[Donna]

Greetings Hive Brain

Your thoughts please.... I have put an footprint expander on the B’s kickstand, necessitated by the soft tarmac and dirt roads around here. My problem is the bike sits very vertical, so vertical I actually need a slight slope to park it safely.

I hope to ‘shorten’ the kick stand by an inch or so (or replace it with a shorter one). Has anyone done this? Is there a shorter stand I can buy? Is there a better option?

(I have read the post and note that a cut I the middle is not recommended...)

😊😊💋

Donna

 

[Gunnert]

Decide how much you want to shorten the side stand. Remove the side stand and take it to a good welder. Have him/here shorten and MIG weld the side stand. It'll take him about 30 minutes. Pickup a $5 can of Krylov and it'll be good as new.

Duane

 

[squibb]

Personally I have always used a side-stand 'puck' on soft ground, usually just cheap plastic. OK they can get stolen, but it's a rare event if the bike has the alarm set. They only add a couple of mm so avoid the issue described, they don't add weight that might lead to the stand flapping around on the bumps & they are not bike specific.

Is your bike sitting a tad low on it's haunches for some reason? I would be reluctant to go to the extreme of a cut & shut without getting a suspension checked/reset at the dealer.

 

[SmokinJoe]

@squibb I agree and personally would remove the footprint expander .
I keep a Harley Davidson puck in my tank bag
Drilled a hole and tie a string on it for easy retrieval.
They give them away at many bike rally's.

 

[Rick92040]

I would not cut the thing in the middle. If you like the lean angle of the stock kickstand measure the footprint expander to see how thick it is. Cut the foot off and shorten it by the thickness of the footprint expander and re-weld it on. Find a buddy who welds all the time. I'm sure someone you know can do it.

 

[Catcando2]

Which side stand enlarger did you install? I installed the Ilium version on my B and isn't more than 3mm thick.

 

[Mole999]

when you pull up and stop, adjust suspension for two up, and sport, that should lift it on the frame

 

[flyjets]

Lady D the Mole999 has a great point put the Bike in 2 up. Problem solved when parking no work required.

Ian

 

[Arizona Jim]

when you pull up and stop, adjust suspension for two up, and sport, that should lift it on the frame

I do the suspension adjustment thing when parking sometimes because I have the GARS lowering kit on my bike and it will sit more upright when parked using the side stand. It takes a few seconds to do but can be a band aid procedure until you get a welder to shorten the side stand. I would go with the recommendation of shortening the side stand by removing material at the end instead of in the middle.

As a side note when I bought my bike used it came with a clamp on foot enlarger that kept coming off no matter how I installed it or tightened the screws so I've left it off. I only mention this in case that's the type you have, if so keep an eye on it. If you do the shortening thing your welder can then weld the new pad on (unless it's aluminum).

 

[HOGSLYR]

Check out post #7

Shorter Side Stand

I recently installed the 1" Lowering Links. I now want to install a shorter side stand to increase the lean (and open up more parking locations). An alternative is leaving the bike in two-up mode while parked, but there is the possibility of an unknown slow tire leak lowering the bike while...

www.k1600forum.com

 

[atc250r]

I would not cut the thing in the middle. If you like the lean angle of the stock kickstand measure the footprint expander to see how thick it is. Cut the foot off and shorten it by the thickness of the footprint expander and re-weld it on. Find a buddy who welds all the time. I'm sure someone you know can do it.

On my 2012 GT, the stock kickstand was too long in my opinion, keeping the bike too vertical. I couldn’t imagine a side stand enlarger adding yet more length to the side stand. So i zip-cut the existing foot plus about 3/4” off the side stand, and re-welded the foot back on. Happy man ever since. And that was 5 years ago. No reason why you shouldn’t shorten it and re-weld.

 

[Vandaldog]

Check out post #7

Shorter Side Stand

I recently installed the 1" Lowering Links. I now want to install a shorter side stand to increase the lean (and open up more parking locations). An alternative is leaving the bike in two-up mode while parked, but there is the possibility of an unknown slow tire leak lowering the bike while...

www.k1600forum.com

If your bike's on the OEM side stand and your rear tire goes flat, the bike's going down. The only way to keep it upright is to put it on the center stand if you get a flat.

 

[wellcraft]

If your bike's on the OEM side stand and your rear tire goes flat, the bike's going down. The only way to keep it upright is to put it on the center stand if you get a flat.

Very true....I got a flat last spring and sure enough my K16GTLE started to tip over as soon as I put the kickstand down. Fortunately I was able to catch her before she tipped over, a tip over would have made a bad day worse. I had to wait 3+ hours before BMW roadside assistance showed up but at least all I needed was a tire when I got to the BMW dealership.

 

[Donna]

Very true....I got a flat last spring and sure enough my K16GTLE started to tip over as soon as I put the kickstand down. Fortunately I was able to catch her before she tipped over, a tip over would have made a bad day worse. I had to wait 3+ hours before BMW roadside assistance showed up but at least all I needed was a tire when I got to the BMW dealership.

That’s worrying... I don’t have a centre stand (I couldn’t put the bike up on one with a full tyre) so this means having to hold the bike up until the tow arrives.

There has to be a sensible solution!

A lower kick stand would help... Perhaps our high IQ engineers can develop an adjustable one?

 

[Vandaldog]

That’s worrying... I don’t have a centre stand (I couldn’t put the bike up on one with a full tyre) so this means having to hold the bike up until the tow arrives.

There has to be a sensible solution!

A lower kick stand would help... Perhaps our high IQ engineers can develop an adjustable one?

Simple solution... don't get a flat!

 

[Donna]

Simple solution... don't get a flat!

Now why didn’t I think of that? 🤪🤪

 

[Vandaldog]

Now why didn’t I think of that? 🤪🤪

Actually, if I didn't have a center stand, I'd consider carrying a small chunk of 4 x 4 (or whatever size is required) with me to put under the frame, just in case. As @well craft stated, it can happen.

 

[HOGSLYR]

If your bike's on the OEM side stand and your rear tire goes flat, the bike's going down. The only way to keep it upright is to put it on the center stand if you get a flat.

That's why I was referring to post 7 in that other thread as a way of shortening the OEM kickstands.

As for the adjustable stands they work but typically are not as strong as the oem and the ones I've used on other bikes have a very small foot on them.

Even a totally stock bike and stand will possibly fall over with a flat. Centerstand is best option but a pain to use with a flat.

 

[Vandaldog]

Even a totally stock bike and stand will possibly fall over with a flat. Centerstand is best option but a pain to use with a flat.

Yep, been there, done that. I assure you the stock bike will fall over if the rear tire goes flat while it's on the side stand. And, yes, it's a bitch to get the bike on the center stand when the rear tire's flat.

 

[XPLSV]

Tire going flat, bike going down...this thread is going to give me bad dreams...