I have a slight slope downward in my driveway. Everytime I pull out my 1999 ZZ4, the bike in neutral roams forward. I have this fear that if I don't put a nickel in the front brake lever the bike would eventually roam forward enough to drop with the kick stand down!
My question is "Is the with the Kickstand down and a gentle roaming forward of the bike, would the kickstand follow the bike & eventually fall or is my fear unfounded? Is there some locking mechanism?
I know that the Harley kickstand when down is locked and the bike will roam maybe 3" then rest.
Dave in Columbus.
LaMonsterV8,
Thankx for the reply!
I didn't want to see the bike fall over in front of my eyes , then ask 3 boys and a man to help me pick it up.
The Honda Morotcycle assemby plant in Marysville, Ohio holds seminars every year at Honda Homecomming Days. They put a Goldwing on it's side, then picks out a 97 lbs female (out of the crowd) and instructs her how to properly return it to it's upright position.
They tell you to back your butt into the seat and with on hand on the handlebars , the other hand on a supporting bar behind the seat so that you are facing away from the bike, and with your legs back it right back up.
I wonder if you could do this with a Boss?
Good question. I guess the boss esp. a 502 is a good bit heavier than a GW. I thought I read somewhere that Mark from the factory could "walk" one upright using the engine or something? I dream this or is there something to it?
I know that locking stand is very sturdy (thankfully). I was standing beside my Boss 1 day while it was on the sidestand, and bumped the starter while trying to troubleshoot the front brake light switch (clutch bike, clutch not locked open).
It actually left about a foot long scrape on the garage floor and didn't fail. Lot'ta lessons there! I ain't NEVER GROWING UP, but I hope to become wiser!
Just be careful that the wear does not get too bad on the piece that inserts into the socket that locks the kickstand into place. On some of the mirage stands (the ones used on the newer bikes) this part wears and can create a notch that will cause it not to insert and hang up which can cause it to fall unexpectedly. The part is replaceable and you can either get the mirage replacement from J&P Cycles online or Glenn Boglish told me that you can also get a replacement from the Harley shop but when I tried theirs it was not an exact fit and I had to grind a bit out to get it to fit which was scary to me because the grinding could damage the part that is suppose to be square and cause it to be less secure and also I had to tighten the mounting bolt really tight to press it on and if it had broken off would have created an additonal problem. Hope this will help somebody and take a look at this part on your kickstand because mine was close to giving away when a friend pointed it out to me and I had not been aware of the problem myself.
The part in front is the worn part and the one in back is new.
Damn I hate to admit this but in 40,000 miles of Boss Hoss ownership I have been down three times. All three times went down easy and had no damage except to my pride. All three times I was trying to turn and hit some sand and the front wheel went out from under me. Once I was parked in a friends shop that has a dirt floor but is more like fine sand. When I tried to turn around to leave the bike just kept going straight ahead even though the bars were turned to full lock. That was when I realized how hard the front wheel is worked when in sandy conditions. Another time I was turning around to park along side a curb to back in to park and hit sand and went down in a split second, had no chance to do anything it happened so fast. This last time I was by myself and had heard about how if you stand up on the foot peg you can roll the bike back upright and so I put the kickstand down and tried it and up it came! Luckily it had fallen over on the right side so the kickstand helped me catch it when it came back up. A friend said he wished they had a kickstand on both sides to catch it when you upright it. I think that would look goofy but maybe not a bad idea. Maybe a bar could be hidden on the bike somewhere and a socket to put it in for those times when you did have to upright it to the right side? I think I am going to look into doing this because if I ever was alone and had to upright to right side it would be a handful. :roll:
What exactly was your technique for uprighting it? Use reverse? Stand on opposite foot peg? Did you straddle the bike and put weight on the peg while pushing down with the opposite foot? Turn wheel and which way or was is straight ahead?
Thanks
Milos
Milos, I was by myself the last time I had fell with the bike and had no choice but to pick it up alone and what worked for me was to straighten the wheel and the bike was on the right foot peg and stand up on the left peg and grab the end of the left handlebar and then i jumped with my weight and pulled on the bar at the same time and i could tell it was moving so a couple more times and i got it up. i had heard someone on here earlier saying this would work and it did. i would love to see it demonstrated how to back it up under engine power to upright it but i dont think that would have worked for me as the last time i was over was in a rock driveway and i dont think i would have had the room or the traction to do anything else. of course i think the adrenaline in your system when this happens helps a lot with the gas running out of the tank and everything!! :roll:
I put a plastic in line shut off valve in my vent hose and sealed the vent in the gas cap with epoxy so if and when she's laying on the ground gas won't be running all over the place until I do get her back up vertical . I dropped mine in the garage one time and the part that scared me most was the big puddle of gas on the floor and beleive me it comes out of that vent hose pretty dam fast when she's laying on her side . Another good idea is to have a battery disconnect switch in case of an emergency .
Dave,
Your 99 should be the same stand as my 98. It is a harley stand. The bracket for the stand is essentially "flat stock" with a tab sticking out (for where it locks in to the "receiver" and a square hloe cut in it. The top of the Kickstand shaft is machined square for this bracket to fit on and is held in place by that top bolt. My bike was falling over when I caught it because the hole in the bracket had worn. Don't park on an incline and trust the stand. If you do not want the nickel in the brake put a chock block behind it.
Also they can be picked up by turning the handlebar all the way and grabbing the frame and walking back & pushing up. Some "language" may be required.
Glenn
On Mothers Day of 2000 I was going into a left hand curve when an on coming car took my lane. I had no choice other than take the road side ditch. My bike at that time was a new 2000 with 572 miles on it. Believe me I was sick. It didn't hurt much but did scare the HELL out of me. I am not a big man 6'2" 220lbs. and I was able to pick it up without starting the engine, so it can be done from flat on the left side with enough fear and anger combined.
I think Glenn is onto something here.
"Also they can be picked up by turning the handlebar all the way and grabbing the frame and walking back & pushing up. Some "language" may be required.
I think the language is an important factor, spoken at just the right time. It maybe an artform!
HogV8 brings up an important point. You have so many things hapening all at the same time. There is the pride factor, the gas pouring out and the adrenaline factor
When I owned the V-6 I dropped it 3 times. One time was on a trip to Erie, Pa. After a 200 Mile day I pulled into a gas station, and feeling fatigued at 4PM, the bike leaned more than I thought (probably a 20 degree lean) it was all over but the shouting! There is a point of no return when the bike starts to go. At that point you are a captive audience :shock: and physics takes over. After that I always put down the kickstand at a gas station.
Dave in Columbus
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