Morrissey
Well-known member
28 years of riding and I've never bought a motorcycle that didn't have a centre stand, even when they were shaft driven bikes. Centre stand is very useful.
Cool little tool?
- Thread starter Jampy00
- Start date
Centrestands are great for street and touring bikes, but they're a liability for competition sportbikes and off-road motorcycles. They decrease ground clearance and unless they can be ziptied or secured to the frame, they may inadvertently deploy on rougher terrain and jumps or drops.
You've probably seen racebikes and dirtbikes leaned up against the pit wall or a tree. These bikes don't even have side stands because of the reasons above, relying on paddock or trail stands if they're not moving.
My old GS500 touched down on one of tangs of the centrestand as the first point of contact with the ground when leaned over, not the footpeg. And my enduro bike has a little rubber loop on the frame that can be used to secure the sidestand in the up position so it doesn't bounce down on large hits.
Reason why I got the DesertX Rally was increased ground clearance. Scraped the hell out of my sidestand on my GS on a downhill boulder run. Last thing I want to do is decrease ground clearance on the new bike by installing a centrestand.
It's a lot smaller than I thought it was when I first saw the picture. I pictured something more like the rollers on bike trainers and therefore imagined it was for use in a garage.
Even as small as it actually is, is someone ever going to pack that thing on a trip for wheel cleaning or chain lubing when they could just push the bike forward?
The emergency stands thing are more packable but more importantly, can do things you might really need on a trip - like wheel or tire removal.
It could be used for that, I guess. And in my case, it would be much needed...
However, in this instance, it's protecting my rackless panniers, which drape over the rear seat and hang low enough to contact the exhaust, especially on rough terrain, where there is a lot of bouncing going on.
A lot of the manufacturers include a heat shield to protect the bags from being burnt or melted:
View attachment 73698
The silicone guard I've put on is heat resistant and accomplishes the same thing while looking kinda bling as well...
Thank you.
Also, ah, soft bag people things. Y'all really are living life wild.
Sincerely,
Hard bag people.
Never thought of myself as either one or the other.
I swing both ways...
Did a dirt trip last summer with my hard cases. Got into some gnarly stuff, ran out of talent and tried to save the bike by dabbing the ground. Ended up almost tearing my MCL in the process because my leg got trapped under the pannier while moving.
Very painful.
Would not recommend.
Now if there's even a remote chance that I'll be off pavement, the soft bags go on and I wear nothing less than full-on MX boots.
Learnt my lesson the hard (pun intended) way!
