Lean angle with side stand

[HALMC]

My new-to-me F650GS Dakar leans waaaaay over when on the side stand. I've examined the kick stand really closely and don't see any bending or other distortion, in fact, the little item against which the side stand rests when retracted lines up perfectly. That leads me to believe than the lean angle is designed in.

True of false?

[akbeemer]

True. There are aftermarket parts that attach to the bottom of the kick stand so as to lessen the lean and there are also homemade remedies. I've seen blocks of wood and elaborately fabricated aluminum blocks. I used two hockey pucks on my now departed Dakar and I still use one puck on my GSPD.

[calvin]

My 650 gs leaned to far over so I had Kildala in B.C. fabricate a fat foot with a thicker bottom plate. Only 3/4" for the GS.
It took about 10 twisties to grind the right bevel on the bottom before it was perfect! Bear in mind this was a fat foot and if you just raise the stock foot it probably will not affect cornering.
This was a great farkle.

[Rinty]

I've noticed that Harleys also have major lean angles, and I've wondered whether the manufacturers do this deliberately, so that owners can park them cross ways, uphill, and still have sufficient lean angle.

But those severe lean angles make me nervous, and if I had a bike with one, I'd be adding a foot pad to the stand.

[bmwgsrider]

A friend I use to have cut a puck for me the shape of the sidestand and sliced the thickness to it also at a slant. It worked out good for me as my bike leaned over a little to much to where I had a hard time lifting it due to my short legs. If you use a puck, it will need to be replaced every so often as it will crack over time. Currently, I need to add a puck again to my sidestand as the other one cracked. The only downfall is you need to be careful where you want to try and park your bike as you may not be able to get the sidestand down where you like to.

[HALMC]

Thanks for each of the several replies. How did each of you attach the additional pad to the existing pad on the side stand?

[calvin]

http://kiladala.myshopify.com/produc...dakar-fat-foot
Just ask Rick to add 1/2" to the fat foot.
Cal

[acejones]

Mine never fell over. The "extreme" lean angle does put the CG lower. why try to re-engineer it ?

[calvin]

"why try to re-engineer it ? "
I makes life much easier with less lean angle, especially when fully loaded.
Mine has fallen over many times on gravel roads but that has nothing to do with the side stand!

[sgborgstrom]

Re-engineered to compensate for load conditions not allowed for in original design brief is how I think of it.

I found that my Dakar, with fully loaded Jesse bags and the stock sidestand was really close to rolling all the way over to the left. A standard issue NHL hockey puck bolted through the original foot has worked for the last 20,000 miles to correct this.

[BACKROAD.ADV]

My new-to-me F650GS Dakar leans waaaaay over when on the side stand. I've examined the kick stand really closely and don't see any bending or other distortion, in fact, the little item against which the side stand rests when retracted lines up perfectly. That leads me to believe than the lean angle is designed in.

True of false?

The good news is the bike is less likely to fall over to the right. (A taller stand like a KLR650 on crowned roads, my buddies bike fell over on a trip to Alaska while taking pictures).

I too was concerned about the lean when I got mine and I use a circular piece of wood that goes under the stand and it has a light nylon rope on it so I can pick it up and place it into my tank bag. It works though not fancy.

backroad adv

[dbrick]

Mine never fell over. The "extreme" lean angle does put the CG lower. why try to re-engineer it ?

Sure the CG drops, but not very much. The problem is that as the CG moves left, the closer it gets to being above the side stand foot. The closer is gets, the less stable (to the left) the bike is. Because the CG is significantly above ground level, it can easily be above the side stand foot without appearing to be so. If it's close, and the ground is squishy, or you jostle the bike...

[157990]

I cut mine, put a section of steel rod inside and extended it by almost 4". Also welded on a larger "foot". I like it a LOT better than the standard...just my 2 cents.

[Kirbster919]

I'm no expert on these 650 Thumpers, but do they come in a low suspension as well as standard height version? If so... I'll bet they use the same sidestand for both. Those folks with tall suspension will notice the bike has to lean over farther than those with the short suspension.

[akbeemer]

The GS version uses different side and center stands on the lowered and standard version. Neither seems to have excessive lean. The Dakar has too much lean but was not made in a lowered version.