RE: Side stand swap - 4

This thread motivated me to take a picture of my RS and my Royal Enfield side-by-side on their side stands. If the RS leaned over as much at the RE, you would need a crane to get it vertical. Note the Royal Enfield's side stand. Apparently it was manufactured in someones garage and just bent in a vise. Depending upon where it was bent determines how far the bike leans over. And I got a real leaner.

I'll piggy back on this tread, but did the same as the OP. I purchased a used RS side stand from fleaBay and I cut it by 1" and rewelded the base, painted andvoila. Much better "lean" than original upright.
Instead of cutting the round tube in the middle and reweld, I grinded off the weld at the base (foot) of the stand. Cut an inch off and rewelded the foot part. This way I didnt compromise or added another weld dead center of the tube.

Rewelded foot with comparaison with RS original lenght stand.

Here are the results, the angle is much more pronounced than before, but not as bad as my K1200GT.

I really like how it stands now. I even have flexibility to add one of those side stand foot enlarger thingy mabob.

Speaking of side stands: I just saw a photo on another forum of a small Honda motorcycle that was being imported into Australia, which came with two side stands. One on each side of the bike. I guess that takes care of any side stand problems.

Zitat von Richard230 im Beitrag #50

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I guess that takes care of any side stand problems.

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I have just had my side-stand shortened by about 12mm. It is now what it should have been in the first place in my opinion.

I no longer have side-stand anxiety syndrome and feel safe to park anywhere I like. Result! Cost- £95 which seems about right to me. I wonder what it is about this particular model that made BMW assign such a near vertical side- stand to it. Perhaps they thought it was some sort of Ducati competitor or something!

Yes, I have heard this before but thought that it applied mostly to the older, air cooled models. It still does not explain why the RS has been singled out though.

All the other water-cooled boxer models have essentially the same engine but (I might be wrong here) I don't think any other models have this bad side-stand design. Even if there is still a little oil slipping past to the left-hand pot when on the side-stand, it would not, in my opinion, justify the expensive peril that the bike is in from a topple as a result of the stand. As I have related in another post, it is also incredibly inconvenient, meaning that it is impossible to park safely, or sometimes at all, on even the slightest camber. For instance in garage forecourts. I remember reports from owners of Ducatis from a few years ago who had literally thousands of pounds worth of damage to their bikes when they fell over. I believe that some of them were even insurance write-offs as a result. I don't think that they had centre-stands to fall back on (sorry) either!

Thankfully, I no longer have to worry about this!

did the same mod today. 10mm off length and its a very subtle difference. well pleased

I took an angle grinder to the stop so the stand goes slightly further forward this makes the bike lean at a more secure angle it only takes a minute and a dab of black paint.

I took note of Boxerfans feedback and the very useful pictures and filed it.
I bought a second hand sidestand from Motorworks at Holmfirth Yorkshire.
My Brother worked for Rolls Royce in Derby all his career before retiring, he mentioned an x colleague and friend, who has an amazing workshop and is an excellent engineer. We met up and he agreed to use the pictures and modus operandi to take 1cm off the second hand sidestand and repaint it. A few weeks later we picked it up. I was impressed, great welding and very smart.
I fitted it yesterday and am very pleased with the result. I can put it on the sidestand with out any fear of it falling. I know it may only be an annoyance but watching it wobble on the tunnel to France and constantly having to juggle it around on any surface or move it when it looked unsafe was bugging me.
It is definitely better, I maybe could of taken a few mm more off but it is hugely better.
So thank you to all who contributed to the sidestand threads and specifically to Boxerfan for the pictures and suggestions.
Really enjoying making my RS mine. A really brilliant bike, made even better .....for me 😁