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New Owner, Problem with centerstand

rudyjo22

New member
I bought a 2013 G650GS a few days ago and am having trouble getting the bike onto the centerstand. It's been about five years since I last rode. The last bike I had was a 1992 K75RT. I had no problem lifting it, it did help that it had a lifting handle.
The bike was bought from a KTM dealer on consignment, and the only answers we can get from the last owner is that it is the way they bought it and don't know what might have been done to it in the past.
When the bike is on the centerstand, the rear tire is exactly three inches off the ground which seems rather high to me. I now wonder if the bike has been lowered while keeping the standard height centerstand.
I looked at the links on the bottom of the rear shock. They say BMW 7650036.

Would anyone know if that part number would be for a lowered bike or a standard height bike and if they are standard height links, would the rear wheel be three inches off the ground?
IT may well be that the bike is not the problem, but me, I am 68 now and am not what I was 5 years ago.

Thanks for any information you can give.
 
I don't think that number will tell much because it isn't a part number. But, if the tire is 3" off the ground to me that tells the tale. The centerstand is too tall for the suspension. Since extra tall centerstands are not generally available and shortened suspensions are, that tells me the bike has been lowered.
 
Welcome to the forum!
Is there a chance you can be put in contact with the previous owner? The PO should be able to answer the question of whether the bike had been lowered. Shortening the center stand is not a big deal if needed. I did it on my F800GS when I took 2” out of the suspension.
Gary
 
I don't think that number will tell much because it isn't a part number. But, if the tire is 3" off the ground to me that tells the tale. The centerstand is too tall for the suspension. Since extra tall centerstands are not generally available and shortened suspensions are, that tells me the bike has been lowered.

Thanks Paul, you were able to answer many questions I had with the K75RT, still wish I had never sold it.
If the bike has been lowered, what needs to be done to get it back to it's standard height? Is there a different size set of links that can be put in?
 
Welcome to the forum!
Is there a chance you can be put in contact with the previous owner? The PO should be able to answer the question of whether the bike had been lowered. Shortening the center stand is not a big deal if needed. I did it on my F800GS when I took 2” out of the suspension.
Gary

Gary.
As I mentioned, the previous owner bought the bike the way it is now and have no knowledge of what might had be done to it before they got it.
It doesn't really surprise me that Paul thinks it has been lowered, it was bought by a doctor who bought a new KTM bike every couple of years and he bought this 650GS for his wife. She decided she didn't want to ride it. They probably bought it because it fit her and they never used the centerstand. When he bought a new KTM a few weeks ago, the BMW was left to be sold on consignment.
When I bought the bike, it was on the side stand and after a test ride, I put it back on the sidestand. It wasn't until I got it home and tried to get it on the centerstand that I realized what a hard thing it was to do.
 
BTW Rudyjo, welcome to the forum.

Good luck with getting the centerstand issue sorted. You will get expert help here.
 
BTW Rudyjo, welcome to the forum.

Good luck with getting the centerstand issue sorted. You will get expert help here.

No doubt about getting help here, I looked here just about every day for about 6 years with my 92 K75RT.
I rejoined again after finding a BMW Owners News magazine at the doctors office, I even managed to get my old membership number back.
 
I checked with the local BMW dealer Saturday, was told the cost to put the standard height suspension back into it would be about $1500.
He also said the cheapest way to correct the centerstand problem would be to have a welder cut it down.
I later wondered why he didn't mention buying a shortened centerstand that I assume would be an option on a lowered suspension.

I looked on the internet for anyone who makes a shortened centerstand for the bike, I could only find one. Many of the people who offered an opinion of that stand mentioned that the rear wheel was 3 inches off the ground, same as I have now.
I measured my seat height, it is 31 1/2 inches.

If you ordered a low factory suspension in 2013, would it come with an optional lower centerstand? The dealer did not mention one being available, nor can I find anything about one even being made by BMW.
Is it a case of the factory lowered suspension did not come with a centerstand and you just used the sidestand?
If you wanted a centerstand, you bought the one from the standard suspension and put up with it being hard to use it?
 
In the 2010-2015 G650GS parts fiche at bottom of page is Equipment parts and Accessories.Sometimes optional equipment resides here


1 46 52 7 669 895 CENTER STAND 2.98 1 $223.31

This is the STANDARD height center stand.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

01 46 52 7 686 769 CENTER STAND 2.82 1 $223.31

This is the LOWERED height center stand.

I have our 07 on the centerstandfor a service and the wheel is maybe 1-1/2'' off ground. I know its and old habit, but other than a need to remove wheels, do you put it on the centerstand enough to want the change? Ours rarely gets used, but if you want it, there is an option.
 
Henzilla and Omega Man

Thanks for the information.
To answer the question about using the centerstand......yes it is a habit, any bike I've ever owned has been put on the centerstand even though I've read enough opinions about the sidestand being more stable in most conditions.

I had almost come to the conclusion that I wasn't going to pay $1500 to change the suspension back and just use the sidestand unless it was to do some service. I will gladly pay the $223 for the correct sized unit.
I'll check with the local BMW dealer tomorrow about ordering it.
I don't know how many times I've wished I had and knew how to use a welder. This is about the 50th time in my life I wish I had one.

Thanks again to both of you.
 
May be a good opportunity to get a small mig welder :) welding is around 70% fit/position, 20% patience and the rest practice.
It would be good to see the difference in the stands- height wise. When I was calculating how much to shorten mine, I rolled the bike up onto different thicknesses of wood and cut out that dimension.
Good luck.
Gary
 
I bought a shorter center stand for my low chassis f700gs and it takes a lot of effort to get it up on the stand. I also have a fjr1300 that is 650lbs and it takes no effort at all.

The stand came from Revzilla and was:

SW-MOTECH Lower Centerstand Factory Lowered BMW F650GS / F700GS
Item: P301006 SKU: 1023605
 
I bought a shorter center stand for my low chassis f700gs and it takes a lot of effort to get it up on the stand. I also have a fjr1300 that is 650lbs and it takes no effort at all.

The stand came from Revzilla and was:

SW-MOTECH Lower Centerstand Factory Lowered BMW F650GS / F700GS
Item: P301006 SKU: 1023605

Bruce
See reply # 8 above. The SW- Motech "Lowered Centerstand" is the only one I found on the internet, I don't know about a f700gs, but many people who bought this for a 650GS said the rear wheel was 3 inches off the floor, which is what I have now, it may even be a SW-Motech that someone put on the bike because it did not have one when it left the factory. If it leaves the wheel that far up, it is a struggle to get it up that far. rather than rolling up onto the stand, it seems like your lifting haft the weight of the bike.
 
Rudy perhaps you could flush out your location and there may be some members in your area with a 650 GS for comparison. Some of this may be overcome with a change in technique. I had a 650 x Challenge where the lift points were all in the wrong place for my undertall status. Ended up grabbing it by the engine protection bar and side stand and it would go up easily. My 650 GS does not go up easily and does not stay on the stand very firmly (factory stand - standard height) It would be good to get your bike around a comparable piece of equipment. BMW shops on the weekend are a good place to find them and so is the forum.

Wayne Koppa
Grayling,
#71,449

PS: It could be worse. The last time my friend tried to put his RT on the center stand it fell on him.
 
Run the last seven of your VIN in one of the online BMW vin decoders (example: https://www.mdecoder.com/). The code for a factory lowered G650GS is "X499A." This will appear at the bottom under "other equipment." Center stands (main stands) on these bikes were optional. Some machines came through with main stands. If it did, you'll see the code "X636A" at the bottom.

If you don't see the codes mentioned above, one of the previous owners lowered the bike with fastory parts or by other means such as sliding the fork tubes up a little in the triple tree and using Kouba links.

For the time being, if you want to avoid popping a hernia while doing maintenance on the bike at home, roll the 650's rear tire onto a piece of 1x6 wood (or something similar). This will greatly lower the effort required to put it up on the stand. Good luck.
 
Run the last seven of your VIN in one of the online BMW vin decoders (example: https://www.mdecoder.com/). The code for a factory lowered G650GS is "X499A." This will appear at the bottom under "other equipment." Center stands (main stands) on these bikes were optional. Some machines came through with main stands. If it did, you'll see the code "X636A" at the bottom.

If you don't see the codes mentioned above, one of the previous owners lowered the bike with fastory parts or by other means such as sliding the fork tubes up a little in the triple tree and using Kouba links.

For the time being, if you want to avoid popping a hernia while doing maintenance on the bike at home, roll the 650's rear tire onto a piece of 1x6 wood (or something similar). This will greatly lower the effort required to put it up on the stand. Good luck.

Thanks Ed.
I'll see what I can get off the VIN #
I have already had two hernia operations in the last 10 years, I would not like to go through another one.
The operations are not a big deal compared to getting into and out of bed and chairs, about the worst pain I have ever had was a few days after one of the operations and I sneezed. It felt like I was slugged by a baseball bat.
 
ED
I looked up the codes at mdecoder.com
It shows X499A
That is great to know, It's better to have it come from the factory this way than someone messing with it later.
It does not show X636A, the factory supplied centerstand, so someone added it later, most likely not a dealer who would have known to order the lowered stand.
I guess someone wanted a centerstand and just ordered one off the internet not knowing there were two sizes and picked the tall model. Maybe they got a hernia and decided to get rid of it.

As with the K75RT I had a number of years ago, you always get the nicest people here at the bmwmoa forums. Thanks to everyone who has given me information on this bike!
 
I have already had two hernia operations in the last 10 years, I would not like to go through another one.
The operations are not a big deal compared to getting into and out of bed and chairs, about the worst pain I have ever had was a few days after one of the operations and I sneezed. It felt like I was slugged by a baseball bat.

I joined that club on the way to the MOA Iowa Rally, brought to a need by picking my bro in laws bike up about the second time:banghead
It was prob ready to come on, but extra fun made it happen and change my Summer plans. Still like my bro in law...hernias not so much.

I tried twice the last two days to put our 650 on the centerstand, once without riding boots...both attempts harder than any other bike we have, including my R12GSA.
Some bikes just seem to have a bad pivot point. H looked at me this morning when I was lubing the chain prior to her rolling out and asked if I was OK after turning red lifting the bike with my sport sandles. I am so conscious of that hernia event I try to be careful.

At least you know it was a factory lowered model and most likely the regular stand and have a place to go.:thumb
 
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