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Hard to put bike on OEM centerstand....

Here is a very simple and cheap trick.
This works best in your normal home parking spot.
Place a piece of 3/4" plywood about 12" x 12" on the floor in the position where your back tire usually rests
Ride or push the bike into your spot so the back tire is on the plywood.
Getting it up onto your center stand will now be way easier.
That's the method I use except I just pull my front tire on it. I don't have a center stand on my NC but I use the plywood piece on my Kawasaki Concours 14.
 
How to use the center stand.

Either I'm an idiot or just incredibly weak (I'm starting to believe I'm both), but I haven't been able to figure out how to pull my new (to me) 700x up onto its OEM center stand. I have watched youtube vids, but it still doesn't seem to work for me. I am 6' tall, so I figure I'm certainly not too small to do it easily. My garage floor is just smooth concrete (too smooth?) and the bike slides back without gripping at all, even with most of my weight on the stand's foot. I managed to get it to a seam in the floor to grab the stand's feet so it wouldn't slide, but it was still far from easy to lift.

If any of you can give me some thoughts on this without laughing too hard at my post, I'd appreciate it! :eek:
 
My method with my X is to place both feet of the stand on the floor with the bike upright and balanced on them to begin with. Then holding the left handlebar and the rear left passenger grabrail I put my full weight on the stands foot lever. Lastly I then heave up and slightly to the rear. If this is what You already do then try varying your hand position especially towards the rear.

Its not unusual for some bikes to get the better of some folks until they get their technique right. Some bikes are a real problem such as KTM's 950 Adventure. Despite purchasing a Touratech grabrail for it I never mastered getting it on the centrestand without the risk of back injury. In the end I could only do it with assistance from my Wife. My former CRF1000L was difficult at first also until I figured it out.
 
My observation is the stand isn't designed well.
On my Honda Pacific Coast, I only need to press down lightly on the center stand lever,and the bike pops right up with no lifting or pulling required.
The NC needs all my 190 lbs,plus a good hard lift to get on the stand. The NC is 150 LBS lighter too.
Poor design we have to live with. A Goldwing is easier to get on the stand than our bikes.
Don't feel bad, it's not lack of technique, just poor design.
 
I use the same method as Griff, the NC flies up compared to my Goldwing, but both are done the same way.
 
My NC is easier to put on the stand than my GL1800 (2002), but the NC suffers from lack of a low handle to grip the bike with your right hand. The passenger grab bar is a bit high for control, so you have to depend almost entirely on pushing down with your foot
 
If any of you can give me some thoughts on this without laughing too hard at my post, I'd appreciate it

Is it possible that your new to you 700X could have been lowered by the previous owner? That could make it much more difficult to get up on the center stand.
 
My NC700X center stand is far easier to use than my the one on my Goldwing as well. The technique for any bike I've owned from 150 lbs to 850 lbs is almost entirely using the right leg to press DOWN. Very little lifting UP is actually involved.

Still, until you master it the words "it's easy" ring hollow.
 
While standing on the left side of the bike:
Press down with the right leg on the center stand.
Pull up and back on the passenger grab rail with your right hand.
The left hand on the handlebar is only used to steady the bike, not for pulling the bike back.

JT
 
If any of you can give me some thoughts on this without laughing too hard at my post, I'd appreciate it

Is it possible that your new to you 700X could have been lowered by the previous owner? That could make it much more difficult to get up on the center stand.


Very good point. That would certainly cause a problem.
 
It’s definitely about pushing down on the stand. When done properly, you should not have to lift up on the bike at all. I hold the left side handle bar and rear grab rail but these are really just to keep myself from rising up as I push down on the stand. I’m not lifting the bike with my arms. Also, I’ve found that footwear makes a difference too. My work boots, no problem. Tennis shoes have a lot more flex and they allow my foot to kind of fold around the head of the side stand arm. Flip flops...fuggidaboudit.
 
^^^^^

Very good point about the shoes. I slip on boots or work shoes any time I raise the bike, even if it’s just the right shoe temporarily. Soft soled shoes do not work.
 
The way I showed my daughter to do it is this:

From the left side of the bike, grab the handlebar inside the left grip and at the rear left grab rail.
Use your right foot to push the center stand down to the ground
Rock the bike back and forth slightly until you can feel both pegs of the center stand are touching the ground equally
Then stand up with all your weight on your right foot on the center stand peg as you try to pull your right hip to your right hand

Once she did that, she can easily get her NC700X DCT up on the center stand every time. Also works on my Africa Twin as well.
 
Moderator comment: thread merged with a previous thread from 2016 on the same subject.
 
Thanks for all the great replies! After a little practice, I think I may have it worked out (I almost did a little dance when I succeeded for the first time). The tip about not actually pulling up on the bike was what finally worked for me. I was trying to break my back with the relatively high grab points, when I should have let my legs do all the work. Yes, it's definitely a feel that one must develop with practice - it can't be book-learned. ;)
 
Thanks for all the great replies! After a little practice, I think I may have it worked out (I almost did a little dance when I succeeded for the first time). The tip about not actually pulling up on the bike was what finally worked for me. I was trying to break my back with the relatively high grab points, when I should have let my legs do all the work. Yes, it's definitely a feel that one must develop with practice - it can't be book-learned. ;)

Glad we could help. I’m not saying this to brag, but just to make a point: I tried putting my NC on the center stand with just two fingers on the grab rail. I was able to do it. The foot, with proper shoes, puts all my weight (168 pounds) on the stand lever. The left hand on the hand grip and the right hand on the grab rail are used to guide the bike rearward. There really is no lifting involved.
 
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