center stand 08 R1200RT

[Tlaw1994]

08 R1200RT

This may be an obvious answer, but i wanted to get people's thoughts on taking the bike off the center stand, aside from straddling it. My method is to have the side stand down and the wheel slightly turned to the left. I will stand on the left side with my hands on the grips and on the front brake lever in case of too much roll after the center stand is up. The rational is as I push the bike forward the center stand will retrack, and the bike will lean slightly to the left (front wheel turned slightly left). Then i can rest the bike on the side stand.

Recently I have been wondering is this the right approach. Is having the front wheel turned slightly to the left as i push the bike forward actually causing the bike to lean right when it is off the center stand, countersteering? Should the wheel point straight or slightly to the right? Do you use the front brake at all?

Can people share their method of taking the center stand off and the reasons for it?

thanks

 

[dbrick]

I straddle it and push it off the stand.

When you're standing on one side of the bike, it's very difficult to rescue a bike that's falling away from you. If it's not straddled, I'd do everything I could to avoid it wanting to fall to the right. I think turning the bars left would encourage a right fall: if the bike comes off the stand and its front contact patch moves left at all, the bike's mass will react by moving right, and starting to fall to the right side. Thus, if I were standing next to the bike, I'd have the front wheel very slightly turned right, or straight. I'd rather have it begin to lean towards me than to risk it leaning away.

Still, I'm reluctant to take the bike off the center stand with the side stand extended. Because the bike's suspension compresses a bit when it comes off the centerstand, there's a bit less "leaning" clearance before the side stand foot hits the ground. If it does hit, it may push the bike to the right, again away from you.

 

[racer7]

Straddle the bike- way less chance of a zero speed drop which you'll have sooner or later with an off bike method. Especially if you do it with a bike with fully loaded top case or camping gear packed in the back.

Get the sidestand up- you'll bounce off it otherwise which might damage it.

 

[cwsenn]

I take my RT off the centerstand on a regular basis without straddling the bike. I place my left hand on the left hand grip and the other on the bar/framing surrounding the seat and I find it pretty easy to control. I do not angle the steering at all. Try it for yourself and like all things it becomes easier with practice, but I also recommend that you do what you are comfortable with.

 

[pch123]

I take my RT off the centerstand on a regular basis without straddling the bike. I place my left hand on the left hand grip and the other on the bar/framing surrounding the seat and I find it pretty easy to control. I do not angle the steering at all. Try it for yourself and like all things it becomes easier with practice, but I also recommend that you do what you are comfortable with.

+1
Never had a problem with being off the bike, front wheel straight, standing on the left side.
Regards
Paul

 

[cjack]

I use the left grip and the right grip squeezing the brake at the proper moment to stop the rolling...

 

[tinytrains]

I use the left grip and the right grip squeezing the brake at the proper moment to stop the rolling...

Bingo. Whenever I move any bike, my right hand is on the brake lever.

As for the centerstand, I have 30 inch inseam which makes it hard to safely swing my leg over the bike with the very high system cases. Even harder to get off the bike while holding it on one foot like I can my K75. So.... To get on, I always pop the bike off the centerstand while holding it, and put it on the sidestand. To dismount, I put the bike on the sidestand, get off, and then put it on the centerstand. I have never come close to dropping it this way.

 

[JamesInCA]

Wow, some of these methods sound terrifying to me, though as always do what works for you.

I tried once to take it off the center stand while straddling the seat. No way, no how. I don't have the legs to keep that stable.

I do left hand on the left grip, right hand on the convenient handle provided for the purpose. Side stand down, front wheel anywhere between straight and full lock to the left. Press the bike in a forward direction, rocking it off the stand. If the front wheel is turned to the left, any motion of the bike will be toward me.

And I don't just stand right next to it with my feet next to each other; a few years of MMA training taught me to stand with my feet apart, left foot forward, right foot back. That's a strong base to push against the bike as it leans toward me, and maximizes the use of skeletal stability and the strong muscles of the legs. Then gently down onto the side stand.

...I will stand on the left side with my hands on the grips and on the front brake lever in case of too much roll after the center stand is up....

This leaning over the bike forces you to stand with your feet very close to it, which is far less stable than standing just a half step or so back. Think of you and the bike as a sort of A-frame - the bike is leaning toward you, you're leaning toward the bike. The narrower your base, the weaker your pressure on the bike.

Leaning across to grab the right grip also means that you're relying on your back muscles to control the weight of the bike.

I suppose you might want that front brake if you're on an incline, but on a flat surface I think getting your right hand onto the brake requires too much compromise on managing the weight of the bike.

In lieu of the brake, you can put the bike in gear (which it should be if parked on an incline anyway). Grab the clutch lever to allow the bike to roll; release to stop.

Recently I have been wondering is this the right approach. Is having the front wheel turned slightly to the left as i push the bike forward actually causing the bike to lean right when it is off the center stand, countersteering?

It is most emphatically not countersteering. Countersteering is a function of gyroscopic forces that occur only when the wheels are spinning.

I think turning the bars left would encourage a right fall: if the bike comes off the stand and its front contact patch moves left at all, the bike's mass will react by moving right, and starting to fall to the right side.

Maybe I'm not envisioning this the same way, but I'm having a hard time getting why the bike would "react by moving right."

Thus, if I were standing next to the bike, I'd have the front wheel very slightly turned right, or straight. I'd rather have it begin to lean towards me than to risk it leaning away.

Straight is fine, but if you turn the front wheel to the right, and the bike rolls forward, it's going to be moving away from you - precisely what we want to avoid.

Still, I'm reluctant to take the bike off the center stand with the side stand extended. Because the bike's suspension compresses a bit when it comes off the centerstand, there's a bit less "leaning" clearance before the side stand foot hits the ground. If it does hit, it may push the bike to the right, again away from you.

I haven't found this to be problematic. It would be different doing this while straddling the bike, as it sounds like you do. If, however, you're standing to the side, supporting ~620 pounds of bike that has just rolled off the center stand, the last thing you want to do is pick up one foot to deploy the side stand. If you and the bike are stable, with the bike leaning slightly toward you, and both your feet on the ground, you won't be stable when you pick up that left foot.

There's plenty of clearance for the springs to compress a bit without the side stand hitting anything. And even if the side stand did "hit" a bit, it's not a spring-loaded lever that's going to flip said 620 pounds over to the right. Far, far safer to have the side stand down before you roll it off the center stand.

 

[billy walker]

I'll do it any way I feel like at a given point in time but here's another possibility:

Bike's on center stand and the center stand wants to keep sliding forward as you're pushing forward. Usually happens while on a lift but sometimes in other circumstances as well. You're holding onto the bars with both hands and you pull the bike towards your body in order to leverage the bike down off the underside of the center stand that you put your foot on when putting it up on the center stand. In effect, the foot extension that hangs off the center stand. At a certain point that will force the bike off the stand but you do need to be prepared for the weight of the bike at that point. Very fun to do on lift's that are approximately 6 inches off the floor. But it works like a charm.

I guess there is one way that I never use. Maybe 2 way's. I do not hold the left bar with my hand while holding the lift handle with my right hand. IMO that's how you center stand the bike; that is not really the safest way to get it off the stand. The other way is I never extend the side stand while getting off the center stand. As a previous post stated that is an excellent way for the bike to get thrown to the right should the side stand hit the ground hard enough once coming down off the center stand. Of course, YMMV.

 

[rjzinc]

R1200GS - typically I will turn the front wheel slightly to the right while taking the bike off the center stand. This will encourage the moto to lean slightly to the left as it comes off the stand allowing better control of the weight of the bike. Both hands on the handle bar with the right covering the break or sometimes the right on the back seat frame area.

 

[dbrick]

Straight is fine, but if you turn the front wheel to the right, and the bike rolls forward, it's going to be moving away from you - precisely what we want to avoid.

We can disagree on this. From my POV, if the bike moves away from you, it's a very small distance - your hand is on the front brake, right? If it tips away from you, OTOH, it's a very big problem. I find the increased distance unnoticeable, and prefer it to watching the bike fall on its right side.

 

[JayElDee]

as long as you don't drop it, you did it right.
I personally straddle with the sidestand up because of the mentioned fear of losing control of its balance. If the bike is loaded, or I have more of my weight on the seat, with the sidestand down, I find it sometimes bangs the ground. That can't be good for it, or its stability or attachment, so I raise it before swinging off the centerstand.
31-32 inseam

 

[billy walker]

............ If, however, you're standing to the side, supporting ~620 pounds of bike that has just rolled off the center stand, the last thing you want to do is pick up one foot to deploy the side stand. If you and the bike are stable, with the bike leaning slightly toward you, and both your feet on the ground, you won't be stable when you pick up that left foot.

Actually that is how I do it every single time with a Gold Wing project in the shop. And a Gold Wing is well, well beyond 620 lbs. The Gold Wing (this particular one) also happens to be a bike where the center stand tends to slide forward when on the lift and you're trying to take it off the center stand. I will literally hold the bars with both hands and then lean the bike to the left to force it to bottom the foot pedal on the center stand itself. This action "forces" the bike off the center stand although you do need to be prepared for the weight. You don't want to go too crazy when leaning it to the left. Especially when the lift is already maybe 6" or so higher than the floor. Maybe 'cause I'm used to doing this but I single foot any motorcycle in order to side stand it once off the center stand. I'm 59 years old and stand 6'1" and no stronger than others.

There's plenty of clearance for the springs to compress a bit without the side stand hitting anything. And even if the side stand did "hit" a bit, it's not a spring-loaded lever that's going to flip said 620 pounds over to the right. Far, far safer to have the side stand down before you roll it off the center stand.

This may be true for your particular bike but it can be exceptionally location and model dependent. The last thing anyone wants to have happen is for the bike to make a sudden move to the right. Having the side stand down while taking a motorcycle off the center stand can be problematic and I would not encourage anyone to do it this way. Some of your points are valid but there are scenarios where a side stand down will potentially cause you to drop the bike to the right. My method of forcing a bike off the center stand is risky as well. You may not want to try this at home folks.

 

[rjzinc]

This demo of an RT center stand is cool. The demo you will notice he does both ways, both hands on grips and then right hand on rear of moto.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqaWUjGX2A4 The is an ad at the beginning but you can click to avoid.

 

[cjack]

I have also greatly simplified this issue by leaving my bikes on the side stand (in gear) for over 40 years and use the center stand for maintenance

 

[mpmarty]

Much ado about little or nothing:

I use the center stand frequently so I take it off the center stand a bit.

1. Make sure bike is in 1st gear.
2. Wheel straight ahead
3. Grip left handlebar and left rear seat rail
4. Side stand extended
5. Rock bike backwards then forwards as it bounces off center stand and lean towards self onto side stand.

 

[billy walker]

This demo of an RT center stand is cool. The demo you will notice he does both ways, both hands on grips and then right hand on rear of moto.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqaWUjGX2A4 The is an ad at the beginning but you can click to avoid.

I don't know what your commercial was but mine had Beyonce` in it so I decided to watch the whole commercial!

I actually took the time to watch his 25 minute K1200LT self-described rant. Leaving his language out of the equation I couldn't help but chuckle how BMW turns you into an angry person if you have to deal with them on a daily basis. It doesn't take more than a few months in a busy service department and you no longer touch the KoolAide container. His review of the LT was incredibly accurate and his comments directed at NA hit the nail on the head. I do wonder where their engineers go to school because BMW does do some of the oddest things I have ever seen in the world of motorcycles and then they let you know how incredibly sophisticated the machines are. I guess that's what makes the world go 'round.

 

[themayer]

R1200GS - typically I will turn the front wheel slightly to the right while taking the bike off the center stand. This will encourage the moto to lean slightly to the left as it comes off the stand allowing better control of the weight of the bike. Both hands on the handle bar with the right covering the break or sometimes the right on the back seat frame area.

This is how the owner of a local BMW shop advocated taking my RT off the center stand. With the front wheel turned to the right, the bike will roll slightly right, causing it to lean slightly left if it does lean, where it can be more easily controlled. That being said, with my 29" inseam I find it safer to get on the bike and roll it straight ahead.

 

[billy walker]

.......... That being said, with my 29" inseam I find it safer to get on the bike and roll it straight ahead.

And, you know what? That works!!

 

[jeffkyle]

Wow... pretty interesting the different views.... Would not think there would be that many different opinions on such a simple process...

What kind of oil do you use ?

Sorry couldn't resist.....