Congrats on your accomplishment. Once you figure it out, it'll stick to your muscle memory like riding a bicycle does and you don't even have to think about it anymore.

 

For me on this bike the barrier to unconscious competence is making sure to lean it away from you far enough for the right side leg to touch the ground and stabilize. It always feels like I’m leaning the bike past center and it’s going over 😂

not a big deal and I can always get the bike on the stand with a hefty stomp and heave but it’s definitely trickier than any other centerstand-equipped bike I’ve ever used.

 

It's just too heavy.....no way around that

 

I have a K1600 GT, I weighed the panniers, they are 16 lbs each. Try taking off the panniers, removing 32 lbs over the rear wheel, and see if this makes it light enough to "practice" the procedure.

 

Don't try it barefoot

 

real men do...

I don't know if it is because I am a big guy or what, but I have never had issues getting any bike on a center stand.
I guess I am in the unconscious competent category?

First bike I had with a center stand was an '84 VF500F, never had any issues with that as a teen, boss had a CB900C at that time that was easy as well.
Have had a '94 Goldwing, GL1800 Goldwing, '02 CB750, '82 CB750C with center stands as well, no issues with them either.
This K is easier than the Goldwings.
My current parking spot actually has a rubber pad that raised the center stand 1/2", so it is even "harder" to put on a center stand, but still have no issues with it.

And yes, I have put the K and both Goldwings on their center stand barefoot.
Did not feel great, and not something I would do on a regular basis, but was too lazy to go and put shoes on.

 

CaffeineBuzz what Model/Year do you have? - good idea to add that to your profile signature.

I struggled at first to get my 2013 on the center stand, and if it weren't for the rear crash bars being at the exact height I need, I might not have mastered it yet.

Other suggestions I've heard here is to set the suspension for 2-up with baggage helps get it on the center stand - I haven't needed to try that.

 

 

The K1600 is definitely a heavy bike. I have had lighter bikes though that were a little harder to get on the center stand. I don't really know if there is anything special or a trick, but it's really just push down with your foot and lift up with your arm. I usually just start with the bike on the side stand...I move the center stand down and while standing on it with some weight I move the bike up off the side stand until both feet of the center stand are on the ground and the bike is stable, then I just pull up with my right arm using the passenger handle, and push down on the center stand with my right foot. I don't know exactly how much weight I am lifting, somewhere between 50 and 100 lbs I guess, but it pops right up. Just need to make sure to transfer all that pulling up effort to my right foot on the center stand.

One thing I never got good at is bringing it down off the center stand while off the bike. To get my bikes off the center I always sit on it and lean back to create some leverage and then swiftly push the bike forward with my legs and arms and body.

 

A good explanation of what I do.

I have brought it down when off the bike. Side stand down, bars slightly left and push. Brake when on the ground.

 

I guess I'm lucky. I have never found it difficult.

 

Back when I got my 99 RT, I thought how in the **** I can get that heavy SOB on the center stand, but when I moved on to the GTL, the RT seemed like a featherweight. But yeah, a lot of it is in the technique.

 

Stuck between stages 2 & 3, I usually opt for that 3/4" wood which irritates me about myself. I am always leery about leaning it too far as @1KPerDay mentions but I stubbornly won't 'practice', too much work!

 

Face front, both stand legs on the ground, left hand on the handlebar, right on the passenger grab rail and with your back straight, put your right shoe on the stand's pedal.
With STIFF soled shoes pull AND lean straight back by extending your right leg. Lift with your leg, not your arms or your back. One smooth motion.
(I have a T Rex Racing center stand and can't say if that makes it harder or easier.) K1600B.

 

Lift with your leg, not your arms or your back. One smooth motion.

This is exactly right--never try lifting the bike with your arm or back.

 

For me...I finally got it when I began to imagine I was stepping on my ex's neck while wrenching her arms out of their sockets. The imagery helped.

 

OMG this is priceless and I am sure will be of great help for me, if I can I stop laughing out loud long enough to try.

 

For those of us who also have bikes that don't come with a centerstand and have to use a rear dolly stand to get the rear wheel off the ground for chain maintenance... learning to put a bike onto a rear dolly stand by yourself really makes you appreciate a centerstand, no matter how much force it takes to get the bike on it.

Balancing a bike vertically with one hand while reaching behind it to maneuver the dolly into the swingarm spindles and then lifting a foot in the air to press the handle of the dolly stand down behind the bike... well let's just say it's a test of balance in numerous directions.

 

Having come from a much heavier K1200LT, my 2012 GTL was a lot easier, and I had about 10 years of practice. One thing though, I rarely use the center-stand. When I do though, it's as much rhythm as it is overall body strength. I'm 5-10 and weight about 155. If you are uncomfortable going to the center stand, a good way to practice is to have someone on the other side to be there just in case. Leave bike in N and raise her up. It can be done from the side-stand or not. Try to be in a coordinated rocking and lifting motion. Don't try to just lift her up.

-----Having read Arizona Jim's comment on his much later model GTL, I should add that my comments refer to my 2012 GTL. I have not tried to place any other GTL on it's center stand. -----

 

Anyone know why BMW discontinued the electro/hydraulic centerstand assist on the K bikes?

I can lift my bike onto the centerstand but it isn't easy, and it becomes even less so if my side cases are full. 6'2" 210 lbs. I've often wondered if it would be possible to fabricate an extension that makes levering the centerstand easier.

 

And it can be so simple.
Don't think too much, just do it. You don't need a block of wood, a crane or anabolic steroids or a strong neighbor.

 

And it can be so simple.
Don't think too much, just do it. You don't need a block of wood, a crane or anabolic steroids or a strong neighbor.

There's no comparison between putting a Wing and a 1600 (B in my case) on its center stand.
The Wing is much easier. I have no issues at all putting my B on its center stand, just saying.

 

4 stages of mastery:

• Level ground
• Left hand on left grip, right hand on grab rail
• Make contact with pavement with both center stand pads and step on stand with all your weight and gently rock bike back
• To take it off the center stand, stradle the bike (like riding it) to maximize safety. Don't deploy side stand because if it contacts ground it could cause a tip over to starboard side.

 

With everything stated above, I would just make sure front wheel stays true north and not slightly jogged to the left as your committing to your stepping up on center stand arm.

 

I have to say my 2023 GTL is impossible for me (5' 11 "/ 205lbs) to get up on the center stand without a riser under the rear tire. I could my 2012 and 2016 bikes but not this one. I can't believe they changed the geometry of the center stand but try as I may I can't do it. I know all the "techniques" I've owned one of these since 2012. I had my full weight on the center stand lever and pulled as hard as I could on the grab bar. 👎

These bikes don't have the one helmet, luggage, 2 helmet settings so don't go there, please.

Outside of my garage I "usually" never use the center stand. I had to when I was at Steve's last week to install new tires. I needed help to get the bike up. Later in a hotel parking lot I wanted to check the oil level and again no go. I ended up sitting on the bike in a level position and reaching down to pull the dip stick.

I talked to a friend last night who recently purchased a 2023 GTL, after having a 2012 GTL for years, and he can't get it up either

I'll have to carry a 3/4" X 6" X 6' block of wood with me for that rare time that I need to get it up

 

I have to say my 2023 GTL is impossible for me (5' 11 "/ 205lbs) to get up on the center stand without a riser under the rear tire. I could my 2012 and 2016 bikes but not this one. I can't believe they changed the geometry of the center stand but try as I may I can't do it. I know all the "techniques" I've owned one of these since 2012. I had my full weight on the center stand lever and pulled as hard as I could on the grab bar. 👎

These bikes don't have the one helmet, luggage, 2 helmet settings so don't go there, please.

Outside of my garage I "usually" never use the center stand. I had to when I was at Steve's last week to install new tires. I needed help to get the bike up. Later in a hotel parking lot I wanted to check the oil level and again no go. I ended up sitting on the bike in a level position and reaching down to pull the dip stick.

I talked to a friend last night who recently purchased a 2023 GTL, after having a 2012 GTL for years, and he can't get it up either

I'll have to carry a 3/4" X 6" X 6' block of wood with me for that rare time that I need to get it up

Jim I am 5`5`` and around 72 kg I think that is around 155 lbs ,so on all my GTLs and GTs I have always used this below as you do I carry it with me in the top case.

 

Geoff, I like your little lift board. The thing that would worry me the most, while on the road, is a rear tire going flat. With the bike on the side stand and a fully flat rear tire the bike won't stand up, it will tip over to the right. I would have to act fast to get the board under the tire and the bike up on the center stand but without it I don't think I could do it.

 

Jim. the one thing I do is always carry a pump and tubeless punture kit these days after being caught miles from a service station with air after a nail went through a brand new front tyre of new bike and I had to ride the bike with the flat tyre to the nearest place to call for help.

 

@Arizona Jim
Not really necessary to put the bike on the center stand due to a flat rear tire (assuming you're going to plug it 'til you get home). Just roll the bike forward and find the hole - plug it and fill it, no?

 

@Arizona Jim
Not really necessary to put the bike on the center stand due to a flat rear tire (assuming you're going to plug it 'til you get home). Just roll the bike forward and find the hole - plug it and fill it, no?

That's fine IF the tire doesn't go completely flat but if it does.......... My brother Steve had a tire that went completely flat quickly and his bike almost fell over until he was able to get it up on the center stand (with A LOT of grunting).

 

I wouldn't look forward to lifting the bike onto a center stand with a completely flat tire. Would probably hook my compressor up and try to fill the tire first. (Hopefully more air going in than coming out.)
Only then would I attempt to fix it on the side stand. We do what we have to do

 

If you have time to do that ie: holding the bike so that it doesn't fall over, digging out your air compressor, connecting it to a power source, attaching it to the wheel and waiting to fill it up. Doing all this by yourself on the side of the road.

My brother had it happen when all by himself. He was only a few miles from our split up heading for home when it happened and was able to give me a phone call. Me and our friends rushed over to help but he had it under control by then. Lesson learned by all of us. Get it up on the center stand as quickly as you can when fixing a tire.

 

Bump the preload up to the max (two plus luggage). It will raise the whole bike and make it much easier to push up on the center stand.

 

In my post #26 I mentioned this new bike does not have that preload option. It preloads automatically depending on how much weight is on the bike.
With that said I'm going to try an experiment and start the bike, sit on it, then get off and with the bike running see if I can get it up on the center stand. I'll report back later.

Stiggy, I don't know if a Bagger would fall over with a flat tire while using the side stand. My brother has a GT so that is the only model that I know for sure will fall over.

 

So I sat on the bike and started it. I did not feel the bike rise up like I use to on my first generation bikes when I would switch the load settings. Therefore when I got off, leaving the engine running, I could not get the bike up on the center stand. I then rolled it back up on piece of 3/4" plywood and could then get it up.

"Maybe" the suspension doesn't adjust until you start riding away so next time I'll give it a try after coming home from a ride and leave the engine running and see if that does anything differently.

Normally I would leave my first generation bikes in the one helmet with luggage setting.

 

I don't believe mine does either. I was under the assumption that the suspension adjustment on the newer bikes related to shock dampening (stiffening) relative to the settings inputted (or simply the weight put on the bike, on the newest models.)