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Getting off the centre stand


Albion

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Idly watching the bikers waiting to board a cross-channel ferry, I noted a guy relaxing sitting on his parked bike (1150RT), feet on pegs.

 

I was fascinated to see what seemed to be his quite unique way of getting the machine off its centre stand:

 

This was by vigorously rocking himself forwards and backwards, feet on pegs all the while, until the stand went past its point of balance and flicked up, leaving him ready to ride.

 

Fascinating, if only I'd had a video camera.

 

Strain on stand must have been immense, but no doubt a good way to get some physical exercise.

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Francois_Dumas

And not a slight bit of slippery oil on the metal floor boards of the ferry !!?? Tsk tsk tsk ...... lurker.giflurker.gif

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russell_bynum
Idly watching the bikers waiting to board a cross-channel ferry, I noted a guy relaxing sitting on his parked bike (1150RT), feet on pegs.

 

I was fascinated to see what seemed to be his quite unique way of getting the machine off its centre stand:

 

This was by vigorously rocking himself forwards and backwards, feet on pegs all the while, until the stand went past its point of balance and flicked up, leaving him ready to ride.

 

Fascinating, if only I'd had a video camera.

 

Strain on stand must have been immense, but no doubt a good way to get some physical exercise.

 

I just ride it off.

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I usually ride it off, but if the back wheel doesn't have enough traction or the engine isn't running, I can rock it forward with my feet on the ground. What I can't do is lift it off the center stand while standing beside it.

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ShovelStrokeEd

What I can't do is lift it off the center stand while standing beside it.

 

Sure you can, one hand on the left bar, one on the grab handle or just resting on top of the seat. Now, don't try to lift it off, roll it forward. Easy peasy, it will come off the stand and want to roll forward just a bit. A little drag on the left bar will stop it, there is almost no momentum.

 

Alternative method, stand on the left side of bike, grab both bars and make sure the bars are turned slightly away from you. Push forward on the bars and, as the bike comes off the stand, grab a little front brake to bring it to a stop. Having the bars turned away from you will cause the bike to lean into you as it starts to roll. Again, no problemo.

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Or you could straddle the seat with your feet on the ground and just push the bike forward. No worries about strain on the stand, the bike getting away from you or even any real technique.

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Francois_Dumas

I never ride or rock it off..... smirk.gif

 

Am with Ed and Leikam, both methods work fine.

But as I learned recently, you'll have to be a tad taller than average apparently to not have problems. I am 6 foot-something , which here is NOT tall.... but then again I read recently that the Dutch are now the tallest people in the world on average.

 

Personally I'd get me a lower bike if I couldn't handle it with ease. Seems much more comfortable in all points of view, no? confused.gif

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Joe Frickin' Friday
Idly watching the bikers waiting to board a cross-channel ferry, I noted a guy relaxing sitting on his parked bike (1150RT), feet on pegs.

 

I was fascinated to see what seemed to be his quite unique way of getting the machine off its centre stand:

 

This was by vigorously rocking himself forwards and backwards, feet on pegs all the while, until the stand went past its point of balance and flicked up, leaving him ready to ride.

 

Fascinating, if only I'd had a video camera.

 

Strain on stand must have been immense, but no doubt a good way to get some physical exercise.

 

Never had a problem doing that. In fact, if I'm sitting on the bike, I don't even need to rock forwards and backwards very much. It's already sitting on the rear wheel, so I just need to rock forwards once to drop it off the stand. I don't think the strain on the stand is dangerous this way; I've seen people throw the bike up onto the stand with such vigor that the whole bike/stand slides backwards a couple of inches after it pops up. If it can tolerate that, then this is no problem.

 

Alternative: if heavily loaded with luggage, that method can become difficult. Instead, start the engine and use the back wheel to drive it forward off of the stand. All that weight in the cases becomes your friend, providing the rear wheel with the traction it needs to make this happen. Just keep a couple of fingers wrapped around the front brake lever so you can stop when you touch down if you need to.

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I sit on the bike and rock it forward once. Stand pops up. I always leave the sidestand down - just in case it "gets away", I've got a safety net.

 

The thing that gets me - sometimes I'll grab both the clutch (get it into neutral) and brake. I'll rock it a couple of times and wonder, "Dang, why isn't the bike moving?!" dopeslap.gif

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Francois_Dumas

With leaving the side stand 'out' you run a chance of it hitting the ground and throwing your bike to the right, out of control. Happened to me once....... don't do that anymore wink.gif

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With leaving the side stand 'out' you run a chance of it hitting the ground and throwing your bike to the right, out of control. Happened to me once....... don't do that anymore wink.gif

Good point. Gotta give that some serious thought. I usually ride light, so that's never been an issue, but I could see how with a heavier load the bike would want to dip.

 

Good advice. Thanks again. thumbsup.gif

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Idly watching the bikers waiting to board a cross-channel ferry, I noted a guy relaxing sitting on his parked bike (1150RT), feet on pegs.

 

I was fascinated to see what seemed to be his quite unique way of getting the machine off its centre stand:

 

This was by vigorously rocking himself forwards and backwards, feet on pegs all the while, until the stand went past its point of balance and flicked up, leaving him ready to ride.

 

Fascinating, if only I'd had a video camera.

 

Strain on stand must have been immense, but no doubt a good way to get some physical exercise.

 

We have some Officers as stupid as that, which is why our Fleet Manager can tell you the part number, & price, of a centre stand without consulting the micro-fiche. In more than one case, with the old air-heads, & K-Series, we had to have a new frame. Trust me, that's not cheap.

 

Over the years BMW GB have issued & re-issued two bulletins that make it clear two "faults" for which warranty claims will not be considered; this is one, the other is habitual use of the Emergency Kill switch to switch off, as opposed to switching off with the key.

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Idly watching the bikers waiting to board a cross-channel ferry, I noted a guy relaxing sitting on his parked bike (1150RT), feet on pegs.

 

I was fascinated to see what seemed to be his quite unique way of getting the machine off its centre stand:

 

This was by vigorously rocking himself forwards and backwards, feet on pegs all the while, until the stand went past its point of balance and flicked up, leaving him ready to ride.

 

Fascinating, if only I'd had a video camera.

 

Strain on stand must have been immense, but no doubt a good way to get some physical exercise.

 

We have some Officers as stupid as that, which is why our Fleet Manager can tell you the part number, & price, of a centre stand without consulting the micro-fiche. In more than one case, with the old air-heads, & K-Series, we had to have a new frame. Trust me, that's not cheap.

 

Over the years BMW GB have issued & re-issued two bulletins that make it clear two "faults" for which warranty claims will not be considered; this is one, the other is habitual use of the Emergency Kill switch to switch off, as opposed to switching off with the key.

 

I'm new to BMW's so forgive the novice question, but I turn the kill switch and then the key when shutting down. From your comments, will I cause premature failure of the switch? Thanks.

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russell_bynum
Idly watching the bikers waiting to board a cross-channel ferry, I noted a guy relaxing sitting on his parked bike (1150RT), feet on pegs.

 

I was fascinated to see what seemed to be his quite unique way of getting the machine off its centre stand:

 

This was by vigorously rocking himself forwards and backwards, feet on pegs all the while, until the stand went past its point of balance and flicked up, leaving him ready to ride.

 

Fascinating, if only I'd had a video camera.

 

Strain on stand must have been immense, but no doubt a good way to get some physical exercise.

 

We have some Officers as stupid as that, which is why our Fleet Manager can tell you the part number, & price, of a centre stand without consulting the micro-fiche. In more than one case, with the old air-heads, & K-Series, we had to have a new frame. Trust me, that's not cheap.

 

Over the years BMW GB have issued & re-issued two bulletins that make it clear two "faults" for which warranty claims will not be considered; this is one, the other is habitual use of the Emergency Kill switch to switch off, as opposed to switching off with the key.

 

I'm new to BMW's so forgive the novice question, but I turn the kill switch and then the key when shutting down. From your comments, will I cause premature failure of the switch? Thanks.

 

Use the kill switch. Its purpose is to shut the bike off in an emergency without forcing you to take your hands off the grips. Use it every time you shut the bike down so that you build muscle memory so when you need it in an emergency, it'll be there.

 

If you happen to wear the switch out...so be it. I put over 60,000 miles on my RT, always shutting it down with the kill switch. No problems whatsoever.

 

That's not to say the switches don't wear out. They do...eventually. They're no different than any other killswitch on any other motorcycle. (The guys on the CBR600RR forum talk about not using the kill switch for fear of wearing it out, too.)

 

Personally...I've never heard of the claim that BMW will not honor a warranty repair on a kill switch.

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I liked the suggestion of using the side stand in conjuction with first gear to turn the bike off. That way I know it's working and I know the bike is in first gear and less likely to roll off the stand.

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russell_bynum
I liked the suggestion of using the side stand in conjuction with first gear to turn the bike off. That way I know it's working and I know the bike is in first gear and less likely to roll off the stand.

 

That's fine, but:

 

1. Relying on reaching for the sidestand to shut the bike off in an emergency isn't really practical.

2. Not all bikes have a sidestand shutoff switch. All bikse have a killswitch. Get in the habbit of using the killswitch, and that habit will work on any bike you ride.

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To ask a silly question. What sort of emergency precipitates the use of the kill switch?

I have has two crashes and in both cases the kill switch was moving too fast away form me to be of any use.

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russell_bynum
To ask a silly question. What sort of emergency precipitates the use of the kill switch?

I have has two crashes and in both cases the kill switch was moving too fast away form me to be of any use.

 

Bike tips over on top of you and is still running. Rear wheel still spinning, tearing up your leg.

 

Doign a U-turn and misjudge. Front wheel drops off the pavement into the soft sandy shoulder. Front wheel cocks to the side. Bike is going to go down...you can't hold it up more than a few seconds.

 

Throttle sticks open. You can pull in the clutch and that'll solve the "accelerating out of control" problem, but then you've got your engine sitting there pinned against the rev limiter. Are you going to calmly pull over and stop, shift down to first, then put the sidestand down to kill the bike? lmao.gif

 

Someone else goes down and their bike is still running. The rear wheel is turning, chain and sprockets are still turning. i.e. NOT a good environment to be rushing into to help your friend. The first order of business is going to be shutting the bike down. Where's the key on this bike? Hmm....can't put the sidestand down because the bike's down on the left side. etc.

 

BTW, those things are things that either happened to me, or happened to other people in my presence, so this isn't wild-eyed hypothetical stuff...it's real.

 

Basically, any time you need to shut it down RIGHT NOW, the kill switch is the way to go.

 

When you're in a situation where you suddenly need to shut it down RIGHT NOW, you're also not likely to be in a situation where you can afford the time and attention required to fumble around for a switch that you never use.

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ShovelStrokeEd

Since we have wandered well off topic, I would offer an alternative to the kill switch that I routinely use on my drag bikes and would probably incorporate into my track bike once I acquire sufficient funds to actually buy one.

 

Simple tether kill switch, mounted on the upper triple clamp and wired in series with the bike's kill switch. Tether is clipped to the zipper on my leathers and pops the hold down off with a couple of ounces of force. Available at any personal watercraft dealer for about $12.

 

You and bike part company? Engine and fuel pump shut down. Easy to implement and, if you happen to lose the knob that holds the button down, a bit of duct tape and you're back in business.

 

These have been required by every drag race sanctioning body going and I'm amazed they are not required in the road racing world. I realize there is more body movement but that could be fixed with a simple wrist strap around the right hand instead of using the zipper on the leathers.

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russell_bynum
Since we have wandered well off topic, I would offer an alternative to the kill switch that I routinely use on my drag bikes and would probably incorporate into my track bike once I acquire sufficient funds to actually buy one.

 

Simple tether kill switch, mounted on the upper triple clamp and wired in series with the bike's kill switch. Tether is clipped to the zipper on my leathers and pops the hold down off with a couple of ounces of force. Available at any personal watercraft dealer for about $12.

 

You and bike part company? Engine and fuel pump shut down. Easy to implement and, if you happen to lose the knob that holds the button down, a bit of duct tape and you're back in business.

 

These have been required by every drag race sanctioning body going and I'm amazed they are not required in the road racing world. I realize there is more body movement but that could be fixed with a simple wrist strap around the right hand instead of using the zipper on the leathers.

 

That's a good idea, but I'd worry about a few things:

1. On a track bike, you move around a whole bunch. Given how I'm always getting tangled up in my autocom headset cord, I could see how it would be pretty difficult to keep from getting tangled up in a tether and accidentally shutting the bike down as you hip-flick from one side of the bike to the other.

2. Likewise...on my street bikes, I'm crawling all over the place, standing up, etc. Not for hanging off in corners, but I just like to move around a bunch to stay comfortable.

3. Same with the dirt bike...you're crawling all over the thing. And, you're often running through trees and stuff where a tether could get caught on a branch and yanked out.

 

I haven't done it, but I would assume that you're relatively stationary on a drag bike, so that isn't such an issue.

 

Also, it still doesn't solve the problem of being able to easily and quickly shut the bike down while both hands are still on the bars.

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Idly watching the bikers waiting to board a cross-channel ferry, I noted a guy relaxing sitting on his parked bike (1150RT), feet on pegs.

 

I was fascinated to see what seemed to be his quite unique way of getting the machine off its centre stand:

 

This was by vigorously rocking himself forwards and backwards, feet on pegs all the while, until the stand went past its point of balance and flicked up, leaving him ready to ride.

 

Fascinating, if only I'd had a video camera.

 

Strain on stand must have been immense, but no doubt a good way to get some physical exercise.

 

We have some Officers as stupid as that, which is why our Fleet Manager can tell you the part number, & price, of a centre stand without consulting the micro-fiche. In more than one case, with the old air-heads, & K-Series, we had to have a new frame. Trust me, that's not cheap.

 

Over the years BMW GB have issued & re-issued two bulletins that make it clear two "faults" for which warranty claims will not be considered; this is one, the other is habitual use of the Emergency Kill switch to switch off, as opposed to switching off with the key.

 

I'm new to BMW's so forgive the novice question, but I turn the kill switch and then the key when shutting down. From your comments, will I cause premature failure of the switch? Thanks.

 

Use the kill switch. Its purpose is to shut the bike off in an emergency without forcing you to take your hands off the grips. Use it every time you shut the bike down so that you build muscle memory so when you need it in an emergency, it'll be there.

 

If you happen to wear the switch out...so be it. I put over 60,000 miles on my RT, always shutting it down with the kill switch. No problems whatsoever.

 

That's not to say the switches don't wear out. They do...eventually. They're no different than any other killswitch on any other motorcycle. (The guys on the CBR600RR forum talk about not using the kill switch for fear of wearing it out, too.)

 

Personally...I've never heard of the claim that BMW will not honor a warranty repair on a kill switch.

 

I appreciate police use is harder than most other riders use - the bikes are started & stopped numerous times in the working day - but eventually the switch will cease to make contact - it's sort of fail safe in that it the rider puts the switch to the "run" position, but the circuit remains electrically "dead".

We have had this problem over the years since we had 75/6's, plus with the K's, & now oil-heads. It's a very avoidable fault, & BMW - rightly in my opinion - won't warrant the repair. To be absolutely fair, it does take miles to manifest itself, but as we have taken some of our bikes to over 100,000, & with the abnormally hard use that some officers give the bikes, it does happen.

All you need to know about Police officers & their mechanical sympathy is this:

"Put three of them in a padded cell with a golf ball each, & within an hour one will have eaten it, one will have lost it, & the last will have broken it"

DAMHIK !!! dopeslap.gif

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Francois_Dumas

This means I would make for a good motor copper ! smile.gif

 

The few times my kill switch was used (mostly inadvertedly) I spent some 15 minutes of trouble shooting on my NEXT trip, trying to figure out why the damn engine wouldn't start !!! lmao.giflmao.giflmao.gif

 

I can appreciate the use of the switch in emergency situations, but fail to see why I should use it when not necessary. Knowing myself I'd probably forget to use it anyway even if I should fall over on my U-turns one day dopeslap.gif

 

Now, the fuel switch (on my old bikes), THAT's a different story...... grin.gif

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ShovelStrokeEd

Russell,

Moving the tether to the throttle hand and shortening the cord sufficient to keep it out of the steering would solve the problem. Can be affixed to a sleeve zipper. A coil cord will more or less stay out of your way.

 

On the drag bikes, we have to move around quite a bit to even steer the darn things, 10" wide, square, rear tire with 4 PSI of air in it and the front wheel anywhere from a couple of inches to a foot or so off the ground plus wheelie bar wheels, about 16" apart on the ground. The absolute only way to steer is to hang off. No where near as extreme as the road racer get into but there is a lot of body movement. Even with the tether on the top of your front zipper, a coil cord will pretty much stay out of the way.

 

You retain the regular kill switch on the handlebar controls as well so normal shutdown or emergency engine kill in case of runaway is still available. The tether kill is used to keep the bike from spinning around an maybe biting you should you part company.

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russell_bynum

I can appreciate the use of the switch in emergency situations, but fail to see why I should use it when not necessary.

 

A flight instructor friend of mine always prided himself on making every takeoff as if it was a short, soft field takeoff. Likewise with every landing.

 

His logic:

1. Why would you ever use more runway than necessary?

2. When I NEED to do a short/soft field takeoff/landing, I'll just do it like I do every other landing. No additional thought about adjusting to the situation.

 

I really don't understand why people have so much trouble grasping this concept. In an emergency situation, you're not going to have the luxury of fumbling around to find a switch that you never use. And that assumes that you even THINK about using the killswitch...which you probably will not since emergency situations impair your ability to reason and you'll always fall back on habit.

 

As for forgetting to turn the killswitch on, that's part of the standard checklist that we get from the MSF in new rider training. Surely the training that you get in Europe (which is FAR more comprehensive than what we get) covers that??

 

I dunno...maybe it's because I come from a dirtbike background. With a dirtbike, it isn't that unusual to find yourself on the ground under your bike with it still running. Or you'll get stuck on a hill climb and need to shut the thing down RIGHT NOW to avoid making the situation worse. With some of the bikes I've ridden, the killswitch was THE way you turned the bike off. The key (if it even exists) was not accessible, and there's no sidestand switch, but there's always a killswitch on the right handlebar.

 

If I ever wear a killswitch out, I'll take it off, clean it with contact cleaner, and try it again. If that doesn't work, I'll short the wires together and replace it when I get home.

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Francois_Dumas

Russel,

 

I DO understand what you are saying.

 

My point (and hence the smiley) is that I believe that in a real emergency everything will happen real fast and what you do will depend on 'reflexes'. I don't know exactly how that works logically in our brains (I DO know it is different for each person), but I think that routinely switching the kill switch instead of (or before) turning the ignition key is NOT the same as using it when sliding towards an armco with 80 mph, or flying over your handlebars after hitting that car.

 

You may be right, and I am just a newbie, but I doubt that that particular 'habit' will be real 'training' for said emergency.

 

But then again, different things work for different persons. I just hope I don't have to prove some day that you were right smile.gif

 

Francois

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russell_bynum

but I think that routinely switching the kill switch instead of (or before) turning the ignition key is NOT the same as using it when sliding towards an armco with 80 mph, or flying over your handlebars after hitting that car.

 

Absolutley. You'll never hit the killswitch in those situations.

 

It is the less dire situations where it can be handy.

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Last August when my R1100R slammed down D#%@^ hard on the side of my right foot and the brake and footpeg pinned me under the bike,the first thing I saw was my rear wheel spinning and I immediately reached up from under the bike and hit the kill switch. Never underestimate the importance 0f that one piece of equipment and if you can't readily get to it and learn to use it by instinct, you are not doing yourself any favors. Believe me, when you are in a bad situation, you will be glad it is there. The feeling of a piece of machinery grinding into the side of a broken foot is not one I care to remember. I just needed to stop the motion, motor, anything that even breathed, at that time.

 

If you could think back, I bet you can think of incidences where it would have been helpful. In my case, it stopped the movement on my foot that I had broke four bones in on the fall, and allowed me to calm mysef a bit while I was waiting for my husband to spin back around and help the bike off me. In the meantime, I did some quick thinking and thought I might be able to use my free leg to get "just enough" leverage to drag my foot out and I did. About the same time, Scott got back to help me. Believe me, it hurt my foot far worse with that tire moving and I felt like I was in a better position to get out from under it if all possible. That was a lot of weight on two pressure points of four broken bones on a 125 pound female with small feet. Helps us weaker of the sexes anyway. wave.gif

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