Just when I thought I could ride

[The Prophet of Doom]

All I had left to fix was the knock in my forks and I was good to ride

But then...

There was a wee bit of a wind here and my bike was blown off the centre stand.
Broken fairing, dinged tank, broken mirror, clutch lever, indicator not to mention some ugly scuffing on exhaust, grip and pegs.  Not sure what else - it's too sad to look at it.

So it's going to get a second painting without even having been ridden.  The question is... What colour this time? I bet it wouldn't have blown over if it was silver.

[Tiger]

 :'( I really do feel your pain :( I've just about refinished "The Mistress" after her tumble from the trailer on the 1st January. She had very similar damage. I left her until the next day before starting work on her...

                         8).......TIGER....... 8)

[Jay]

That really sucks. I had some wind here the other day, and my bike blew over. I was standing about 5 feet away, and jumped under and caught it, but it was past the 45 degree mark, and extremely heavy. It was all I could do to keep it from touching the ground. I almost thought of laying it down slowly, but then decided to summon the strength of the gods, and somehow managed to muscle it back upright. It was unbelievably heavy, the handle bars were inches from the ground. That's been my only scare thus far though.

[QBS]

I am so sorry to hear of your accident.  Motorcycles are really quite fragile.  A zero speed drop can, depending on the bike, create thousands of dollars worth of damage. That's one of the primary reasons why some types of motorcycle insurance are so expensive.

Those of us with the factory fairing have to be really, really aware and alert as to how we park our bikes, or any bike for that matter.  The fairing represents a surprisingly significant amount of surface area.  It's amazing to me how little wind is needed to blow over a V on center stand.  Add a bike cover over it, and you have a guaranteed disaster waiting to happen.  However, when one considers how much the center stand raises the bike and, even more critically, how narrow the center stand contact points are, the potential for disaster becomes apparent.  And, don't even think about putting the bike on center stand on anything less than a perfectly level surface.

[YellowJacket!]

I feel your pain.  Mine was blown over in a monsoon-like thunderstorm while I was at work one day last year.  Insurance estimated the damage to be around 500.00 (coincidentally, my deductable amount) but since they said the NADA was only 900.00, they wanted to total the bike.  Now way! I say.  Persued the matter with my employer - whom I had been asking about MC parking since the gravel lot was not suitable and packed enough for parking a MC on, and they paid..and created a designated MC parking lot!
Still, it was a painful event given all the work I had put into YJ, but after the repairs were done, I think things are even better.
It happens to the best of us..Me, Brian, Tiger and many more.
Here's to a speedy bike recovery.

David

[67GTO]

So are you saying using the side stand would be safer in high winds? (assuming, of course hard
level parking surface)

[QBS]

Absolutely. No question.

[kev10104]

Wow.I would have thought the centre stand was the best.Thanks for that info.

[Tiger]

 :) The side stand down gives the "V" three surface contact area's, the centre stand two... :o I tend to use the centre stand only when "The Mistress" is in the garage ;)

                  8).......TIGER....... 8)                 

[Night Vision]

I hate the sidestand  >:(

Harley can make one to hold up a 750lb bike..... mine has folded serveral times....

be careful

[The Prophet of Doom]

By the way, does anyone have a halfway decent clutch lever?  I don't want to pay new prices

[Walt_M.]

I use the centerstand about 99.5% of the time but only on a hard surface. I use an aluminum plate or a board if pavement is not available.

[QBS]

Regarding folding side stands:  The only way the side stand will "fold"(assuming that the bike is on a hard surface) is for the bike to roll forward while the side stand is deployed.  To guarentee that this can't happen, do the following: With the engine off, release the clutch, deploy the side stand, put the bike in first gear, roll the bike against the engine resistance, put the the side stand foot on the ground.

By doing this the bike can not move forward and, thus potentially, unload the side stand to the point that it may be moved to its' spring loaded retraction point.  Using this procedure is critical when parking with the bike pointed down hill.

[Kenny]

 I'm 100% in agreement with QBS,I have used this procedure on many hills (in B.C.'s interior their are many Ferryboats and they have old style shore service are as the water rises & falls for Columbia River flood control) and on the boat surfaces using the sidestand in conjunction with the bike in 1st gear works very well. Some of these Ferryboat operators even recomend this.
    I'm down in OK on a refuel tasking -Boy I never expected to see SNOW  ??? :'( :'( down here!!
                                       Cheers Ken S.

[Rick G]

I get my levers from a guy on eBay , been buying from him for 8 years.
I've never had a side stand problem , always use a coaster under it , unless its on pavement.  I always use the centre stand  when putting the bike away. The lack of centre stand infuriates me on "modern "bikes.

[QBS]

One more tip added to my comments above:  After the side has been deployed with its foot on the ground, put your left foot on top of the side stand foot, turn the handle bars to full right lock.  Then, pull up and back on the handlebars (primarily the right one) to unload the front suspension as much as possible.  Try not to roll the bike backwards, as this would defeat the whole purpose of rolling the back against the engine resistance in the first place.   Finally, let go of the handlebars and allow the bike to settle down on its' front suspension.  Because of fork sticktion, the bike chassis will settle at a higher level than it was when you got off the bike.

The benefit of this exercise is, that by raising the height of the chassis in this leaned over position, the lean angle is increased and much more force is required to move the chassis toward vertical.  It may be hard to really understand what is being accomplished from a verbal description.  Experiment with your bikes on hard level ground and the benefit will be clear.

BTW:  Any of my side and center stand comments are applicable to all motorcycles not just Vs.

[Kevin]

Kenny's instructions for proper side stand use is undoubtedly a seasoned BMW rider talking. Germans don't have a clue how to make a side stand, That's the best part on a Harley.     

[jim328]

I picked up an aftermarket clutch lever from Budget Motorcycles spares in Christchurch for $10.00NZ. Looks and fits just like the factory one.

[The Prophet of Doom]

I picked up an aftermarket clutch lever from Budget Motorcycles spares in Christchurch for $10.00NZ. Looks and fits just like the factory one.

Thanks Jim, I didn't know that place existed.  Picked up a pair for $22 (that's $11 in inflated US dollars).  Good deal, genuine Yamaha parts are over $50 a pair, and have to be indented from Japan.  Their tyre prices are pretty sharp also