Lowering Kickstand question

[Bustedknuckles]

so i'm restoring an 82' GS1100, done a TON of work to it, rebuilt damn near the whole thing, its running well now but i have one issue....

i lowered it to the point that when the kickstand is out it sits pretty much at a 90 degreee angle straight up, even with the wheel turned... its damn near fallen over on me at the gas station...

ive looked quite a bit at lowering kickstands, and tried to search for other options... the only stands i can find are for newer bikes and i dont think they will fit my old GS... the only other option i see is to fabricate my own (which i dont want to do and it will probably look like junk)

so once again im reaching out to you GS veterans to see if there are any tricks, tips, mods or parts out there that i could slap on my 1100 so that it doesnt get blown over by something as small as a fart...

Thanks in advance!
Sincerely,
~Nate

[knowyourenemy66]

I heated mine with a torch and gradually leaned it over to a good angle that I was comfortable with. Stood it back up, let it cool off and then cleaned and painted it. It was a try and see what happens. Worked great on my '79 gs750e. You could also cut the foot [base pad] off, remove some length and then reweld the foot back on.

[chuck hahn]

Down at the foot that sits on the ground...cut it off right there and remove about 1/2 of the stem and reweld the foot back on.

[gane]

Nate, offer this, I work in a "stealership" & make no apologies, however, I install probly a dozen or more lowering links per year for riders who are either height impaired or "other" & desire lowered bikes which cause the "kickstand" delimma. my "Prefered" approche is to "shorten" the stock stand by cutting stand just above whatever "foot/tri-angualation " which exists, measuring & marking overlap at desired "lean angle", & re-cutting upper stand to optimum overall finished length marking upper & lower for lateral & long. placement then PAYING a competent welder to sew them back together. personal experiance is that whatever you think if Suzuki's Duck footed base, its very good in loose dirt & "soft asphault", and "oxy/acetelene' & "coat hangers" just don't cut it when welding side stands. consider the cosequences of a "failed weld'..luck g

[Curly]

... the only other option i see is to fabricate my own (which i dont want to do and it will probably look like junk)

Doesn't have to look like junk!

materials required:

spring - $2 hardware store
1/2" steel rod - $5 Home Depot
small steel disk for foot - $?? anywhere
nut - $free from tool box
yoke thingy - $3 hardware store
small strip of metal - $5 at HD, if you buy 3'
cotter pin and D clip - $2 hardware store

total: $17 and change, less if you're thrifty

tools required:

angle grinder with cut off disk
welder

Insert the rod into the yoke, and weld it up. Weld a small strip across the front to hold it at a 90* angle to the bottom frame tube. Weld a nut on the side and attach a spring to the nut and the stock hole. Cut a ~30* angle on the end of the rod, weld steel disk, done. I was fancy and used a gear I cut at work.

Sorry for the bad pictures, it's bright outside.




Best part is it's only about $4 to do over if you screw up the length or something, since you probably bought 3' of the steel rod anyways. I already had the rod, nut, gear, spring, strip of metal, and paint on hand, so it was a $7 project for me. Much tighter than stock, doesn't get in the way of the shifter. I'd suggest a slightly larger steel disk, more like stock.

[TheCafeKid]

Looks good! Just don't park it on hot asphalt or you'll regret it.

My ZRX stands very upright on it's stand, from the factory. So much so that you learn never to leave in neutral even on the slightest of downhill or it can roll right off that puppy. I flipped the eccentrics, raising the back end so that helped some. I looked at this too, actually in BOTH directions on a couple of myGSes. My cafe was lowered a bit, and it sat bolt upright. My 1100E was raised a bit and it leaned over too far. Cutting and welding were the easiest and cheapest options, but if ya know a machineist, a nice one could be turned pretty easy out of some 70 series Alu.
Wouldn't be cheap, but you could tuck it in nice and tight, put a nice wide foot on it, whatever your heart desires.

[scaylabs]

You could also cut the foot [base pad] off, remove some length and then reweld the foot back on.

That's what I did. My bike is lowered 2" in the back and 1" in the front and cutting this much off the stand gave it a good lean angle:

[Bustedknuckles]

awesome!

well thank you very much fellas, i will look into making my own kickstand first. (only because i dont have a welder)

heck, maybe i'll even splurge a little and see if i can make a cool looking one. but if it doesnt turn out well i'll just cut the sucker and mail it to my uncle (has a welder)

once again the GS veterans have come through for me!

Thanks brothers!
Sincerely,
~Nate