• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

Don't like my K75 side stand

tullypilot

New member
When on the side stand the bike is leaning over further than I like. Is there an aftermarket stand I could buy or a modification I could make? When I take a long trip with my clothes and camping gear the bike is heavy and hard to put on the center stand and the further it leans the more weight is on the side stand
 
Some lean over a little too much. Some a lot too much. Usually a lot too much is caused by:

1. Worn sidestand pivot bolt or bushing, or the fork spread too wide.
2. A bent sidestand.
3. Ride height of the rear shock too high (tall).

With the bike on the center stand, put the sidestand down. Then grasp the bottom end and pull out/up and push down/in. If the bottom end of the stand moves more than about 1/2 inch the the fork is spread and or the bolt/bushing are worn. The parts can be replaced. The fork can be set back to parallel with a press.

Look at where the sidestand nestles into the rubber cushion by the muffler when it is retracted. If it nestles in to the rubber neatly it is OK. If it is out away from the inside of the rubber cushion against the outer (left) edge the sidestand is bent. Straighten or replace it.

Check the static sag at the rear of the bike.

As for other "fixes". A "fat foot" style extender can be added at the bottom of the stand. Several vendors sell them but they are usually too thin. There is room to drill two small holes for #8 or #10 bolts on two corners of the original flat at the bottom of the sidestand. Then an appropriate thickness can be bolted in place. Use flat head machine screws countersunk on the bottom side with the little nuts on the top side. I have a 1/2 inch thick piece of aluminum bar stock on the bottom of mine.
 
Had the same problem with my RT. Tried tightening the bolt with not change. Replaced the side stand bushing and lubed it up and tightened the bolt. Made a big difference. Longer stand may rub on muffler.
 
K75 Sidestands

Got a K75 that leaned over too much. Mostly from being (over) loaded too many years. It broke one day while I was standing beside the bike digging in the tankbag. Knocked me down a backwards and I think I did a back flip rolling out. First time I have been ejected from beside a bike. It broke right at the top of the round shaft at the weld to the pivot part of the side stand. Bought a new stand and bolt and round sleeve for the frame bracket. Did a little to fix the excessive lean but still had to add 1/2" to the bottom of the foot either then or soon thereafter. The frame bracket pivot hole is probably hogged out. Just came out of the shop after adding approximately 3/4" total (scrap manmade decking material) and saw this thread. I did see a Moto Guzzi recently that had a 2" high aluminum box added to the bottom of it"s stand.
Charlie
 
Guess I need to find a little league hockey puck. Mine is to big. Will try to make an extension out of steel. Bolt is tight. Stand does not look bent .
 
Guess I need to find a little league hockey puck. Mine is to big. Will try to make an extension out of steel. Bolt is tight. Stand does not look bent .

The tightness of the bolt has nothing to do with it. The bolt threads engage threads in the bottom half of the fork on the stand and is smooth where it enters a smooth hole at the top of the fork on the stand. Thus the bolt does not keep the fork from spreading. Making it tighter just makes the head of the bolt press tighter against the bottom of the fork without affecting the top of the fork.
 
Adding a hockey puck may not be the optimal repair. If the kickstand is bent or if it has corroded internally it may fail at an inopportune time. If the bushing is worn or the forks bent the problem could still remain.

To determine what the actual problem is, you may want to spend about 2 minutes and actually check for the problem
Below is an abridged version of how to check the stand
Put it on the center stand.
Lower the kickstand.
Lay on ground and look for deformity in the kickstand shaft.
Visually inspect the forks for spread.
Grasp the shaft of the kickstand and push and pull the kickstand in a direction that is perpendicular to the bike to determine deflection or play.
Push the Kickstand to the full up position. Is it resting on the rubber stop or splayed out towards the muffler?
This will allow YOU to determine if the forks are bent, the bushing is worn or the stand is bent.
Then you can replace the failed or failing part.

Please report back to us with the outcome of the test.
 
I removed the stand and found it slightly bent. I heated and straightened the stand and found a piece of pipe with inside diameter same as outside diameter of the stand. I cut it lengthwise and welded one half of it onto the stand as a splint to strengthen it. Found no wear to the bushing and the forks were tight. I welded 1/2 inch of steel onto the bottom.
 
I think the "bent" side stand was from the factory. I too took a torch to mine to straighten it out. Worked ok, but used the center stand most.
 
I thought the bend looked like it was made that way too. Works better now though with the stand straight and the 1/2 in plate on the foot. Thanks for the advice guys.
Steve
 
Are there more than one side-stand available for this bike??

My buddy brings his his K75s, an older girl, to me for some TLC. I love his bike and if he knew what my test drives are, he'd pull a gun (not Santa Monica like, very sad indeed).

His side stand is cold rolled steel and I did the same thing, straightened and welded a fishplate. I also filled it with lead just to make sure. I didn't add any extra length but gave it a bigger footprint, not much to interfere with anything.

After I did that, my other buddy brought his K75 to me for some TLC. His side stand was broken and it was cast steel. Not cast iron, cast steel. We looked up the part number, same model of bike, K75's but for each sub-model, a different part number?

They weigh the same or are close, what is the difference? Now I'm wondering what to recommend. If we go cast steel and we lose the bits to be welded, we're cooked. At least with the cold rolled I have something to fix. Oh yeah, both bikes got war wounds from laying on their sides from the bad, very bad, side stands.

Comments are appreciated. Seriously, BMW makes awesome wheels, two or four, but really, they ain't that smart.
 
Back
Top