Is there anything about the kickstand that doesn't suck?

I took my wife's '02 Monster 620 dark to a track day at Putnam Park over the weekend.

Let me count the ways in which the kickstand sucked:

In the cold of the morning, when you want to warm up an air cooled motor before thrashing it on the track, the kickstand switch prevents you from letting the bike idle unattended. So I had to suit up and sit there on the bike like a goon for ten minutes before the first session. Lame.

At even a moderate pace the tang on the end of the kickstand drags in left hand turns. It drags bad. I was hanging off like a spider monkey, butt completely off the seat, and the kickstand was showering sparks and levering the rear of the bike around. I had to be very careful to set a slow corner entry speed in order to keep from running wide off the track. There's a quarter inch of virgin tire on the rear despite me having worn the kickstand tang down to nub.

In the afternoon, I found my wife's Monster just an inch away from tipping over in the paddock because the kickstand was digging into the soft asphalt in a way no one else's bike was doing.

How hard can it possibly be to engineer a kickstand that does the following three basic things?

1) hold the bike up when it's parked
2) fold out of the way when it's not parked
3) allow you suit up and warm up the bike at the same time

huh, thats wierd I thought the newer model ducs allow you to warm up the bike on the kickstand. Both my 02 S4 and 03 620 SS will run with the stand down. I guess the 02 m620 are different.

Correct, 02 and before had that ingenious design

Evoluzione sidestand bypass--$50 and no worries mate.

the '02 should allow a start with the stand down when in neutral. dunno why yours doesn't except to guess maybe you got an '01 ECU.
anywho, the stand DOES suck, but for the track, you really oughta consider a paddock/swingarm stand and remove the kickstand altogether. to allow the bike to run, manually turn the switch that mounts to the stand so that the bike thinks it's retracted, or short the switch's connection with a small wire and some electrical tape. i've left mine disabled since my trackday and have had no probs. just be absolutely sure to retract your stand before riding off or BAD things will happen on your first lefthand turn.

in the end, if you really think the stand sucks, you can buy a cyclecat unit to replace it. motowheels.com has 'em.

My '02 620 wouldn't run with the stand down either. I fixed it with a length of wire, a diode and a few crimp lugs. It allows the engine to run with the stand down in neutral, but kills the motor when you put the bike in gear. I'm guessing it's the same as the Evoluzione mod but it only cost me about $3 to make. I've got a Word doc that shows you how to do it with a wiring diagram but I can't work out how to attach it here. If you want it I can email it to you.

One thing that dosen't suck http://www.cyclecat.com/KS1-1.htm .


Chris Calovini
Sales and Marketing Manager
Cycle Cat
ph 614.577.8080
e-mail chris@cyclecat.com

That's a really nice peice of hardware.

Does it increase cornering clearance?

The tang that you use to put the stand down is what touches down first. Mine's worn half off.

Our stand is adjustable as far as how high it will come up when it is retracted. This is limited by whatever it will contact first i.e. frame shift lever etc. If you wanted one we would not have a problem shipping one with the "tang" removed. You could install it if you wanted later.

Chris Calovini
Sales and Marketing Manager
Cycle Cat
614 577 8080
email chris@cyclecat.com

I have a 99 M900. stopped by a friends place, the second day I had aquired my Sweet Heart. Stopped on what I thought was firm dry ground. Placed the kickstand down, firmly locked to the forward position. Started to swing off, stand sunk, and let my Baby touch the lawn. No harm, except the pucker string, that holds my arse shut, almost snapped. Found a 3"square of 1/4' alum. plate. velcrowed it on the flat spot behind my tail light. I now use the center stand as much as possible. The Foggy Monster S4R, I got a month ago, has nothing but a side stand. It's a nightmare on Concrete. The "Work of Art", leans over to much for my taste. Guess I'll find a thicker piece of alum.!! Toppino Ed

I hear you on the stand issue, cornering clearance and the ol' digging into the pavement routine. The summers here in FL are murder in that dept, especially on the asphalt. Although, mine is an 03 800, so I can warm her up w/ the stand down.

[Brewmaster]

I agree with everyone here. I did the bypass thing then removed the nub after a track day (turn 6 at NHIS works well for this).

The one thing I do like about the stand is that it is sturdy. I have been turning my bike around on it since new and it has held up just fine. I like the idea of the aluminum ones but fear that they would fail if I tried doing this. Anyone try turning their bike around on an aluminum one?

On another note, is the bike correctly sprung for your or her weight? Have you set your sags or adjusted the suspension height? Those can help keep the parts off the deck also, not to mention handle better. Just a thought.

[infoage1]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

The one thing I do like about the stand is that it is sturdy. I have been turning my bike around on it since new and it has held up just fine. I like the idea of the aluminum ones but fear that they would fail if I tried doing this. Anyone try turning their bike around on an aluminum one?

I'd be a lot more concerned about what the stand bolts in to failing while performing this trick, then the stand itself failing....

[Brewmaster]

Originally Posted by infoage1

I'd be a lot more concerned about what the stand bolts in to failing while performing this trick, then the stand itself failing....

OK I have to admit that I went out and inspected my side stand. I removed it and looked it over real thoroughly. There appears to be no damage or indication of excessive stress. So my conclusion is that after 6 years of doing that it causes little or no damage, unless you have heard of something else I'm not going to change my ways. Of course I do agree it would really suck if it broke and did some damage!

[infoage1]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

OK I have to admit that I went out and inspected my side stand. I removed it and looked it over real thoroughly. There appears to be no damage or indication of excessive stress. So my conclusion is that after 6 years of doing that it causes little or no damage, unless you have heard of something else I'm not going to change my ways. Of course I do agree it would really suck if it broke and did some damage!

I was talking about the very real possiblity of breaking your engine cases, not your side stand. Certainly nothing I would risk...

http://speedzilla.com/forums/showpost.php?p=248473&postcount=12

There were more threads about this happening, but the search function only goes back a little ways since Dave switched servers (or whatever he did).
.

[Brewmaster]

I was looking at the case.
Well thats good info, thanks. That is also the first time I ever heard of that happening. I will certainly reconsider doing it in the future. I will also ask a few of the dealers around here if they have heard of this happening.

[Brewmaster]

I spoke to the most experienced and knowledgable Ducati guy I know (Bruce Meyer's) this weekend at the track and he said he has seen no problems (i.e. cracked cases) from doing this. But he did say to make sure the mount is NOT loose. I think the bottom line is do what you are comfortable with and check the mount if you do decide to pivot on the stand (gently).

[chris_k]

I'd never claim to be the most experienced or the most knowledgable Ducati guy (that I know or otherwise) and I've seen this almost a dozen times. The unsupported loop in the case fatigues and falls away.

What we used to do was take the aluminum SS mounting plate and weld on a slotted tang that goes underneath the stand itself to utilize the 3rd hole on that side of the engine. We don't do that anymore. My welder guy got tired of all the hard work (and we couldn't really charge what it's worth for him to do it anyway).

Given that, I never, ever put more stress on a Ducati sidestand than is necessary. Kind of related: many Ducatis in service are apporaching "vintage" and require a different level of care than "new" bikes. We carefully torque side cover screws, as you can torque past 72 in-lb with a T-handle.

Anyhow ... we won't look down upon you and instead we'll hope the case break doesn't happen to your motorcycle.

Chris

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

I spoke to the most experienced and knowledgable Ducati guy I know (Bruce Meyer's) this weekend at the track and he said he has seen no problems (i.e. cracked cases) from doing this. But he did say to make sure the mount is NOT loose. I think the bottom line is do what you are comfortable with and check the mount if you do decide to pivot on the stand (gently).

[Brewmaster]

Thanks for the reply Chris. I do plan on keeping my monster until both it and I are "vintage", therefore I am going to break this habit.

Thanks also for running a good company there at Cal Cycle. Cheers, Brewmaster

[chris_k]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

Thanks for the reply Chris. I do plan on keeping my monster until both it and I are "vintage", therefore I am going to break this habit.

Thanks also for running a good company there at Cal Cycle. Cheers, Brewmaster

Thanks, man! We try pretty dang hard here.

Also thumbs up for being nice to the stand/cases. We all love our Ducatis.