commute

[KarateChick]

I plan on riding my bike to work tommorrow morning (if its not snowing like Sunday.)

Wow Pete - , you're STILL getting SNOW?? (Guess I shouldn't question that since we had that ice storm that messed up most of the city in July two years past)

[camthepyro]

Silly canadians with your silly snow and silly metric system.

[Kal]

I only had a centre stand on the CG but I never really had a problem with the soft stuff. The prongs would sink in up to the point the wheels took some weight and then she was goldern.

Of course getting her out again required a little more effort than on the hard stuff but not a problem.

As mentioned squash a can, beer at rallies - soft drinks if in public, and put it under the stand before you drop the bikes weight on it. Should go a long way to keeping the bike upright if you are using the side stand!

[KarateChick]

Silly canadians with your silly snow and silly metric system.

You can count on it being cool tho...

[camthepyro]

I can't get my bike on the center stand by myself, is that because I'm doing it wrong, or just because I'm a little weakling?

[dieziege]

Does the stand have a sort of arm sticking back with a wide end on it you can put your foot on when the stand is rocked down? Some do some don't... though both of my bikes do.

Swing the stand down so it is touching the ground and step straight down on that arm. If I do that, putting most of my weight on the little arm, it takes just a light tug to get the bike back onto the stand. Leverage. I can almost (but not quite) do it while stradling my little ninja.

If I can do that on my 573-empty-weight Yamaha, I'd bet you can do it on yours.

[Kal]

It's probably your technique. At the start of my CBT I was trying to muscle the bikes on and off their centrestands, I was very emabrressed about that because the (UK) size 8 female instructor was having no trouble with the 500's the school was running.

I'll try to describe it.

If you are on the left side of the bike like me then lefhand is on the handlbars to keep her steady. Right foot is on the Centrestand so it is tounching the ground. Right hand either on a handle (where fitted) towards the rear of the bike or the bodywork above the middle of the rear wheel.

In one movement push firmly down with the right foot and lift with right hand. Bike pivots over the stand and moves backwards locking the stand into place. It should look and feel relatively effortless but I've probably explained it badly.

[camthepyro]

Ok, thanks for the advice Dieziege and Kal, I'll try those techniques tomorrow. I think I was just try to push the stand down, while trying to lift the bike up, and move it back.

[snwbrdr]

cam, yeah, that didnt exactly come out like i wanted it to. i was suggesting something similar to Kal's idea. sink the center stand till the wheels touch and itll stand up, unlike with the side stand which will continue to sink and then fall over.

[-Holiday]

I can't get my bike on the center stand by myself, is that because I'm doing it wrong, or just because I'm a little weakling?

i think nighthawks might have an inherent bad design in thier center stands. My 84 was really difficult to get on as well, and I dont think its an issue with strength.