Getting My '83 R100RT Up On Center Stand Difficult

[barryh]

My experience was that repairing the stand made it vastly easier to put the bike on the stand even though logically it shouldn't help with the lifting part of the action. With a repaired stand that has perfect geometry there is something else you can do to make life easy. I use my bike every day and when I come home from work and roll it into the garage I push the front wheel up on to a 1" thick plank of wood. That makes the lifting easier as the stand is more vertical even before you start to lift and you don't have to lift it so far. You can vary the thickness of the plank according to how much clearance there is under the front wheel with the bike on the stand.

On the same principle more pre-load on the rear shocks makes stand deployment easier and less pre-load or luggage makes it harder

[ME 109]

I like the plank idea Barry! It wouldn't need to be very big.

Funny thing about a loaded bike. I find it easier to get my RS on the c/stand when it's loaded. Particularly if there's a down hill to the kerb, which makes it very easy indeed.

I don't understand why it's easier when loaded than not, unless momentum plays a bigger role?

[hal]

With my back problem I find myself using the center stand only for winter-storage. I do however find the sidestand quite easy to use ('74 R90/6), using a piece of wood to get the bike more vertical. Sometimes get a bit of left-jug-smoke when starting up, but don't see a big problem in that.

Cheers!
Hal

[Duane Ausherman]

I can't believe what I am reading. First off, the stand must be in good condition, as evidenced by the angle. Those photos posted are quite good, thank you. If it is worn, fix it by welding as shown. You often need to do some welding on the frame too and that isn't easy.

Now, with everything in good working order, using the proper procedure, it just isn't all that hard to put one of these things up on the center stand. I always have the left passenger foot peg adjusted for use in levering it up. I don't carry passengers, so it may not be in the perfect position for a passenger, but I on the few times that I had to take a passenger, there were no complaints.

BMW removed the sturdy tang in 72 because owners were such idiots that they used the tang in putting the bike on the center stand. The tang goes up as the bike goes back onto the stand. One is fighting themselves and it reminds me of the old "lifting yourself by your bootstraps" nonsense.

The tang was replaced by a thin one in 72 with the idea that it would be obvious to anyone with room temperature IQ that it was only there to flip the stand down and not to use for the lifting part. Guess what? Owners weren't that smart. Dealers weren't any better, as they didn't do their job in teaching the proper technique.

I must say, when ever we sold a bike we trained the buyer in how to do it. We also trained nearly every service customer that bought the bike elsewhere and wasn't taught at all by their dealer, or anybody.

A short war story. The /2 center stand was far better designed for going up and into position. A big burly and strong type customer pulled his /2 into my shop and when he was finished putting it up on the stand, the bike had rotated 90 degrees and he was wiped out. I showed him by putting it up on the stand with my right hand in my pocket. He was shocked and eager to learn my method. It is that simple. Small women riders could easily put it up on the stand.

The /5 and later models are harder, but certainly not as I read from the posters here. I just remembered, while I have done dozens of tech sessions, this often comes up and I demonstrate the easy method with using my right leg as a major lever against the passenger foot peg.

As the bike goes over center, here is where nearly everyone fails. One MUST catch the bike and gently let it back against the stops. Guess what happens when it is allowed to just go by itself? One ends up with that horrible angle of the stand as shown in the first photo. The rider ruins his/her own stand and frame stops.

Find a Reynolds stand and then you not only can ride off, but one can ride it ON the stand too. That means that one can put it on the stand without touching the ground as one comes to a stop. I had to demonstrate that little tip to Roy Reynolds, as the inventor didn't even know that little trick, which is really useless, but can be done.

So, everybody, lets get those stands fixed and then adjust the left rear foot peg properly and putting it up on the stand will be fairly easy.

[SteveD]

If the stand is in reasonable condition the front wheel should be 3" off the ground. When the stand is really bad, the plank idea would be very helpful because that ground clearance will be greatly diminished.

The bike should be able to be pushed forward off the stand whilst seated on the bike...bump it forward with the engine running and ride off. That only works when the stand is good though and over time might just cause the stand to deteriorate. Probably not advised except for the rare party trick at boxerworks rallies!

[khittner1]

If your '83's shocks or fork springs are sacked, the bike sits at a lower position, making the lift onto the center stand a bigger and more difficult one. Some say that my shocks (Nivomats) have been sacked since the bike left Berlin.

[picturethis]

Having owned several airheads, I agree that getting the bike up on the center stand should be easy. It is obvious when looking now(and comparing to the photos posted) that the center stand on my 83 R100RT is worn out.

I have a side stand which I use but I like having the bike on it's center stand.

My new to me 1995 R100RT arrives next week and it will be interesting to compare the 2 centerstands and their angles. I am assuming the '95 center stand will be in good condition since the bike only has 19K miles.

**if you compare the two photos, you can see the '83's center stand has a much more severe angle compared to the '95 - *the grass under the '83 was very soft after a rain so the front wheel isn't up in the air - on cement, the 83's wheel us usually 3-4" off the ground

[khittner1]

Yes, your '83's stand looks a tad worn. The monoshock's center stand is much wider and more stable, and its splayed "feet" will make it much easier to step onto the left foot to lift the bike onto the stand. The later stand does not, unfortunately, transplant to/fit the earlier twin-shock bikes.

[ME 109]

I can't believe what I am reading.

The 81-84 stands are known to be difficult to deploy, even in good condition. The 81 in particular.
The stand was modified by BMW for 82 or 83? by reducing the length from pivot hole to bottom of feet, by 10 mm.

The main reason the stands wear out is the pathetic design of the top of the stand. It's just the tube squashed together which gives quite a thin section, and small surface area.
There's also the alignment of the stand top and frame lug to consider. The stand tops can be too wide as set by the bushes, making for even less contact with the frame lug.
The welding of my stand in the pic increases the width of the stand top, which matches the frame lug width.
I did that repair about five years ago and it's still a good repair.
I can use the stand as a ride off, which is very handy when the bike's heavily loaded.

[picturethis]

that was a nice clean weld job you did in the photos.