[bobthekelpy]

For those concerned, perhaps leave it in gear too if not already doing so? But, fwiw; I've even had my bike on a ferry and it stayed upright on a 40minute crossing of a bay.. The only time I am concerned is if parking on an incline/decline, I then leave it in gear too.

 

[grin factor]

Only had mine a couple of weeks and so far its been okay, I always park up in gear.
I've had other bikes that ave been a bit more upright than the BM, a Fazer 1000 and a Tuono.

 

[Panzermann]

It is fairly upright, but the advantage is that with more weight on the wheels rather than on the side stand foot, the stand is less likely to sink into softer ground or hot bitumen. It also means I'm always very conscious about how I park the bike, which may well even reduce risk of a topple.

For stability, and pretty much as noted in earlier posts, I find it best to:

• keep the bike pointing slightly uphill (never downhill) with the left side sloping away
• turn the bars fully to the left (as noted in the owners manual)
• leave in gear
• unload the suspension after alighting - then turn off the key (the forks will stay in this position)

 

[Ontrip]

Bumping an old thread as I am still not happy with the almost vertical side stand especially when pulling over on the side of a back road with significant camber.

This is an issue especially in countries where we drive on the right side of the road.

A friend of mine had his side stand shortened by 15mm and looks like it is a good solution as the bike does not look like it is leaned over significantly more than my bike, but he now has no issues with parking now.

Will most likely do same and report after.

 

[mikeS]

If you follow the Panzer’s suggestion, you'll be sorted. However, I found the side stand on my ‘17 LC too long and tried for over a year going through the dismount/side stand rigmarole to the point total annoyance. In the end, I gave up and shortened the side by 15mm two years ago; it’s no longer an issue. If you are prepared to have it trimmed cost-wise, I think you'll be far more comfortable. That's said, BMW has a 15mm shorter side stand in their parts catalogue, but I suspect with freight and currency exchange it's probably cheaper to have it shortened by a welder/bike shop.


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[Gareth]

Yup, the side stand is way too long.

 

[Ontrip]

Agree, it is not an issue except for parking on the right side of a road with lots of camber where you cannot park at an angle.

Would not be an issue for me if I lived in GB or Australia. 🙁

 

[Dougl]

All of my Triumphs were the same.

 

[serrge]

Compared to my previous bike (F800ST) I find the R's kickstand nerve-wracking. IMO the less one has to think about operational quirks, the better. Having to constantly answer "not sure" to the question "is the bike leaning enough on the side stand" is really annoying. For example here in the NL it is pretty common to have streets with a curved pavement profile to assist in pushing water to sewage drains located where the sidewalk begins. I still didn't manage to get used to automatically park the motorcycle on the left side of the road, because on the right side it just won't work.

I still haven't found a reasonable explanation why does the R/RS lean so upright on the kickstand. The GS has a nice lean when on the kickstand.

 

[serrge]

so I got to research this in the meanwhile and apparently there's a 15mm shorter kickstand from BMW for the Chinese market, part 46 53 8 564 609. Also mentioned in our forum.

I also read what seems the most plausible explanation for having such an upright kickstand: "this is general in boxer engines, having this so long side stand for the bike to remain very vertical when parking, not letting the oil enter into the left cylinder".

Another similar explanation: "the logic for keeping the bike fairly vertical - to help avoid oil draining into the nearside cylinder"

Hmm. Not sure if this is true and this doesn't explain why do GS bikes lean so much in comparison.

 

[mikeS]

I know there's a shorter side stand option in Japan as well. I looked into ordering one, but with currency exchange & freight for my needs, it was cheaper and faster to shorten locally.


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[sturgeon]

I’ve been riding for over 50 years, and I’ve owned GSes and RTs, along with lots of other makes and models, and currently have a 2016 R1200R and a 2017 R9T Scrambler in the garage. None of the boxers have ever had a “left side cylinder oil issue”. Collectively, I’ve put hundreds of thousands of kilometers on the boxers. None of them have been even close to standing so upright on the side stand as the R1200R. And none of them have ever fallen over while parked, except for the R1200R. The wind blew it off its side stand while parked on perfectly level pavement. I was standing beside it at the time. The wind was brisk, but my other bikes have certainly withstood higher winds than that, including on top of Mt Washington (one of the windiest spots on earth). The pre-load was set to 2-up with luggage, and I’d learned early on to unload the suspension before shutting it off.

The side stand on this model is simply too long, no matter what BMW might say about it being within spec. When I park it outdoors, I look for a spot where the foot of the side stand will be lower than level with the tires.

 

[serrge]

That's it, I'm getting the shorter side stand and get back to normal! 😄

 

[serrge]

keep the bike pointing slightly uphill (never downhill)

A bit of an off-topic question, but why can't the bike point downhill when parked?

 

[Breacher]

If you follow the Panzer’s suggestion, you'll be sorted. However, I found the side stand on my ‘17 LC too long and tried for over a year going through the dismount/side stand rigmarole to the point total annoyance. In the end, I gave up and shortened the side by 15mm two years ago; it’s no longer an issue. If you are prepared to have it trimmed cost-wise, I think you'll be far more comfortable. That's said, BMW has a 15mm shorter side stand in their parts catalogue, but I suspect with freight and currency exchange it's probably cheaper to have it shortened by a welder/bike shop.


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Could you share the web site or part number for that shorter side stand? Thanks.

 

[mikeS]

Could you share the web site or part number for that shorter side stand? Thanks.

Here's a couple of links. I also posted some info a while back - I'll try to locate the post.

BMW : Side Stand [46538564609]

Side stand - 46538564609 | BMW spare parts

Buy Side stand online for the lowest price. Original BMW spare parts and accessories online from BMW authorized dealer

pl.bmwautoparts.net

BMW : Side Stand [46538564609]

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[mikeS]

For further info review @serrge post #30 in this thread.


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[Breacher]

Here's a couple of links. I also posted some info a while back - I'll try to locate the post.

BMW : Side Stand [46538564609]

Side stand - 46538564609 | BMW spare parts

Buy Side stand online for the lowest price. Original BMW spare parts and accessories online from BMW authorized dealer

pl.bmwautoparts.net

BMW : Side Stand [46538564609]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you.

 

[RC65]

The GS has a nice lean when on the kickstand.

As does the F900XR...I took a 2020 F900XR out as a loaner a few weeks back, and could not believe the difference. I parked, put the kickstand down while seated on it, and tilted the bike to the left to set it, and it kept tilting over...and over...and over...for what seemed like forever. I had to stop and look down to make sure I'd put down the kickstand, and even then I felt wary about how far I had to lean it, thinking maybe a spring had snapped. I knew the R was a bit more upright than other bikes I've had, but, wow, hadn't realized just how used I'd become to it and forgotten what a "normal" kickstand angle felt like. Perhaps the 900XR kickstand is significantly more angled than other bikes which made the comparison unfair, but I doubt that's the case.

 

[Dougl]

A bit of an off-topic question, but why can't the bike point downhill when parked?

Because it could roll forward off the stand and continue downhill.