Getting Gas, Getting On, Getting Underway

[DaveTheAffable]

Assuming flat, dry, level ground. How many of you use the center stand when fueling, and how many of you will mount your bike while on center stand and 'rock' it off center stand.

 

(Sorry for mistake on viewing results! 1st attempt at poll.)

[DaveTheAffable]

In addition to participating in the poll, please post comments!

 

Thanks!

[tallman]

You need to set it up so voters can see the results.

I used to put it on the centerstand, for XX years when fueling.

Now, with Big Mak DSC I just pull up, fill up, get going.

[rogera]

The only time I use my center stand is to wash

the bike. Sorry I couldn't vote.

[Francois_Dumas]

I only put it on the center stand when planning to leave it parked for alonger time, or when I think it will be more stable than on the side stand.

 

Refueling I often do sitting on the bike. Just flip the tankbag back and refuel. With a loaded tankbag, I put it on the sidestand first and fold the tankbag back onto my seat.

[DaveTheAffable]

You need to set it up so voters can see the results.

I used to put it on the centerstand, for XX years when fueling.

Now, with Big Mak DSC I just pull up, fill up, get going.

 

I set it up so that the results could be seen after 3 days... I didn't want current votes to affect outcome. Was that the right way to do it?

[tallman]

Not needed if you can't view the results until you vote and can only view the results if you vote.

In 3 days we'll have changed our minds anyways.

[DaveTheAffable]

Well... I'm learning how to 'Post Well' in the 'Ride Well' forum.

 

Thanks!

[smiller]

I set it up so that the results could be seen after 3 days...

That's not very affable...

[Fugu]

I almost never use my side stand. Too unstable leaned over like that. Just pop it on the center stand. If I have to get every last bit of space in the tank full I just rock it gently (like a wee baby) to burp it.

 

I don't sit on the bike when fueling because should I spill I don't want a crotch load of gasoline soaking my shorts...

 

Besides, sitting on the bike leaning over to swipe your card, press the buttons on the infernal machine NO I DON'T WANT A RECEIPT YES I'M SURE NO I DON'T WANT A CAR WASH YES I'M SURE NO I DON'T WANT A DAMN RECEIPT seems to be a perfect opportunity for your foot to slip on a puddle of oil or diesel and send you crashing into the pump pinned by your bike...

 

And then the fuel would soak your shorts, too.

[DaveTheAffable]

I forgot that you couldn't see results

until you vote.... DUHHHH

[Francois_Dumas]

I prolly should've added that I 'dismount after closing the filler cap to complete the transaction'

 

Where can I vote for that ???

[scottd]

I put it on the centerstand to fuel but put ir back on the sidestand before mounting. It's a GS and too tall for me to get it off the centerstand while on the bike.

[Aluminum_Butt]

+1 for sitting on the bike while refueling. If I don't do that, however, I do put it on the center stand.

[redryder]

On the RT, I use the center stand quite a bit. Normally, I use the sidestand as the exception, rather than the rule. With the RT, I climb on the bike, suit up, and when I'm ready to ride, I start the bike, put it in gear, and drive off the center stand and get under way. With practice, I'm now able to put both feet on the pegs before I drive off the stand and can get underway without taking my feet off the pegs at all.

 

The LT, though, is a horse of a different color. I ONLY use the center stand in an emergency. It is probably easier to go water buffalo tipping than to get the LT off the center stand (and some say the similarities are endless between the two). I can get an extra half pint of fuel into the LT on the center stand, but it's hardly worth the effort. Be easier to pick a fight with the Mongolian Stomper than to heft the beast up and off the center.

 

I didn't vote in your poll, just because I would have to vote yes and no depending on which bike your asking about.

[leikam]

I always use the sidestand. The few drops of extra gas are not worth the trouble with the RT's huge tank.

 

And I always get off the bike before fueling. I've had a pump get stuck and it's not pretty.

[Silver Surfer/AKAButters]

I get on the bike while on the centerstand, but not the pegs.

[DaveTheAffable]

I get on the bike while on the centerstand, but not the pegs.

 

Ohhh... interesting distinction. Mounting by stepping up onto peg and swinging leg over, versus just swinging leg over while standing on ground.

[Bill_Walker]

I fuel my RT on the center stand because, with the filler in the center of the tank, you can't really get the tank full unless the bike is upright. I know some people do it sitting in the saddle and holding the bike up with their legs, but I'm not in that much of a hurry, and I've seen too many gas overflows on bikes to want to be in a position where one ends up in my lap!

 

After fueling, I'll usually ride the bike off the center stand. Sometimes there's not enough traction for that, and I'll have to bump it off the stand. I've gotten better about getting the bike off the stand while standing beside it lately, thanks to more practice in my garage, but I'm still more comfortable having a leg on each side of the bike when taking it off the centerstand.

[BrianT]

Normally I ride right up to the pump and gas it while still sitting on it. I know technically safer to do it off the bike, but I'm used to saving time by riding up, flipping up the bigmak tank bag and fueling quickly and getting back on the road or out of the way. If I do fuel up while off the bike I do it on the center stand.

[Davis]

+1 on filling up without dismounting and clearing pump for next person. If I do dismount to pump, it's on the centerstand. Deploy and ride off centerstand while seated on bike.

 

BTW, for the poster that thinks the centerstand is more stable than the sidestand, if you measure the distance between the wheel centerline and the sidestand and the distance between the legs of the centerstand, you'll find the sidestand is a wider and thus more stable footprint than the centerstand.

[SC_SVRider]

My SV650 doesn't have a center stand, so I fuel up while I am still on it so that I can see when it's full without the chance of a tip over. When on the R1100R, I put it on the center stand, gas it up, then ride it off the center stand.

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

In addition to participating in the poll, please post comments!

 

Thanks!

 

My thoughts on refueling while straddling the bike (originally posted here many moons ago):

 

I'm not sure what's gained by staying on the bike while refueling. Is it significantly faster this way? Don't ya want to get off the bike and stretch your legs a bit while you're stopped?

 

Also, it seems like it puts an awful lot at risk. Do it enough times and there will be a spill. Most likely you could avoid ignition sources, but that would still leave your genitalia soaking in gasoline, an irritant and carcinogen. Except for interstate truck plazas, I've yet to see a gas station with a shower, which means you would end up at the bathroom sink, pants and underwear around your ankles, lathering your crotch with handsoap, and then standing in front of the hot-air hand dryer for half an hour. And unless you're on a trip (or firmly subscribe to the Boy Scout motto "be prepared"), you're not going to have clean clothes to change into; you'll be buying a souvenir T-shirt and shorts from a gas station you'd really rather not remember. And after you get home, your favorite riding pants will smell like gasoline for weeks, if not longer.

 

Still, a feller's gotta live his own life. Do whatever you want; I'll continue to dismount prior to filling the tank.

[Bud]

Always fill on center stand. Do not sit on bike while fueling.

 

Want to be able to run away in case of fire. I witnessed a car on fire at the pump. Ran into the station and got the fire extinguisher and was able to put it out. Not pretty. Very fast fire, very hot.

 

Mount back up on pegs while still on center stand. Drive or rock off.

 

For me, side stand just not safe enough. my .02, YMWV.

[leikam]

side stand just not safe enough

 

I've heard this from a few people. What scenario do you see playing out where the sidestand is worse than the centerstand?

[Francois_Dumas]

Yes I find that a weird statement too. Just as weird as 'riding off the center stand' for that matter. Never seen ANYBODY do that...... Frankly, that sounds to me like asking for trouble, when compared to just holding your bike in check with two feet firmly planted on the ground and smoothly pulling away from that position.

 

But I'm a relative newbie of course, and open to alternatives.

[russell_bynum]

No centerstand on the Tuono, but when I'm on Lisa's RS and when I had the RT...

 

If I didn't fuel while sitting on the bike (I know, I know...it's a terrible idea and I'm going to spill fuel in my crotch, burn the gas station down, cause puppies to be thrown into a wood chipper, reverse the Earth's polarity, and cause massive instantaneous global climate change that will punge the Earth into another Ice Age. It's what I do...deal with it.) I fuel with it on the center stand. When I'm done, I remount the bike, fire it up, and ride off.

 

So...I can't really answer your poll. I sometimes use the centerstand when fueling. When I do use the centerstand, I ride the bike off of it.

[Francois_Dumas]

 

So...I can't really answer your poll. I sometimes use the centerstand when fueling. When I do use the centerstand, I ride the bike off of it.

 

Yet another one! Is this 'a US Thing' I wonder ???

[russell_bynum]

 

So...I can't really answer your poll. I sometimes use the centerstand when fueling. When I do use the centerstand, I ride the bike off of it.

 

Yet another one! Is this 'a US Thing' I wonder ???

 

Beat's me. It seems like the easiest way with the least possibility of a drop. Just start the bike, clutch in, put it in gear, feet on the pegs, and ride away. It goes "kerchunk" and drops down off the center stand, and you're off and rolling. It doesn't work on all bikes, obviously...my memory is that the old K-bikes balanced on the nose with the rear wheel in the air...which would reduce rear wheel traction somewhat. But as long as the rear tire is on the ground with enough weight on it to get traction, it's no big deal at all.

[Bud]

side stand just not safe enough

 

I've heard this from a few people. What scenario do you see playing out where the sidestand is worse than the centerstand?

 

Just operator error.

 

Twice I thought I had the side stand deployed all the way. But when I put the weight of the bike on it it kicked back up and I was not strong enough to hold the bike up.

 

Now if you are smarter than me, that won't happen.

[pbharvey]

Side stand down, dismount, stretch, fuel, stretch, mount, go. I've seen a car on fire at a gas station; I'd never gas my bike while sitting on it. I use my centerstand so infrequently that I'm uncomfortable using it.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

I sit on my bike when fueling all the time, never got a crotch full yet. I also check out the ground around the pump before pulling up. Yeah, the card reader thing can be a PITA some times, one of the reasons I stopped wearing polarized sun glasses. At least I can see the screen now when, in addition to all the banal questions, it asks for my zip code.

 

Only time I use my center stand is chain maintenance when on the road. At home, the Pit Bull takes care of that.

[mrduck]

Yes I find that a weird statement too. Just as weird as 'riding off the center stand' for that matter. Never seen ANYBODY do that......

 

Do it every day after work,hop on and ride off. All the cruizer riders I work with think that's strange

Most allways gas up on the center stand to get it clear full-out here might be a long way till the next one!

(32 miles with the gas light on once!)

 

[leikam]

One thing you can do is brace the sidestand with your left foot. That will ensure that it's all the way forward. For my money, the sidestand's easier and less risky than the centerstand.

 

But that brings to mind another technique question: how do you get the bike on the centerstand without first putting it on the sidestand? Do you dismount, balance the bike and lift? Or do you just pop it up while sitting in the saddle? SOP for me is to put the bike on the sidestand, get off and lift it while standing to the left of the bike.

[Quinn]

But that brings to mind another technique question: how do you get the bike on the centerstand without first putting it on the sidestand? Do you dismount, balance the bike and lift? Or do you just pop it up while sitting in the saddle? SOP for me is to put the bike on the sidestand, get off and lift it while standing to the left of the bike.

 

My question also. I could do it on my Yamaha 650, but the 1150RT is a little much. I'd have to be pigeontoed to get enough pressure on the center stand to lift the bike. Riding it off is more like a "powered bump" for me. I shift my weight to the rear for traction, let out the clutch enough to turn the rear wheel, and squeeze the clutch back in while the bike bounces and rebounds off the stand. Both feet are on the ground until I can get re-situation on the seat and make sure the stand is up.

[Vrex]

I only use the centerstand to wash the bike. Besides being easier, to me the sidestand seems obviously more secure, with the bike's weight pretty evenly distributed on three points of a good-sized (albeit skinny) triangle. My 1150RT, with a typical amount of junk in the saddlebags, is almost perfectly balanced on the centerstand -- I've noticed it sitting with both wheels literally off the ground. That's 600-plus pounds high up on a very small footprint. Looks like a recipe for disaster to me . . .

[Bud]

One thing you can do is brace the sidestand with your left foot. That will ensure that it's all the way forward. For my money, the sidestand's easier and less risky than the centerstand.

 

But that brings to mind another technique question: how do you get the bike on the centerstand without first putting it on the sidestand? Do you dismount, balance the bike and lift? Or do you just pop it up while sitting in the saddle? SOP for me is to put the bike on the sidestand, get off and lift it while standing to the left of the bike.

 

Dismount, balance the bike and put it on the center stand. Once you get the "hang" of the putting the bike up on the center stand it is almost effortless.

[Fugu]

Dismount, balance the bike and put it on the center stand. Once you get the "hang" of the putting the bike up on the center stand it is almost effortless.

 

Yup.

 

I think that the variance in technique comes down to a size/ strength thing, and I am strong like bull ( and smart like tractor).

 

I used to get the same feeling seeing guys at advrider whine about not being able to pick up a GS after a get off. Like picking up a GS is hard?

 

On the topic of side stands: Davis - nice theory on the "platform" of the sidestand plus tires vs. the centerstand and back tire IF you totally ignore the fact that on the side stand the bike is leaning over, and on the center stand it is upright. As it is, leaning over on that slippery little steel pad... They always look about to fall over to me. Since it's not hard to center stand it, I do. I've never had a zero speed tipover so I must be doing something right for me (knock on wood).

[upflying]

No vote for "none of the above"?

I remain seated on my bike while fueling, no center or side stand used.

As others have mentioned no wet crotch stains from fuel yet.

Some of you may ask why I sit on my bike while pumpng gas in it..

Motor cop training teaches you to gas up that way. You may need to crank up and ride off quickly for any number of reasons and possibilities.

[swilson]

Normally I ride right up to the pump and gas it while still sitting on it.

 

Ditto.

[marcopolo]

1) put sidestand down;

2) dismount;

3) put bike onto centrestand;

4) fuel;

5) mount bike and rock off centrestand.

[Wyn]

Center stand always, period. Refuel standing.

 

 

 

ISYHTRAH

[Davis]

IF you totally ignore the fact that on the side stand the bike is leaning over, and on the center stand it is upright.

 

And when it leans over the mass is centered in the support triangle formed by the two wheels and the stand, just as the mass is centered between the two legs of the centerstand when upright.

 

As far as being strong like a bull, I'm a spindly 165lbs and have no trouble popping the bike up on the centerstand while straddling the bike. It's really more about timing the step on the centerstand tang with the unloading of the front suspension than it is about strength.

[chrisolson]

1) put sidestand down;

2) dismount;

3) put bike onto centrestand;

4) fuel;

5) mount bike and rock off centrestand.

On the old RT, that was exactly it...however on the GT the center stand is a royal pain, so sidestand only unless its being washed.

[Twisties]

I think sitting on it while fueling could be dangerous. If there were a fire, you'd have a harder time getting away. Also, might increase chances of starting a fire. They are now warning cagers not to reenter the vehicle when fueling. There have been fires started from static discharge after interaction of clothes and seat material. Cagers should now discharge static to car body before handling the hose, and before removing the hose from the car. Not a hoax, cell phones and fueling is the hoax.

 

Haven't figured out how discharge static to tupperware yet!

 

Best wishes,

 

Jan

[Twisties]

+ 1

 

Oops, that was plus 1 to the question how do you get it on the centerstand without putting it on sidestand first. I think if you can do it, you must be much taller than me.

[Firefight911]

For the R12ST, K12RS, and R12GSA the center stand.

 

For the F800ST, the sidestand as that places the gas spout upright!!!

 

Can I vote twice?

[Mark Menard (Vita Rara)]

OK, my answer isn't completely consistent.

 

With my RT I generally fuel it on the center stand. (I stop put it on the side stand, dismount, then put it on the center stand.) I sometimes rock it off the center stand, sometimes ride it off. If I'm two up I'll usually ride it off the center stand, the added weight assuring the contact of the rear tire.

 

With my GS, which I've lowered 2", the center stand is inoperable, so I fuel on the side stand.

 

Mark

[kcscout]

Sidestand fueling. Standing next to the bike holding a towel to keep any drips off the tupperware (guess I could do a better job shaking).

 

Am I reading this right? Most people put it on the centerstand in order to get the fullest tank of gas?

I avoid the centerstand. Gas station lots are known to have a lot of wet, slick spots. I'd rather be short a small amount of fuel than risk slipping putting the bike up or off the center stand. Once I have my bike secure on the sidestand, I'm pretty sure it's not going anywhere.

[DouglasR]

I like to get as much gas in the bikes as possible when I fuel. I think I can get almost half a gallon more in when it's on the center stand than when it's on the side stand. I live in a very rural area and sometimes fuel isn't always available at convenient distances between stops, so I always try to maximize a fill-up.

 

For example, I rolled into a station in North Dakota one day and put 7.3 gallons in my RT, which holds 7.5 including vapors... . I had ridden past a dozen stations that were closed (out of business) before I found one that was open.

 

I guess I'm never really in such a hurry either that I don't take the time to have a little break and get off the bike for a few minutes.

 

Doug