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By ShaunE
#84642
Hello all,

I’m having great difficulty getting my bike onto the centre stand. It’s so difficult you end up hauling on the mudguard carrier rail. I know you shouldn’t do this as it bends it out of shape (mine was when I got it and I’ve now straightened it), and pulls it out of the securing bolt/nut.

I’ve read the posts here on how to do it but it’s still next door to impossible. I’m not new to classics and none of my others are like this. This is my first RE by the way.

When you do get her on the stand, the bike sits slightly to the right and the back wheel is firmly on the ground. She’s difficult to rock off the stand too.

I’m wondering if I’ve got the wrong stand on?

Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.........Shaun.
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By Adrian
#84646
Your stand, if it is theoriginal cast alloy job could be well-worn by now, and these aren't the easiest stands to use. If you have a siamese exhaust pipe you can fit the stand off a pre-2009 Indian Bullet, which will be a big improvement, especially if you fit a new set of rear engine plates - the centre stand spindle holes wear oval after a while, which won't help either.

A.
User avatar
By ed.lazda
#84655
They're not the easiest. I find it needs a different action -- what usually works is this: move stand down until it touches the ground; leave right foot behind the stand so it can't move backwards; grasp mudguard frame rail and lean backwards for extra force; pull bike directly backwards, not upwards.
By ShaunE
#84683
Hello Adrian & ed.lazda,

Thanks very much for your replies,

Adrian, after looking through our hosts online parts books I reckon I need centre stand 801058 which was on the 350 & 500 Bullets from 1991 to 2003. These however seem unavailable from them at the moment.

I see also that centre stand 801456 (to fit 2005/6 Electra X) is available from our hosts. Would this be suitable or do I need to hunt a 801058 stand down? I also see our hosts offer 141236 centre stand but does not say which model it is suitable for.

Would a new stand help to get the rear wheel off the ground or are they always planted?

The rear engine plates seem to be available, would they fit all of the above stands?

ed, thanks for your advice. I've already tried this way several times and it's still awful. Almost caused a hernia yesterday whilst putting her on the bike ramp!

Sorry for the ramble & all the questions chaps but I'm beginning to get a bit wary of her now!

Cheers....................Shaun.
By weedsy
#84688
Hi Shaun - I have a '57 Super Meteor with side and centre stand problems - my posts and Adrian's comments are on Scoot's topic, if any of that helps! My own centre stand has been homebrew modded to be similar to the Indian one, but doesn't retract fully because of the LH exhaust system . . . if I find a solution other than the siamesed pipes (which I think are NLA) I'll be sure and let you know . . . Cheers & good luck, Weedsy
By ShaunE
#84850
Hello all,

Just finished fitting a centre stand kit supplied by or hosts. Kit comes complete with stand, spindle, engine plates, rubber stop pad and springs. All at a very reasonable price.

I can only say that putting the bike on the centre stand is now an absolute doddle! No more embarrassment when I park up.

Fitting it was a bit fiddly and stretching the springs over the lugs was challenging! Well worth the effort though. Our hosts were also very helpful with their advice.

Thanks again to you all for your thoughts.

Cheers........Shaun.
By weedsy
#84852
Hi Shaun,
Glad you've solved the problem - could you let me have the part number(s) for your stand so I can contact our hosts - assuming your bike has twin exhausts rather than the siamesed version, it might fit mine . . . . cheers, Weedsy
By ShaunE
#84858
Hi Weedsy,

I contacted our hosts directly to discuss. I didn’t have a part number. Best speak to Alan there, he’s knowledgeable about Redditch twins. He did make clear to me however that it would not fit a bike with twin pipes, the “lever” on the stand would foul the left hand pipe. Fortunately mine has Siamese pipes at the moment so I had no issues.

I want to fit twin pipes at some point and am prepared to use my local friendly welder/fabricator and design/ modify to suit. The stand is so good it would be worth it.

Problem is....... I’m just not sure how much modification is needed or if it’s possible at all as I don’t have twin pipes to try it with. I suppose if you had to modify it too much it might reduce the efficiency of the lever action. Chicken and egg if you see what I mean?

Let me know your thoughts........

Cheers......Shaun.
User avatar
By Adrian
#84861
If you're going to try and modify an Indian Bullet centre stand to clear the twins' l/h exhaust pipe it ought to be possible. The idea would be to keep the pedal piece in exactly the same place relative to the rest of the stand but joined with a U-shaped bit of steel bar in place of the original flat bit. You could try experimenting with some sort of jig.

Not this sort.

https://youtu.be/UeZBo-2dQ9M

Modified stands are something our hosts might want to offer for Redditch twin owners.

A.
By weedsy
#84866
ShaunE wrote:
Fri Aug 16, 2019 8:59 am
Hi Weedsy,

I contacted our hosts directly to discuss. I didn’t have a part number. Best speak to Alan there, he’s knowledgeable about Redditch twins. He did make clear to me however that it would not fit a bike with twin pipes, the “lever” on the stand would foul the left hand pipe. Fortunately mine has Siamese pipes at the moment so I had no issues.

I want to fit twin pipes at some point and am prepared to use my local friendly welder/fabricator and design/ modify to suit. The stand is so good it would be worth it.

Problem is....... I’m just not sure how much modification is needed or if it’s possible at all as I don’t have twin pipes to try it with. I suppose if you had to modify it too much it might reduce the efficiency of the lever action. Chicken and egg if you see what I mean?

Let me know your thoughts........

Cheers......Shaun.
Hi Shaun - if you have siamesed pipes, no probs with the new stand you've got; you may be intererested in two pix of my own arrangements, posted because of clearance problems - not with the centre stand, but with the "homebrew" side stand fitted by the previous owner, which hits down easily on left-handers.
The first pic shows the centre stand he modified (along the lines that Adrian suggests) and it works a treat - very easy roll-on, helped by the "pad" extension, which also clears (just) the exhaust silencer - you can just see the slight "ding" in the underside for clearance.
IMG_1179.jpg
Seems to be a combination of bolts & welding.

Second pic is the stand in the "up" position - ground clearance seems OK - especially when the bike's upside down(!) if you click to enlarge it should right itself . . .
IMG_0259.jpg
I will speak to Alan and see of they have the correct stand for twins - RE must have made them, most of the twin pix I have show separate pipes and twin silencers . . . .

Cheers for now, Weedsy

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