falling over on stand? help!

[howdee500]

This is a 2k bike with only 7500k, garage kept, etc. Yet the other day it just fell over toward the stand, in a level garage nobody around. It seems the stand spring is weeker than it should be but also the bike on the stand seems to stand up too straight. If anything, this should cause more likelyhood of falling away from the stand.
The only damage was a broken Kuryakyn highway peg arm. Cheap and easy to replace.
But what about the stand/stand spring?
Anyone who can help with what is going on here, please chime in
Thanks,
Howard

[Jess from VA]

I bet you did not have the stand all the way out when you walked away. 

Sometimes when you move/wiggle the bike/bars around a bit while on the stand, it rolls forward a little causing the stand to swing back a little.

Either way, the stand spring and gravity can slowly take over.

[John Schmidt]

Do you have the bad habit of parking the bike in neutral? If so, quit....then it won't roll forward when on the sidestand.

[salty1]

Do you have the bad habit of parking the bike in neutral? If so, quit....then it won't roll forward when on the sidestand.

Point well taken! 

[Brian]

I am in the habit of slightly pulling the bike backwards as soon as I get off it to make sure the stand is correctly seated against the stop. Replacing the spring and the bolts are a good idea.

[R J]

2 things to remember and to do.

1.     Make sure the kick stand is all the way down.

2.     Make sure the bike is in gear just in case it is on a slight incline.

[BudMan]

The old Harleys had a kind of "key slot" that engages when the scooter leans over to park. Mine works that way, but I don't know if the newer ones still do that or not.
I've had a couple of incidents with a bike not being in gear and rolling forward and trying to fall over before I got used to always putting them in gear. I always leave the Harley in Neutral with the clutch engaged to avoid trying to accidently kick it with the clutch disengaged.  MAN! That will twist a knee that will stay with you for a while.
I've often wondered why all stands don't have some kind of lock when deployed that keeps them from folding back when holding up the bike's weight. Looks simple to me.

[WintrSol]

Since I bought a bike with a safety on the stand, I've used it to kill the engine, after the first time it almost rolled off the stand, and then I turn the key off; now I've got a much larger bike, I make sure to keep that newly-acquired habit. Now, when I ride my 450, I have to remember that it won't kill the engine, and thumb the run/stop switch when the stand goes down.

[Chrisj CMA]

Since I bought a bike with a safety on the stand, I've used it to kill the engine, after the first time it almost rolled off the stand, and then I turn the key off; now I've got a much larger bike, I make sure to keep that newly-acquired habit. Now, when I ride my 450, I have to remember that it won't kill the engine, and thumb the run/stop switch when the stand goes down.

Why not just use the key to turn off the motor if not an emergency, that way you wont forget and kill your battery.  I see this every year in Daytona, many bikes eventually someone that does what you do will forget......at least once every year.  You have to turn the key off anyways, so why not just use that instead of a shortcut

[R J]

Since I bought a bike with a safety on the stand, I've used it to kill the engine, after the first time it almost rolled off the stand, and then I turn the key off; now I've got a much larger bike, I make sure to keep that newly-acquired habit. Now, when I ride my 450, I have to remember that it won't kill the engine, and thumb the run/stop switch when the stand goes down.

Why not just use the key to turn off the motor if not an emergency, that way you wont forget and kill your battery.  I see this every year in Daytona, many bikes eventually someone that does what you do will forget......at least once every year.  You have to turn the key off anyways, so why not just use that instead of a shortcut

10-04.      I agree.

[Willow]

Help me out in my lack of understanding to the reference to the spring.  I'm not that smart, but my initial impression is that the function on the spring is to pull the side stand up when it's not in the down position.  What holds it when it's down is that it is beyond half way in the full parked position.  Does the spring really play significantly into that? 

I'm going to go look at one of my Valkyries now.   

[WintrSol]

Since I bought a bike with a safety on the stand, I've used it to kill the engine, after the first time it almost rolled off the stand, and then I turn the key off; now I've got a much larger bike, I make sure to keep that newly-acquired habit. Now, when I ride my 450, I have to remember that it won't kill the engine, and thumb the run/stop switch when the stand goes down.

Why not just use the key to turn off the motor if not an emergency, that way you wont forget and kill your battery.  I see this every year in Daytona, many bikes eventually someone that does what you do will forget......at least once every year.  You have to turn the key off anyways, so why not just use that instead of a shortcut

There are enough lights that stay on on my Intruder that it's not an issue - I never forget to turn the key, and it's just below the petcock, so that goes to off at the same time. I'm still getting used to the Valkyrie, and still work at remembering to turn the fuel off after pulling the key, out as they're on opposite sides. But, I've never had an issue, as I'm kind of anal about these things - engine off, key out, petcock off, check that bike won't move, then step off.

[Tonysax]

Do you have the bad habit of parking the bike in neutral? If so, quit....then it won't roll forward when on the sidestand.

I had the same thing happen to me 2 weeks ago while detailing the bike. I turn my back and she is on her side with gas pouring out. Luckily it was a slow fall onto the crash guard. My driveway has a small pitch and it was in neutral.

LESSON LEARNED, park it in gear.

[Pete]

First Lesson

Do not park on any down hill slope, front facing downhill.

2nd lesson is
If you break lesson 1 then put bike in gear and let out the clutch and let it take the slack out before deploying the kick stand.

[Brian]

Help me out in my lack of understanding to the reference to the spring.  I'm not that smart, but my initial impression is that the function on the spring is to pull the side stand up when it's not in the down position.  What holds it when it's down is that it is beyond half way in the full parked position.  Does the spring really play significantly into that? 

I'm going to go look at one of my Valkyries now.   

Willow,
If my memory serves me correctly the spring always has tension on the side stand so it holds in place in both positions.

[Chrisj CMA]

This is a 2k bike with only 7500k, garage kept, etc. Yet the other day it just fell over toward the stand, in a level garage nobody around. It seems the stand spring is weeker than it should be but also the bike on the stand seems to stand up too straight. If anything, this should cause more likelyhood of falling away from the stand.
The only damage was a broken Kuryakyn highway peg arm. Cheap and easy to replace.
But what about the stand/stand spring?
Anyone who can help with what is going on here, please chime in
Thanks,
Howard

If the bike is standing up too straight on the side stand you'd better find out what is wrong.  Valkyries lean; most feel too much.  Either bent frame crossmember, wrong kickstand or maybe flat or wrong tires?  Something is not right

[Tfrank59]

This is a 2k bike with only 7500k, garage kept, etc. Yet the other day it just fell over toward the stand, in a level garage nobody around. It seems the stand spring is weeker than it should be but also the bike on the stand seems to stand up too straight. If anything, this should cause more likelyhood of falling away from the stand.
The only damage was a broken Kuryakyn highway peg arm. Cheap and easy to replace.
But what about the stand/stand spring?
Anyone who can help with what is going on here, please chime in
Thanks,
Howard

I guess nobody's mentioned that your tires need to be fully inflated--are they?  if not, the bike could stand so straight up that it falls over opposite the side stand (which is I guess what happened?).  with my tires fully inflated (40/42, F/R), my bike on level ground leans almost 25 degrees on the side stand--seems excessive to me, but she definitely won't fall over the other way!

[Tfrank59]

This is a 2k bike with only 7500k, garage kept, etc. Yet the other day it just fell over toward the stand, in a level garage nobody around. It seems the stand spring is weeker than it should be but also the bike on the stand seems to stand up too straight. If anything, this should cause more likelyhood of falling away from the stand.
The only damage was a broken Kuryakyn highway peg arm. Cheap and easy to replace.
But what about the stand/stand spring?
Anyone who can help with what is going on here, please chime in
Thanks,
Howard

I guess nobody's mentioned that your tires need to be fully inflated--are they?  if not, the bike could stand so straight up that it falls over opposite the side stand (which is I guess what happened?).  with my tires fully inflated (40/42, F/R), my bike on level ground leans almost 25 degrees on the side stand--seems excessive to me, but she definitely won't fall over the other way!

Okay now in rereading your first post I see that it fell over towards the side stand – that's a different matter altogether.  If it wasn't something simple like you didn't have the stand locked all the way out, then it's a more serious problem under there.  Let us know what you learn...

[howdee500]

OK , I noticed the blade at the bottom of the stand does not lay flat even in the garage.A recent haul on a trailer and the tie downs that went with it could have bent the stand keeping  it from going all the way forward and allowing the spring to pull it back far to easily.
Does your stand blade make flat contact?

[John Schmidt]

If you made the mistake of hauling the bike with the kickstand down, it's quite possible you bent the crossmember it's attached to. Never haul it with the 'stand down, and don't tie the bike down at the end of the handlebars.

[Tfrank59]

Yes, even though my bike leans so far on the stand, the base of the stand is parallel to the ground, which indicates that the lean angle is basically correct.  Like John said, I think it was a mistake for you to tie down and haul the bike with the side stand down.  Must've bent something.

[R J]

Trust his old Jarhead on this one.

If you hauled that bike on the sidestand, YES, you have a serious problem of a ent frame.

[Willow]

Help me out here those of you that are fixating on a bent sidestand or frame due to transporting with the stand down.  While I agree that a bike should not be transported with the stand down, should a bent stand or frame result it would cause the bike not to sit more straight up when on the stand, but further leaned over on the stand.

If the bike were to stand too straight up on the stand the cause would be shorter shocks or shorter tires.

I think our friend just didn't get his stand into the forward locked position.

[R J]

A buddy of mine hauled his Yamaha on the side stand down.

Bent the frame and for some reason or another it made it stand up straighter.

I never looked at it personally, all I'm goin by it was the owner said.

I do know the only way his insurance company would stand still to insure it in the future was to put a new frame under it.