side stand repair ?

[6m459]

Hi,

 

I was worried about the excessive lean when my red bike is on the side stand. I read all the old posts about 1st gen side stand problems. Interesting and informative thought they were, I don't see the answer I need.

 

Looks to me like my s.s. is bent, I will try to describe it cause its all rainy out and I am feeling too lazy to get out the camera and usb cables etc. Please bear with me.

 

The gap, formed by the two flanges at the top of the side stand, where it hinges on the frame flange, seem to be spread apart. I measure 9.5 mm at the bottom of the channel but 11.5 mm at the opening. It looks to me, like the two flanges have been bent apart, not that they have worn down. The P.O. didn't have the bolt done up very tight as it took almost no effort to undo it. The s.s. slopped up and down quite a lot before I took it apart.

 

The pivot bolt also appears to be bent. It looks to me like the bend is right at the thin section between the shoulder and the top of the threaded section. Its slight, so to be sure my old eyes weren't playing tricks, I put the end of the threaded section in my drill chuck and spun it. There is definitely a bend there as the head wobbles about 2.5 mm off centre I'd estimate.

 

The arm of the stand has a bend in it too but I think that is actually cast into it. I have confirmed it looks similar to the one on my other bike.

 

So what to do, what to do?

 

I am tempted to put the pivot end of the stand in the vise and squeeze it till the flange gap closes to a uniform 9.5 mm. Then re install, with some grease, and reef the bolt down tight and lock it up with the lock nut.

 

I am aware that this is a cast part and cast iron is brittle and not known for being forgiving in this way. I am afraid I might snap a flange off. Even if it appears successful and I make it through to the reassembly stage, I am afraid that I will have introduced some fatigue in the metal which will come back to bite me later on, likely when parked next to a Rolls Royce or a Mazeratti. Any opinions on this?

 

Anyone got a known good s.s. & bolt for sale?

 

Other suggestions?

 

Thanks,

 

Brian H.

[GeorgeS]

How about takeing it to a Master Welder, I have not heard of any success with this, however short of buying a new one, this might work.

 

I have watched some of those folks, work magic on things like that.

 

I was thinking of getting a spare, on E-Bay, and takeing it to a welder, just to see if anything could be done to Improve the quality of that piece.

[Venturous Randy]

First of all, count yourself lucky that the stand bolt has not broken and left you riding around without a side stand. It is no fun and I know.

I also let my side stand get loose several years ago and encountered the broken bolt problem. I replaced the bolt and bent the split part of the stand back in place and have never had a problem. I routinely step on the foot peg while on the sidestand and throw my leg across, so you can see, I really trust the side stand. Because of this past problem, I routinely take my toe and see how much play there is moving the side stand up and down. I try to keep it tight to the point there is almost a drag when putting the stand up or down. If you let it get loose, it will come back to haunt you.

I believe if you bend it back in place and keep it snug to the point of almost dragging, you will be fine.

They also show up occasionally on ebay and there doesn't appear to be a big demand.

RandyA

[skydoc_17]

I have had good luck using the kind of vise grips the welders use to clamp to pieces of metal together. A "C" clamp will do the same thing. No need to remove the "Ears" just bend them back into place with the C clamp and Bite the bullet and buy a new bolt. A very light "Touch" of blue locktite on the threaded end of the bolt will keep it from backing out. If you get sloppy with the locktite you will have trouble getting the stand down. The problem is caused when the bolt backs out. If you keep the bolt tight, the ears can't spread apart. You have caught this just in time, bend ears, buy new bolt, go for ride.

You did good!

Earl

[Venturous Randy]

I have no idea where it came from, but I had a bolt that had the right shoulder size, but the threaded area was a bit longer and had a larger head. It tightens down just perfect and also allows me to put a nut on the other side. I bought a side stand bolt from Yamaha, but never put it in. I am not sure where it is now, but I used to keep it in my toolbag.

RandyA

[6m459]

Well, I wound up putting the squeeze on the flanges as planned.

 

It didn't seem to help much as the shoulder on the bolt would bottom out leaving the side stand pivot quite sloppy.

 

I wound up putting a washer under the head of the bolt, on top of the top side stand flange. This kept the shoulder on the bolt from bottoming till the flanges were squeezed together by tightening the threads. Unfortunately a slightly thinner washer might have been better as before the shoulder hit bottom, the side stand pivot gets too tight to move.

 

I slacked it off till there was free s.s. movement with a slight hint of friction. Then I tightened the lock nut at the back.

 

I think I'll be talking nicely to my machinist friends at work Monday, to see if I can get a custom thickness washer made for this purpose. Better still might be to have them turn the shoulder on the bolt back about half the thickness of the washer.

 

Oddly enough, even with minimal s.s. slop, the bike still tilts over a lot more than I am used to with the other bike. I have begun to wonder if this bike sits higher on its rear suspension causing more lean. I am still puzzling over that one.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Brian H.

[GeorgeS]

I welded some 1/4 inch thick stock on the bottom of the pad. Helps the angle a little.

[Venturous Randy]

How much air are you running in the shocks?

RandyA

[6m459]

How much air are you running in the shocks?

RandyA

 

Holy Carp! there is 50 psi in there.

[Condor]

My '83 leans about 10 degrees beyond normal. Been doing it ever since I bought it about 4 years ago. I did swap out the sidestand for a newer one thinking it might help, and it did a bit, but not so much that it still doesn't lean quite a bit. Decide not to worry about it. No problems so far.

[mbrood]

Progressives in the front or excess rear air pressure will both normally make the bike lean much more than stock. With Progressives, I reduced the spacer thickness on top of the spring and she sits just fine now... I have a lot less "worry" about stressing the sidestand.

 

That sidestand bolt takes quite a load, don't think any "Ace Hardware" bolt will suffice. Even with a good bolt and relatively little side to side shimmy, there's still a bit up up and down on mine (1/4"?) when she's on the centerstand.