wall.

[c(b)hris]

I wish I had room for mine...sure would make a lot of stuff easier.  Aftermarket 4-1 that it came with won't allow that

[Really?]

I have thrown my back out getting her on the centerstand.  So, I get help now.

[gnarlycharlie4u]

i used to get someone to help me until i saw this video. i did what this guy did and i laughed at how easy it was.

Centerstanding a Goldwing, rear

first of all that's cheating, he's on a hill. also he weighs a good bit more than me it appears.

[c(b)hris]

This is the one I what taught me:
How to put a Goldwing on its center stand

[davesee]

i used to get someone to help me until i saw this video. i did what this guy did and i laughed at how easy it was.

Centerstanding a Goldwing, rear

first of all that's cheating, he's on a hill. also he weighs a good bit more than me it appears.

i'm not sure about the hill, but he's putting an old goldwing up, so that's not really cheating. i'm not much more than 5'9" and around 160 pounds. i really really struggled to try and get it on the stand for months, and had to have someone come over and get it on the stand so i could do some work. i watched this video (there is also the same video shot from the side), and it really made it easy. the way he steps on the stand, then turns and leans back.

i'm not saying your bike isn't hard or impossible to put on the center stand, i'm just saying that mine was hard and impossible, and now it's not. at least after this thread i don't feel like i was alone.

good luck.

[davesee]

side view   


Centerstanding a Goldwing, left side

[gnarlycharlie4u]

i used to get someone to help me until i saw this video. i did what this guy did and i laughed at how easy it was.

Centerstanding a Goldwing, rear

first of all that's cheating, he's on a hill. also he weighs a good bit more than me it appears.

i'm not sure about the hill, but he's putting an old goldwing up, so that's not really cheating. i'm not much more than 5'9" and around 160 pounds. i really really struggled to try and get it on the stand for months, and had to have someone come over and get it on the stand so i could do some work. i watched this video (there is also the same video shot from the side), and it really made it easy. the way he steps on the stand, then turns and leans back.

i'm not saying your bike isn't hard or impossible to put on the center stand, i'm just saying that mine was hard and impossible, and now it's not. at least after this thread i don't feel like i was alone.

good luck.

Trust me that little bit of an incline makes ALL the difference.
He's also lifting with the rear grab bar. I don't have one of those.

On level ground I have to hop on the center stand with all my weight, and pull it back while lifting the bike by the frame.

On just a slight incline I can rock it back on to the center stand using just the bikes momentum and my weight on the center stand.

[Really?]

My 800lb Venture is easy.  The newer wings are basically the same.  It the initial wiggle that would freak someone out.  But momma's bike is flippin' heavy!

[Gordon]

I think it has more to do with the design of the center stand than anything else.  Many bikes bigger than the 750 are much easier to get on their center stands.  The '79 KZ1000 I had for a while was a cinch to get up. 

[Damfino]

I thought the newer Goldwings had a hydraulically? (or not) powered centerstand?