Speaking of center stands

[KEITH KRAUSE]

If you'd like to keep the sissy bar and possibly make no modifications to it, I'd suggest the wood idea first. As Earl was saying, the standard 1 5/8" thick "2X6" helps a lot but you can make a custom piece of wood closer to 2" thick or whatever you need and the bike will sit on the stand with so little effort that you wouldn't need to get a strong grip on the grab rail or sissy bar. I'm thinking you would just need to "cup" your hand under the rail/bar or side of the seat and that's all you'll need to sit the bike up.
Just place the bike on the stand, measure the rear tire clearance above the floor and use/build a piece of wood that's maybe 3/8 to 1/4" less. A "Standard" smooth 2X6 is 1 5/8" thick but a "rough cut" 2X6 is about 1 3/4 to 1 7/8 thick. Or use 2 different boards that give the perfect thickness.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Tired shocks or not, if you reduce the amount of swing arm travel you need to overcome to a minimum, the bike WILL sit up with minimal effort.

[salty_monk]

Chef1366 is a big guy and can do it without even getting off the bike!

It must be the shocks. The longer shocks essentially make the head angle a little steeper & make the turn-in a bit more responsive. Not a lot but you'll notice the difference.

[GSXR7ED]

Tired shocks or not, if you reduce the amount of swing arm travel you need to overcome to a minimum, the bike WILL sit up with minimal effort.

I've yet to try this...but I will.


Ed

[BigD_83]

Just an additional bit of info. I mistakenly bought new Hagons that were 0.5" shorter than stock. While they have greatly improved the feel of the ride, I haven't noticed any negative impact on handling. However, the effort required to get the 650G up on the centre stand is quite a bit more than with the crappy old Icons that a PO had installed.

It's still not what I would describe as difficult, and I don't have the grab bar to assist. I just put my hand on the frame.


Given your description, I wonder if there is something also happening with the centrestand. It could be bent in a way that impedes creating leverage.

[GSXR7ED]

Take pics of center stand...we wanna see the underbelly of your bike!


Ed

[Hinermad]

Not in this weather!

[Grimly]

Boriqua's question about side or center stands reminded me of something I wanted to ask. Is there a trick to getting a GS up onto the center stand? On a level surface I just can't rock the bike up onto it. I have to run the front tire up onto a board or paver that's at least an inch and a half thick before I can get the bike up on the stand.

With my old 450 I could step on the peg on the side of the stand, lift the handlebars, and rock the bike back onto the stand in one motion. But not with the 750. Am I missing something?

The biggest and best trick to getting any old bike onto its centre stand is make sure you don't have saggy old springs front and rear. You'd be amazed at the difference a loss of half an inch makes to getting it up, as they say.