Hitchcocks Forum

Has anyone modified a centre stand so that the bike is raised higher? I have a Watsonian 350T with 21" front rim. When I put the bike on the centre stand, both wheels are on the ground. Ok on a totally flat surface (eg the garage floor) but not very secure on tarmac. If no-one has a better idea, I'll weld another piece of thick-walled tube to the bottom of each leg, parallel with the existing 'feet.'
BTW, does anyone else find that the stand springs are weak? The bike has only done 900 km's and the stand can be pushed down with hardly any foot pressure (which means it rattles up & down when going over bad road surfaces.) Any more steel added to the stand will only exacerbate the problem!

Hi A.N.Other me}----- yes, they can be a bit on the weak side----not sure what other spring would do just now but try fitting another spring of the same type ?? You might have to modify where the 2 ends attach but at least you know it will fit. Maybe a piece of 2" steel angle welded on will give the extra rise needed AND give a flat "footprint " as well. Saw out the centre section after obviously !!!! Just a few thoughts--- hope it works.

Just check how much extra lift you need. You might be surprised how little will do the job (and how a bit too much makes getting on to the stand quite a bit more effort)
Assorted bits of plywood needed!

The trick my German dealer did was just to run a couple of welds across the bases of the stand, that should see the back wheel about 10mm clear of the ground. My new Enfield EFI clears by about 20mm, as standard and is so well balanced that it is also easy to raise the front wheel when you want to clean the rims etc. Another plus point was that the new speedo is very accurate.

Cheers.

Hi Alan, Pete and Trevor. Thanks for the replies. I take the point about not needing much on the stand to make a difference at the back wheel. The clearance at the wheel would be about twice the thickness of what was added to the stand, I suppose. As far as the springs are concerned, I've never come across such puny springs on a centre stand before! Any stand spring that you can re-fit easily with just a pair of pliers isn't up to much. I'm used to using the old washer trick to expand a spring sufficiently to get it to fit. I think I'll look around for some stronger ones of the same basic length.
I'll give you an update on the stand mods when I've had chance to get the welder out. Whatever I do with it, the bike won't balance like the new models will. I've got a nice block of wood to put under the sump, though!

You seem to have the wrong springs fitted if you can just pull them off with pliars.

I wondered if they were the correct springs, so I ordered some more. Guess what, the new ones are just as 'weak' and are actually longer as well. Having looked at pictures of Enfield stand springs, they all seem to be made of a similar thickness of wire, but vary in length according to model. I'll still look for some stronger ones of the same free length as the ones that are fitted on the bike.

With the fitting of early 50's forks to my bike the centre stand is only just touching the ground when down. My plan is to get a couple of lengths of 1/2 steel rod and weld them onto the bottom of the stand in parallel with the existing feet. I don't like the idea of setting the stop further forward because the bike is much more prone to falling off the stand then. The other thing I need to make for the tool kit is a couple of stand extensions so I can get the back wheel sufficiently high off the ground to removed the rear wheel as there is no hinge in the guard and it is an old fashioned non qd hub.

Simon, a useful tool is two pieces of some hardwood about 2 in high cut with 1/2" high steps about 2" long each step. You can then walk it up the steps by leaning the bike from side to side pushing the steps in on alternate sides. My dealer, who works on his own, has been using this for years. Cheers.