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learned a lesson

4

40427

New member
I think i may have out engineered the German engineers who designed this motorcycle, (or at least tried to .)

1985 R80, old rider, short inseam ( 28") decided the mono shock was tired and should be replaced.
Wanted a softer ride and a bit closer to the ground for my old man stubby legs.

Checked around and talked to all the shock guru's i could find. Ordered a YSS shock from EPM , 20mm shorter than OEM length , and a spring rate more closely made to my weight.
Nice folks who could do the job at a reasonable price.

What i accomplished was a slightly shorter shock, feet not much closer to the ground ?
possibly a bit more adjustment for a softer ride ( maybe).
I am currently experimenting with pre-load and re- bound adjustments.

The other thing i accomplished was a PITA when I want to use the center stand.

Lesson learned; do not try to out engineer the folks who have designed an almost perfect motorcycle. ARRGH !!
 
Calls to mind a saying of a friend of mind. "If it ain't broke, we can fix that!"




40427 said:
I think i may have out engineered the German engineers who designed this motorcycle, (or at least tried to .)

1985 R80, old rider, short inseam ( 28") decided the mono shock was tired and should be replaced.
Wanted a softer ride and a bit closer to the ground for my old man stubby legs.

Checked around and talked to all the shock guru's i could find. Ordered a YSS shock from EPM , 20mm shorter than OEM length , and a spring rate more closely made to my weight.
Nice folks who could do the job at a reasonable price.

What i accomplished was a slightly shorter shock, feet not much closer to the ground ?
possibly a bit more adjustment for a softer ride ( maybe).
I am currently experimenting with pre-load and re- bound adjustments.

Calls to mind a saying from a friend. "If it ain't broke, we can fix that!"
The other thing i accomplished was a PITA when I want to use the center stand.

Lesson learned; do not try to out engineer the folks who have designed an almost perfect motorcycle. ARRGH !!
Click to expand...
 
Spent a little time adjusting and went for a 200 mile ride in the mountains.

The new shock is far superior to the old OEM one.
The ride is really nice over rough roads and in the twisties. :thumb
$$ well spent IMHO.:thumb

Yes it is a little harder to use the center stand now, but my feet are a bit closer to the ground and at my age stability is more important than in the past.:)
 
TRY This:)

Buy yourself a RideOFF CS and solve your CS issue. They are still easy to find, used all about the marketplace. I added one to my R100/7, love it. It also makes your bike MUCH more stable on CS, as the tires are still touching ground. IF you ever need to remove a tire, you simply add small blocks of wood under the RideOFF stand, each side. :thumbRandy
 
I have heard about the" Ride Off Stand" over the years but have no experience with one.
Is it a lowered type of center stand ?

If so, it may be the solution to my problem.
 
Randy may have just started a firestorm on centerstands... :hide Been plenty of discussion about ride off stands, pros and cons. Search the forum for Reynolds...they were the manufacturers of the stands in the '80s.

But yes, the Reynolds is shorter and allows both wheels to touch the ground. But you could also take the stock stand and figure out how much too high it is and have a good welder cut it, shorten it, insert plugs and reweld it.
 
On the '81-'84 versions at least, the major thing a ride-off stand will accomplish is to bend the frame tabs. Heck, theory has it should shouldn't even take the bike off the OE centerstand while sitting on it.
 
I always sit on the bike on the center stand and just rock it forward, always concerned i might drop it if i try it standing at the side.

Did not know sitting on it the way I always have was a problem ??
 
I think if you're on the seat but put a foot down to push forward and get the bike off the CS, I don't think you're really putting that much weight on the CS and the tabs. If you just sit on the seat with feet on the pegs and throw your weight forward onto the bars, that probably isn't good.

I've never found it too much of a concern to stand next to the bike, left hand on the grip and right hand on the loop just aft and below the tank. Brace yourself and pull up and forward on the loop and she rolls forward. All that's critical is getting ready to reach over and grab the right grip and some brake. It's really not that difficult. It can be more of an issue if you're poing it downhill or something. In the end, you have two firm holds on the bike...it shouldn't go anywhere.
 
I've never found it too much of a concern to stand next to the bike, left hand on the grip and right hand on the loop just aft and below the tank.
Click to expand...

Due to an old ankle injury, I'm a bit paranoid about the stand-at-the-side technique .... that's why I put the side stand down when I'm ready to dismount. It's cheap insurance in case the ankle feels like the bike might get away from me while I using the stand-at-the-side method.

Brown's side stand; wouldn't work too well with the OEM.
 
Lmo1131 said:
Due to an old ankle injury, I'm a bit paranoid about the stand-at-the-side technique .... that's why I put the side stand down when I'm ready to dismount.
Click to expand...

Lew -

So it sounds like you don't use the centerstand at all? I was describing how to get the bike off the centerstand...I have a Reynolds but I use my method for getting the bike off the stand. When I finish a ride, I do like you do to deploy the sidestand, then step off the bike.
 
Geometry

If you look at the geometry of the rear mono, it isn't straight up and down. 20mm will only get you about 10mm closer to the ground (eyeball a 45 degree angle). SOH-CAH-TOA.

Glad it rides nice.
 
I took the bike off the center stand last night by standing on the side.

Worked out like Kurt said, right hand on the lift handle, push the front end down with the left hand on the bar and roll it forward.
Felt a little strange doing it that way , but I think it will be ok after i do it a few times.
 
Something I really don't like about the ride-offs, is I have at times found the bike starting to move by itself when put up on it. Granted, because of ground angles, but still!
Better to get a Farley side stand, and use that for routine parking, escaping the horror of unwanted self retraction. A puff or three of smoke from left cylinder, oh well!
Use stock centerstand for necessary maintenance only.
 
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