How to: Refit a mainstand

[saggy0000]

Jack up kit for sale then???if so how mutch inc postage?,ill try anything rather than get rid off NELLY

[gsxbarmy]

Jack up kit for sale then???if so how mutch inc postage?,ill try anything rather than get rid off NELLY

You'd be better off pm'ing mrg direct then posting this here given its almost July and he took them off back in February.

[erbas]

This is how my mainstand and the frame looks like. Issue is that rear wheel does not come off the ground. This is after just 20'kms. Anyone had the same issue and has a fix?

[Andre]

I don't see that this section of your mainstand is causing the issue. Even the slight bend in the rod (with the flat iron welded to it) couldn't be it IMO as the stand is not touching the bend. Appears to be resting on the ends of the rod.

Edit: At second look it looks like the right weld could be cracked. As long as the rod is not loose at the end(s) it should not cause that issue.

Hard to tell not seeing it in reality.

Other reasons for rear wheel not off ground? Jack-up kit, 190/55 tires, Shock preload to set to max?

[Andre]

After talking to erbas and comparing pics and real life samples it is clear that stand has to rest on the whole rod and not just at the ends.

[KiwiCol]

Agreed Andre, the problem is that bent rod with the stiffener on it. Because it's bent upwards it's allowing the stand contact area to go further than it should, changing the angle of the main-stand legs to a more inclined position, which gives less lift at the rear.


How that got bent in the first place I just can't think of how??   Either fix it to std or add some 'packing' to the stand area that contacts the stopper. This would have the same effect as straightening out the bent bit, probably much easier to achieve too.

[Andre]

The rod on mine is bent as well. The rear wheel spins free though but can't put the small finger between ground and tire. The rod should get a big impact when I put it on the stand. I guess Suzuki should have put a bigger rod in there and/or made the welded-on plate over the whole length of the rod. Erbas thinks that it is a bad design. Looks like he is right.

There are at least 3 different designs of the stopper. The 1st pic is from the manual covering the K2. The 2nd pic is also from the manual but for the K5. When looking at my pic in one of the previous posts it looks to me that they had discovered the problem quickly and "fixed" it by welding a plate on it. As this still did not remedy the problem completely, they extended the plate in the K5 over the whole length of the rod which required the L-braces to face away from each other (maybe in K3-4 as well but doesn't show in the manual).

It appears that the one hole where the rod is stuck through has "ovalized" on Erbas bike. He doesn't know yet what the weld there looks like.

The packing you mention Col has been done by others. I doubt that it would be a long-lasting (in my definition) solution in this case.

@erbas As you asked somewhere else: The diameter of the rod is 10 mm. Using a larger diameter might give you the "opposite" problem. A rod of higher strength-rating and a longer flat-iron with  cut-outs welded on the L-braces might do the job.

From now on I will play gentle when I put mine on the center stand and prepare myself mentally for when this becomes a problem on my 14 (or I get the frame powder coated).

[erbas]

Thanks for the call, Andre... and the great analysis.

Good to see that finally there was a fix for K5, mine is a K3, with the plate welded onto the rod ( see the pictures). Which did not fix the issue recognized by Suzuki as the rod still bends.

Why the rod bent, is a good question, as the stand initially rested on the whole rod.

In order to fix the issue I believe that just replacing the rod with plate as it was delivered is not a solution as the   issue will come back sooner or later.

Isn't the mainstand design for the K5 also different because of 4-1?

The plate has to cover the full lenght of the rod, but on K3 this is difficult because the left hand side L-brace is on the "wrong" side. Maybe the L-brace has to be cut and some reinforcement has to be added

As Andre's rod is also bent, I expect many more K3 out there with this damage.

In a  German forum the proposal was to fix the issue by welding a plate onto the STAND. It may somehow work but the approach is as bad as the Suzuki one to weld a plate onto the rod which is not long enough.

I was asking for the diameter of the rod to put few hose clamps around it to increase diameter but infact it is not possible as the plate is there 

[Andre]

Thanks for the call, Andre... and the great analysis.

Well, you most certainly had a great part in creating that analysis and clearing up a few misconceptions of mine.

Isn't the mainstand design for the K5 also different because of 4-1?

Yes

[froudy]

I'll be removing my centre stand soon to clean and re lube the pivot as it's seizing up..
So good advice above @gsxbarmy 

[Del]

I do miss my centre stand but it fouled on the Akrapovic

[Speedy1959]

I am thinking of removing mine to have it sand blasted and powder coated..
Its got a fair bit of surface rust on it..

[Notty]

I am thinking of removing mine to have it sand blasted and powder coated..
Its got a fair bit of surface rust on it..

I just used black hammerite so didn't have to take it off 

[grog]

Agree, not a part that concerns me too much Paint can makes it pretty. Spray lube up around moving parts helps.

[DTTW]

I do miss my centre stand but it fouled on the Akrapovic

Don't know if mine has more tolerance but I can make full Akra fit with centre stand. Just move the muffler fixing band on the other side of the fixing point and voila you can have both, Akra and center stand. If your is as mine the centre stand will stay  in tucked in position with a 1.5 mm gap to exhaust pipe. I do keep this configuration when touring. On track I move the band to "normal' position and take the stand away. If you got stock footpegs those will scrape before Akra hits ground.