Rivco center stands. Only a few left

[cokebottle10]

FYI

I e-mailed Rivco about their center stands for the Valkyrie. They are making a new run of them but they only have a few left. They cost $450 and Rivco will need a $100 deposit to hold one for you. They will be shipped out in May. I put my deposit in for one.

Chick "Cheryl" Strockis
Sales Associate
Rivco Products, Inc.
440 S. Pine Street
Burlington, WI 53105
Phone: 888-801-8222
Fax: 262-763-8949

Thanks,
David in Fletcher NC

[Earl in Pensacola]

I have a '97 tourer that I put a Rivco ctr. stand on when they first came out (I think it was sometime in '98).  I have been more than happy with it. After looking at a (recent?) picture of one, it looked like Rivco may have corrected the one weakness I found.  Having said that, I offer one warning:  Do not OVER TIGHTEN the bolts that go thru the cross-over that the center stand attaches to.  You will "crush" the cross-over!!!  Unless Rivco is now providing a couple of pieces of pre-drilled metal at least 1/8 thickness & about 1.5" wide & long enough to go completely across the cross-over, you should add these yourself.  One piece on top and one under the cross-over, then put the center stand bolts thru and tighten.  A few thousand miles after I installed the center stand, I was going over everything and checking all nuts & bolts etc. for tightness and when I re-tightened the two bolts holding the stand, my cross-over started to collapse!!    

[Ricky-D]

When I try to remember my past Honda's and center stands, I can't remember if my Goldwing had a center stand, but it did have a kick start pedal.

The last positive memory of a center stand was on the Honda 450 that I had.

The reason I am even posting here in this thread, is that I remember that with a center stand, Honda always had some kind of handle located in a position that made it easy to pull up on, while pressing down on the center stand.

This made it an easier proposition to getting the bike up on the stand.

I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to getting the Valkyrie up on a center stand, what with the heavy weight that the Valkyrie possesses.

Jus sayin

***

[Earl in Pensacola]

There was a lift "handle"  for the right side that mounted next to the passenger seat and it came with the center stand.  I bought one for the left side to match it up.  It's still takes a pretty hardy lift/push to get the Phat lady up on the stand, but it's worth the effort.  Mine cost about $250 plus labor, way back then.

[Daniel Meyer]

Originally the Rivco stand came with the left side handle/grab rail. Current stand comes with both sides.


I've no trouble putting a Valk on a centerstand, unless the rear is completely flat. Even then, a simple trick and up she comes. It's all in the technique. People tend to yank on the bike and try to pull back on the bars, etc. That just means you're doing it the hard way...or as the snipers say, "You'll just die tired."

Center stand has seriously saved my bacon a couple times...but I do tend to abuse my fat-lady when I'm far and away from homebase. It's a philosophy I suppose...left over from us old-timers that ride 'em hard...and when we tear something up, we get out the kit, put it back together somehow...and ride some more...and just as hard.

I have a lot of trouble imagining a cruiser...or indeed, anything heavy enough that I can't get one end of it off the ground (so I could, for instance, plop it up on a guardrail to work on it) that didn't have a center stand.

This is somewhere in the Yukon...Watson Lake I think...where I ran out of rubber on the back tire.

I showed up before they opened, pulled the wheel, and when they showed up, handed my wheel to them, pointed at a evil-nasty-bad-flaming-death-causing car tire on the showroom floor, and said, "Put this, on there."

Folks in the Yukon are a practical lot. The guy shrugged, mounted the tire, charged me a fist full of rupees, and out the door I was.

Anyway...centerstands. Come to Inzane. I'll show you how.

More info here: http://lifeisaroad.com/stories/2004/10/27/centerStand.html

[Earl in Pensacola]

DM--You're right about the lift handles-  I had my eyes crossed when I posted.