OEM 12R/RS LC Shorter Side Stand
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Wish it were that simple. 👍
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If you REALLY want a shorter side stand, it does look as if it would be that difficult to carefully cut off the actual foot (horizontally and vertically so two cuts) trim a quarter or half inch off the main section and get a good welder to zip it back up.
Done carefully, there would be no structural risk since you are not messing with the load bearing portion.
I did something similar for an R90/s a few years ago. No issue.
Done carefully, there would be no structural risk since you are not messing with the load bearing portion.
I did something similar for an R90/s a few years ago. No issue.
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146 Posts
More bad luck. The sidestand I was having shipped from Italy is cancelled because the carrier won't ship to the US? That's what they said. F^%k it. I'll not worry for now. I don't want to cut the OEM sidestand. Anyone have a cheap spare?
Hi,
I’m in the UK.
If you run out of options and you’re desperate for the shorter stand I’d be happy to buy one here and ship it to you. I doubt it would be cheap though...
Cheers
Jack
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Thanks Fazerboy. Very generous of you to offer help. It could be too costly though with shipping to the US. But out of curiosity how much did you pay for the sides stand shipped to you? From a BMW dealership?
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On the RS forum a UK member purchased the Auz Mud Guard and mailed them to some of us here in the US.
Shipping cost was very reasonable.
Hi,
I didn’t pay anything for shipping as I ordered it from my dealer and rode my bike there for them to fit it for me.
Jack
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Hi Jack, do you have the receipt? What was the cost just for the part?
It was around £140 sterling.
As I said, not cheap, but it makes it so much easier to park the bike anywhere without fear of it tipping over that to me it’s worth every penny.
Of course the bike really should have come with the shorter stand in the first place...
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The side stand would cost me $227 usd here in the states or about 165 sterling(?) If I use Paypal the exchange rate will be unfavorably higher to me by a small margin.
Jack, can you figure shipping to me in Arizona 85710 without too much hassle on your end? If not an indecent amount with a reputable carrier and you can still actually buy another stand at the same rate I might take advantage of your kind offer.
Thank you
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Thanks
It looks like the stand would cost £140 and the shipping about £30, so that’s about £170 sterling in total. You may have to pay USA customs charges when you receive the package but I don’t know about that.
Jack
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Hey Jack
I don't think there will be import duties but when you ship I suppose you have to declare what is in the package? What carrier?
I will consider this option you are offering for me. Very kind of you. Sitting tight on this for a few days.
Thank you
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It would be cheaper to buy a normal stand locally (used ?) and get it cut and welded, I would have thought.
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I haven' been able to locate a used side stand anywhere in the US, but I haven't scoured the internet trying to locate every motorcycle salvage yard in every state. The one I found in Italy on Ebay from a solid seller claimed he normally can ship to the US but because of the pandemic his carrier won't ship to me. ?!
Even then a used stand, even if located in the states, will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $100usd shipped to me. A qualified fabricator/welder is going to charge me near that also, because there are a few but I have to choose someone recommended and the ones recommended charge by the hour. So used cut and welded and painted I have to be prepared to spend $200 all in. I want to keep the stock stand stock length and cut the used one. So a new Chinese version sidestand bought in the states was $227usd. And shipped from the UK is going to cost north of that by another 10% (usd) I suspect when all is said and done.
Are you thoroughly bored now?
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Jack the Lad
What tools did you use and method for cutting the foot off? Hacksaw? Rotary cut off tool? Dremel type or something a little more industrial?
Thanks
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I used a Dremel for the webbing and a cordless power saw for the foot. The Dremel ensured that I could get the neatest possible cut, removing as little metal as possible. A bit time consuming though. The dremel also allowed my to dress off the leg neatly, making things easier for the welder to produce a better result. I wanted the end result to look factory, not like it had been done with a hammer and an axe.
For the 1250 (at least my one) I'd cut the webbing tangentially to the leg - meaning two separate cuts, through each side of the webbing separately. Then cut the foot off, right at the very bottom of the leg. Once done, you could effectively use the stand as-is, but you'd have a very high load on a small area.
The trick is to cut the foot and webbing off so that it almost resembles the original pre-assembly component parts, and can therefore be welded up relatively easily with a minimum of strength reduction. It might be worth talking to whomever will do the welding first, to see what they think before doing anything.
Be very sure not to cut too much off the leg - it is VERY easy to overestimate how much length reduction you need.
The second time I did this, I set the bike up so the both wheels were on a plank, with a separate piece of wood (same thickness as the plank) under the side stand. This replicated the stock set up on a normal flat surface, but not taking into account any road camber.
I then gradually reduced the thickness of the piece of wood under the sidestand until I achieved the angle I wanted. If memory serves - and it probably doesn't any more - I think the amount I cut off the leg to get the right angle was only a quarter inch or so, MUCH less than I expected. Do this before you cut the foot off.
Once you've cut the foot off, putting the bike on the now footless sidestand will give you a very general indication of what you will need to do. Going the opposite direction, I was very surprised how much difference just adding a foot area-expander piece made on a GS - I wanted to make parking on soft surfaces easier, not realizing that adding a few millimeters to the thickness of the foot would make the bike more vertical, and meant I had to be much more careful parking the bike on hard surfaces. Talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences...
This worked very well for me, but YMMV and whatever you do will be at your own risk! Best of luck with it.
For the 1250 (at least my one) I'd cut the webbing tangentially to the leg - meaning two separate cuts, through each side of the webbing separately. Then cut the foot off, right at the very bottom of the leg. Once done, you could effectively use the stand as-is, but you'd have a very high load on a small area.
The trick is to cut the foot and webbing off so that it almost resembles the original pre-assembly component parts, and can therefore be welded up relatively easily with a minimum of strength reduction. It might be worth talking to whomever will do the welding first, to see what they think before doing anything.
Be very sure not to cut too much off the leg - it is VERY easy to overestimate how much length reduction you need.
The second time I did this, I set the bike up so the both wheels were on a plank, with a separate piece of wood (same thickness as the plank) under the side stand. This replicated the stock set up on a normal flat surface, but not taking into account any road camber.
I then gradually reduced the thickness of the piece of wood under the sidestand until I achieved the angle I wanted. If memory serves - and it probably doesn't any more - I think the amount I cut off the leg to get the right angle was only a quarter inch or so, MUCH less than I expected. Do this before you cut the foot off.
Once you've cut the foot off, putting the bike on the now footless sidestand will give you a very general indication of what you will need to do. Going the opposite direction, I was very surprised how much difference just adding a foot area-expander piece made on a GS - I wanted to make parking on soft surfaces easier, not realizing that adding a few millimeters to the thickness of the foot would make the bike more vertical, and meant I had to be much more careful parking the bike on hard surfaces. Talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences...
This worked very well for me, but YMMV and whatever you do will be at your own risk! Best of luck with it.
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Excellent write up Jack. Thanks
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