This ever happen to anybody else?

[Flameout 86]

I'm riding along on my 2000 tourer and without warning, it quit running.  The cause?  The bolt that holds the side stand spring broke.  When the side stand went down, the engine stopped.  Putting it back up didn't help because the sensor wire disconnected at the time.  Is this common?  Is there a way to make it stronger? 

Tom Berleth  (Flameout 86)

[Bagger John - #3785]

I'm riding along on my 2000 tourer and without warning, it quit running.  The cause?  The bolt that holds the side stand spring broke.  When the side stand went down, the engine stopped.  Putting it back up didn't help because the sensor wire disconnected at the time.  Is this common?  Is there a way to make it stronger? 

Tom Berleth  (Flameout 86)

Tom,

It happens.

Carry a spare.

Search the old Tech Archives; there are various opinions regarding how to effectively address the problem...

[Bone]

My 98 Tourer side-stand bolt was bent. Noticed very little spring when I put it down at a gas station. Made it home without losing any parts.
Looking at the location of the bolt I determined I bent the bolt pushing my Sears bike lift under the bike.
I cut a piece of 2x4 I lay on the floor from the side-stand pointing under the engine. The lift hits the wooden stop just before the contact with the bolt

[Raverez]

Yep, happened twice. You can bungee cord the side stand to the rear peg as a quick fix.

[fudgie]

Anyone know how to bypass it? I was gonna do that this spring but lost how to do it.

[Kingbee]

When I bought one of my bikes, the owner had broken the side stand switch with his lift.  He cut the wires off it & connected them together.  That works perfectly, but bypasses the safety feature of the switch.

[Flameout 86]

Thanks to everyone for your comments on this.  I used Motow to take my bike and me home where I found out I could have plugged the sensor wire into the switch, tied the stand up with a bungee and rode home.  Problem was, I was on a busy freeway with a narrow shoulder and a concrete barrier -- I couldn't get to a safe place to work on it.  By the way, my experiences with Motow have been excellent.  I recommend them.  They transported me almost 30 miles -- no charge.

Tom