How's your kickstand?

[Monsta]

My kickstand irritates me. It is quite stiff requiring an extra "kick" to get it to fully extend down. I grease it to no avail. I tried to remove it today but you have to remove the shift linkage to get the darn bolt out. I cleaned everything as best I could a reapplied grease. No real change.

 

It works real fast and smooth if I've been riding in the rain. It snaps down with nary a thought.

 

I did notice a fair amount of up and down play. Does anybody else's act the same way?

[Sunman]

I noticed on our trip to NC that mine was super stiff. Charlie told me that I need to clean it. I guess road grime and crap gets in the pivot area, causing resistance. WD-40 it, move it a few times, spray the crap out, and then grease it. Greasing it without cleaning it out, will not allow the grease to penetrate. The riding in the rain issue, is most likely because the road spray is dislodging some of the crud. Give it a try.

[Steve S]

Monsta

 

Spray it good with a liquid penetrating OIL to wash out the dried up grease. Be sure to work the stand up and down several time to get the gunk out of the pin. Then reapply a spray OIL.

 

Since WD 40 is NOT a lubricant, I try to stay away from it when I can. (I'm saying this and I have 2 cans of it on the shelf in my garage)

 

Hope this helps.

[eazyduzzit]

Mine was exactly like that. When it would get wet the water would act as a lubricant and it worked fine. I finally got around to squirting some oil on it and it's good. I don't know the proper way it should be lubed.

[Ponch]

I just hit it every couple of weeks with WD40 during the wet season. Follow with a little three-in-one oil. This lasts a good while during a dry season (whatever that is).

[skydoc_17]

Hey Ken,

How's it hangin' on the Big Island, Bro.

This is one of those rare times when the use of grease will actually compound the problem you are having because it collects so much dirt and crud. The first thing I would do is to clean all of the old grease out of the kick stand area with a power washer (spray car wash) or you could use a can of WD-40 and blast that puppy good! As was stated above, WD-40 is NOT a very good lube so you need to put some oil on the pivot of the kick stand. I use regular motor oil because I always have some around. The important thing to remember is clean the kick stand good first, then oil it, stop using the grease.

Earl

[fishinjer]

I use a spray product from Amsoil called MP it is a spray, works great it is a lubricant, I also use it on my saddlebag locks.

[Puckman123]

Remove the bolts for the floorboard, then you can pull it back to remove the kickstand bolt without removing the linkage. (if I remember correctly)

[dragerman]

I agree with Earl, for this application grease is not the best lubricant of choice. Road dust (or in your case perhaps some volcanic ash ) will stick to the grease and gum up eventually forming more of a grinding compound then anything else.

 

At this point I’d suggest you give it a little spray with some engine cleaner or brush it out with some solvent. You could then give it a rinse with some WD-40 but as already mentioned WD-40 is very thin and not much of a lubricant. Once you’ve cleaned it out give it a quick blast with some compressed air (don’t forget to wear safety glasses) and work in a squirt of oil. I’m sure you’ll find it easier to maintain by just using a bit of oil every now and again.

[Jerry W]

Remove the bolts for the floorboard, then you can pull it back to remove the kickstand bolt without removing the linkage. (if I remember correctly)

 

You are correct, if you remove the two bolts holding the left floorboard on, the linkage will go with it. They are kinda' hard to see at first, but easily removed and that makes kickstand removal easy.

[V7Goose]

In my experience, this is pretty normal if the pivot is not lubed on schedule. When my RSV was new and I had a maintenance contract on it, I noticed the side stand stiffening up each time as I got close to the service interval. The dealer would use a white lithium spray grease on that pivot, and others, like the brake peddle, and it always was supper smooth when I got it back.

 

Now I just use a little spray chain lube on it when I change my oil. WD-40 is a perfect choice to clean it out - spray liberally while you move the stand up and down, then give the crack a shot of spray lube (any spray grease or chain lube is great).

 

As for the up and down motion - that is normal.

Goose

[Stoutman]

I've noticed this as well. My routine is to use spray gun cleaner or brake cleaner, then follow with a squirt of 30 weight oil. This seems to last longer than the white lithium grease in the spray can for some reason. I do this every oil change and it never gives me any problem.

[BuddyRich]

Clean it real good. If you have to just loosen it up and then spray the crap outta it with some liquid wrench to clean the grit outta there. I like gun oil myself to lube it with.

[ediddy]

Hey Monsta,

What everyone else has said is correct. But, I wouldn't take the spring off the kickstand. Mine accidentally came off one day when I had my bike on a lift. I didn't think I would ever get that spring back on.

[N3FOL]

I've been riding a lot lately and I also need to clean the kickstand. The last time I lubricated it was to spray some Silicone. This time I may add White Lithium Grease.

[BradT]

I did notice a fair amount of up and down play. Does anybody else's act the same way?

Yup My 99 leans a lot further now from when I bought it. Harder to lift too and I know it is not just me getting older.

 

Mine was not stiff, but when I pulled it apart and found the bolt is worn and bushing looked pretty new. I have both parts new but have not installed them yet.

 

Brad

[Monsta]

WOW! Lots of kickstand aficionados here.

 

Thank you Puckman123 for the pulling the floorboard tip. I'll do that next time I "service" it. I pulled the front of the linkage off and didn't even think to just pull the whole darn thing off.

 

I did clean it as best I could installed. I attacked it with WD-40 and will followup later with a bit of oil. Guess the grease was too much, eh?

 

ediddy, I did pull the spring off... Sure comes off easy.

 

BradT, could you post when you replace the parts and let me (us) know if it made a difference? I wonder if the hole in the top part of the stand is getting elongated or...

[BradT]

BradT, could you post when you replace the parts and let me (us) know if it made a difference? I wonder if the hole in the top part of the stand is getting elongated or...

I think is is the stand that causes the extra lean. HalRSV99 changed both bushing and bolt and it looks like it helped only a little.

 

When I had mine off i think it is the notch in the stand that is separating slowly over time, not the worn parts causing the lean. These kick stands hold a lot of weight, for a long time. Wonder if after a few more years this is going to be a problem with these bikes as they age.

 

Brad

[99silver]

I hit mine with white lithium grease a couple of times a year, you can get it in a aresol can, does the trick. Never had a problem.

[99silver]

P.S. also do the shift linkage at the same time by pulling back the boot and giving them a good shot.

[wes0778]

WD-40 first to clean it, let it dry then Dri-Slide or an equivalent...