Kawasaki Concours Forum
Mish mash => Open Forum => Topic started by: mikeyw64 on May 29, 2017, 04:38:28 PM
-
In places such as the USA & Europe have the sidestand/kickstand fitted to the right hand side of the bike as this would allow you to dismount more easily away from traffic?
Here in the UK/(Plus OZ & Japan etc) we're ok as we get off to the left.
And why do we drive on the left /mount a bike from the left ?
Because it's the right way to do it , well it was back in the days of knights with swords and horses anyways.
You mounted your horse from the left so that your sword (which was hanging on your left) didn't get all tangled up and you rode on the left so that you could use your weapon against your enemies.
Off to bed on that thought :)
-
We don't need no stinkin' swords now that we have automatic weapons we can throttle and brake with our right hand spray bullets with our left.
-
that's as may be but the question still remains, why if you drive on the right dont bikes have kickstands on the right so you can get off towards the kerb? :D
(Speaking of guns didn't the old Police Indians used to have the throttle on the left so the gun could be fired from the right hand?)
-
The right side is often a ditch which is not conducive with supporting a motorcycle with a kickstand on the right.
I can not answer the question about the Indian throttle.
-
you have ditches in cities & built up areas ;)
-
I don't ride in such areas.
I guess if we rode on the wrong side of the road a right side kickstand would make sense due to the opposite road camber.
-
uh, my kick stand is located on the left side. I think the reason for this is because sometimes there's a drainage gully next to the road. if you pull over to the side and dismount on the right, you might fall into it?
-
We don't need no stinkin' swords now that we have automatic weapons we can throttle and brake with our right hand spray bullets with our left.
>:(
that's as may be but the question still remains, why if you drive on the right dont bikes have kickstands on the right so you can get off towards the kerb? :D
(Speaking of guns didn't the old Police Indians used to have the throttle on the left so the gun could be fired from the right hand?)
That's a myth...
https://occhiolungo.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/riding-an-early-bike-1-myths-about-indians-and-guns/
-
I have said many times that there should just be two kickstands, one on both sides. Then you can do whatever you want.
Even better, I invented a better type of kickstand option (conceptually, not physically)- an extending, ratcheting kickstand on the right. That way two kickstands can be used at once when wanted, creating an extremely stable and un-tippable situation that works with any location or need. Stop, flip down the left stand, lean on it, then flip down the short right stand and push it to the ground, extending it (click, click, click) then get off. To leave, press a release and the right stand retracts, then you flip it up, then upright the bike and flip up the left kickstand.
-
sounds like a complicated center stand
-
sounds like a complicated center stand
Nope. It is simple, easier and faster to use, and far more useful. A center stand only works on flat, strong, perfect surfaces and is actually less stable (in most cases) than even a single side stand. The dual stand would work on most any surface and is extremely stable (creating four, widely-placed points of contact).
-
Nope. It is simple, easier and faster to use, and far more useful.
... and non-existent.
Get to work! ... or it's all just talk. And if you're right but somebody else makes it, then we'll have to hear you complain about how somebody stole your million dollar idea.
-
... and non-existent.
Unfortunately
Get to work! ... or it's all just talk. And if you're right but somebody else makes it, then we'll have to hear you complain about how somebody stole your million dollar idea.
It's just talk. I can't know if someone else thought of the idea before me, but I would be glad if I could just buy such a stand somewhere :) I am no mechanical engineer, so making it myself really isn't an option. I think the biggest problem in our case would be the exhaust midpipe being in the way on the right side.
-
Unfortunately
It's just talk. I can't know if someone else thought of the idea before me, but I would be glad if I could just buy such a stand somewhere :) I am no mechanical engineer, so making it myself really isn't an option. I think the biggest problem in our case would be the exhaust midpipe being in the way on the right side.
Thats not a problem, it's just an engineering challenge after all if that was a problem then the ZX (for example) wouldn't have a side stand ;)
-
I can't know if someone else thought of the idea before me, but I would be glad if I could just buy such a stand somewhere..
I did think of it before you, but I didn't build one either. :(
-
I don't see how it would help. Bikes tip over when the sidestand sinks into the surface and they lean further and further to the left. Your right extendable stand would just end up pointing at the sky, totally useless. Maybe if both stands were extendable so the bike could be upright and not cause any pressure on either stand.
-
We park on the right side of the road & if the kickstand was on the right it would not let you park as close to a curb. As some one else posted there is also sometimes drainage culverts on the side of the road. You would have to park the bike further into the road because most roads away from the city have dirt/sand/grass on the side & you would want to put the kickstand down on the pavement.
-
I don't see how it would help. Bikes tip over when the sidestand sinks into the surface and they lean further and further to the left.
While sink-in is a cause of tipover, most tipovers are caused by someone tampering with your bike (like trying to sit on it, or turning the steering straight) or pushing on it, or bumping it (with car, falling on it in person, leaving on it to stand, etc). Never have any of my bikes been over due to sink-in. But they have gone down twice (and my friend's 4 times) due to tampering and bumping. Having a double stand would help. It would also help when it is NOT leaning much on the left, so it could tip over in the other direction. Nothing is perfect, though.
Interestingly, if the right kickstand was hinged to raise/lower from the FRONT and not the back (like the left kickstand is), it would also help protect against rear-bumping.... Hmm....
-
Weird, mine has almost tipped over twice because I forgot to put down a sidestand plate and the ground got soft. I've never had a problem with anyone knocking it over. YMMV indeed.
-
A stock C10 on it's side stand with a leaky rear tire will fall over on the right side when the tire goes flat.
So when you get a flat rear tire on a C10 you cannot use the side stand on a level surface and you cannot get it up on the center stand.
Mean Streak rear wheel upgrade fixes that.
I have seen wind pick a heavy bike up and over on its right side.
-
Weird, mine has almost tipped over twice because I forgot to put down a sidestand plate and the ground got soft. I've never had a problem with anyone knocking it over. YMMV indeed.
In my case, I will say I have never even attempted to park the Concours on soft ground... only on pavement (asphalt/concrete). There are several reasons for that:
1) I would never ride on non-pavement for fear of falling
2) I don't trust soft ground for parking
3) Most importantly- with short legs, I absolutely can't maneuver the bike on soft ground or gravel, I simply do not have the leverage to push it or man-handle it. Maybe if it were 4 or 5 inches lower.
That said, on my previous bike, I parked on a road temporarily once in extremely hot weather, just for a quick rest/stretch, and a few minutes later the kickstand was sinking into the asphalt...
-
I have seen wind pick a heavy bike up and over on its right side.
It would have to be a strong wind, but it really also very much depends on the exact lean angle... and that very much depends on the levelness of the ground/pavement on which it is parked. I have parked in places that appeared pretty level until I put the stand down and got ready to dismount and said "um.... I don't think so" and had to point the bike in a different direction!
The other situation is in parallel parking locations where you are pointing the parked bike perpendicular to the curb- with significantly crowned roads, you have have some really wildly graded situations.
-
I have lowering links on my bike (no, I haven't modified the stands... yet...), and I need to be very careful to not park on the side of roads that are crowned beyond a certain point. I also worry about the wind, and have taken to parking VERY close to the wall at home, in case the wind picks up...
Jamie
-
Interestingly, if the right kickstand was hinged to raise/lower from the FRONT and not the back (like the left kickstand is), it would also help protect against rear-bumping.... Hmm....
I thought of that one too. I called it the suicide stand. The last one I thought of, was not permanently attached to the bike but was placed on the bike at the time of parking. It did (1) face slightly forward on the right side, (2) had a telescoping variable length, (3) spring loaded tip (strong spring) to have just a little give, (4) a pivoting rubber tip on the bottom, (5) had a permanent attachment point (clamped) on the bike like a (easy boys) slip in tube, (6) had the bright yellow "reminder" cord that fit over the right grip similar to a disk lock. I thought about making it (7) lockable as well...but since I never made one in the first place ....that would have to wait.
-
I thought of that one too. I called it the suicide stand.
LOL! Cool name
-
I thought of that one too. I called it the suicide stand. The last one I thought of, was not permanently attached to the bike but was placed on the bike at the time of parking. It did (1) face slightly forward on the right side, (2) had a telescoping variable length, (3) spring loaded tip (strong spring) to have just a little give, (4) a pivoting rubber tip on the bottom, (5) had a permanent attachment point (clamped) on the bike like a (easy boys) slip in tube, (6) had the bright yellow "reminder" cord that fit over the right grip similar to a disk lock. I thought about making it (7) lockable as well...but since I never made one in the first place ....that would have to wait.
Did you used to work at Aprilia?