Bent Center Stand

Hi there all!

It's been a while now since I've visited the good old Silverwing community.

I had a bump yesterday, or should I say I guy in a big old 4X4 bumped into me while I was at a stand still waiting for the traffic lights to change!

Anyway, I got off fairly lightly with a bruised shin and a few scratches to the bike's body work. But the biggest problem was that the center stand (the part that you put your foot on) got so badly bent that it is now impossible to stand on it to raise the bike!

My question is : Would this be repairable by a mechanic with welding gear? Or, failing this does anybody know the cost of a new center stand?

Thanking you in anticipation .........

SteVe

Hello mate, yes it's been a while since you last posted, sorry to hear about your bump. Have you tried slipping a long piece of metal pipe over the bent bit and levering it back into the original position.

Now that's what I call common sense!

I will certainly try that!

Thanks Meldrew

I used a large pipe wrench as a lever to fix mine. Now it works fine.

I used a large pipe wrench as a lever to fix mine. Now it works fine.

Bit of heat from a welding torch and a long pipe would be my cure!

Somewhere buried in the junk in my garage is a rusty fork stanchion from a previous bike (a Norton Commando many years ago) I keep it specifically for jobs like this when a lot of leverage is needed, a length of scaffolding pole also does the job and they can both be slipped over a spanner or socket wrench when you have a real need to wreck something !!

Somewhere buried in the junk in my garage is a rusty fork stanchion from a previous bike (a Norton Commando many years ago) I keep it specifically for jobs like this when a lot of leverage is needed, a length of scaffolding pole also does the job and they can both be slipped over a spanner or socket wrench when you have a real need to wreck something !!

WOW! Seems like I read this before on this site. Why not have the person that hit you pay to have it replaced with a new stand?

He did hand over €200 in cash and apologised to be fair on the guy, but if I can make a simple and reliable repair to the stand, then the cash will simply be compensation for the shock/inconvenience and my bruised leg. It might also act as an incentive to him to be more aware on the roads!

SteVe

Oh, and thank you Waspie and Bikerboy for your helpful suggestions

Reading the above:

I realise that of course Waspie was a helio mechanic...

KurtPerthWA wrote:

Reading the above:

I realise that of course Waspie was a helio mechanic...

Hel-i-o mechanic!!!!!

I used to break em too you know!!!!!

Bent mine due to dropping the scooter. Used a piece of pipe to lever it back into shape, probably no need for heat Steve unless it is really cold in your garage. 200 euros for your trouble, buy the scoot a good Christmas present and treat yourself as well.

Cheers,

Heating the metal will allow him to bend it back into shape without risking stressing the metal to the point it snaps.

I will certainly do that!

Thank you Tarmacburner2

SteVe

Thank you Jim ................ will try to apply some heat to be safe,

SteVe

Dont forget to remove the tupperware within range of the heat source. I would remove stand and use a vise as you will need to get it red hot.

DarthJ wrote:

Heating the metal will allow him to bend it back into shape without risking stressing the metal to the point it snaps.

True - folk forget the stresses metal takes in accidents. All those molecules being confused -

It's all getting rather complicated for Steve now, it's gone from the fairly simple bending it back with a length of pipe, to the aggravation of removing tupperware, or removing the stand and clamping it in a vice (vise) and heating it to red hot before bending it. Then he's going to have to prime and paint the now bare metal afterwards.

I'm sure Steve doesn't have a bench vice in the garage, a gas blow torch or wants to be messing about with one with his scooter nearby full of petrol. As a guitar teacher, accidental burns to his hands are something he'll want to avoid too.

Its thin wall pipe Meldrew, if he tries to straighten it cold he may kink it therefore weakening it. If it must be straightened it should be straightened properly.
All he has to do is remove it and take it to a local engineers shop and have them straighten it fo a lunch pak (6 cans)

If it were solid bar as in the old days he may have gotten away with a cold bend or even a few hits with a 4 pounder.

Thank you Medrew for understanding my predicament
Everything that you presumed about my life style is correct!
In fact I haven't even been able to find a pipe to attempt the simplest solution to my bent stand. So, as I am taking my bike to a local mechanic later this week for an oil change, I will ask him to tackle the job in whatever way he sees fit as long as the price is right!

Actually, I have a far more pressing issue with the bike at the moment that may well have been caused by the same bump that bent my stand, but I guess I ought to put that on a new posting ........... which I will do now

SteVe

Quick Update: The mechanic who changed my oil this week did indeed have a huge steel pipe with which to bend my center stand lever back into place. Although it is now possible to get the bike onto it's stand, it is a much tougher maneuver, as is getting it off the stand. This is, I believe due to the fact that the the stand was not only bent along the riding line of the bike, but across it as well, if that makes sense. This means that the two feet of the stand are slightly wonky in respect to each other causing the bike to lean a little to the right. Once on the stand, the bike seems pretty stable, but I don't think I'll be using it as often as I used to (every time I stopped!), until I figure out how to achieve a more convincing repair!

I will keep all you good people posted

SteVe

Steve, keep your eyes on eBay, they occasionally have used stands for sale on there!

I just called up this old thread that I started to see how long ago I had that issue with my center stand. Quite shocked to see that it was almost 2 years ago! The reason for my interest is due to the fact that over the past few weeks I have noticed that my center stand had been getting a little wonky again to the point where my SW was noticeably leaning to one side on the stand, and had also become a lot stiffer. Anyway, last weekend I went to apply the stand and the whole bike rolled over onto it's side! I figured that anymore bending or hammering of my stand in an attempt to achieve a lasting repair might be unwise, so I checked the price of a new stand from Honda (€120), and started to look elsewhere. I have just ordered a secondhand stand from Germany off ebay for €45 and hope that I can change it myself. I also hope I haven't been foolish in assuming that the ordered stand for a SW 600 will be identical to the one on my SW 400!

I still love my Silverwing and can't imagine riding anything else!

SteVe

Assuming that your center stand springs are still stretched when you lower the stand then you should insert small coins into as many of the spring gaps as you can. That will insure that the spring doesn't fully contract and make removing the springs as well as reinstalling them easy. Well, kind of easy.

Otherwise it's going to be a bear of a job to stretch those springs the full length to remount them.

Tim

Gosh! I hadn't even considered the difficulties of reattaching those springs!

what an excellent and ingenious solution with regards to inserting coins to keep the springs stretched Tim.

Thank you very much for that tip

SteVe

Raced and bent m/cycles for years. If it got bent cold; straighten it cold. Heat will take the temper out; might be ok where there is no strain.

I wouldn't bother fixing it if you got 200 EUR for the bother. The new stand is about $50 USD, don't know what that ends up being to buy in Europe, but certainly less than 200 EUR.