automatic side stand question

[WayneDW]

I am in the process of putting things back together on my K75Rt after a clutch/tranny spline lube.  I'm thinking that I'm not going to put the rod that pulls on the sidestand with the clutch cable back on.   It seems kind of silly to me and doesn't seem to work very well anyway.   Plus, it puts more wear and tear on the clutch cable and my understanding is that other models don't have this feature anyhow.

Other than the safety issue of driving off with the side stand down, is there any reason that I should put that mechanism back together?

thanks,
Wayne.

[frankenduck]

It's standard on all 2V K100 and K75 models.  If it doesn't adjust far enough then try taking the little special nut off, bending a washer and putting it between the nut and the lever.  I've had to that on just about all of them that I've owned.

Aside from driving away with the side stand down it's not there for anything else.

If you're in the habit of putting the side stand up anyhow then the issue of clutch cable wear is negligible at best.  Even then, compare it to the number of times you shift - that's causing a lot more clutch cable wear than retracting the side stand.

[Inge K.]

You could also change the shackle (or make a copy) to a euro model, which have
spring retracted sidestand.

Go to Realoem choose your model and have a look in the two drawings "center stand"
and "side stand", then you see the difference between them.

Inge K.

[frankenduck]

What makes you think US models don't have springs on the side stand?  They do.

[Inge K.]

The springs is identical, it`s the shackle where the springs are attached that is different.

Most euro models don`t have this retract mechanism activated of the clutch release,
sidestand is kept down by the weight of the bike and retracts as soon the weight is released.

Inge K.

[Chaos]

other bikes have other ways of keeping you from riding off with the side stand down.  I find an occasional cleaning with liberal doses of WD-40 keeps mine working reasonably faultlessly,  saving me from embarrassing myself. 

[WayneDW]

Thanks guys, I'll make my final decision when I put the stands back on but I'm leaning towards leaving the self retracting out.  I think I've trained myself in 40 years of riding motorcycle to remember to always put the stand up. 

But, maybe I'll play it safe and leave it stock.... if I ever get old I might get forgetful.  Someone once said "better safe than sorry".

thanks again.

[frankenduck]

You could always just leave the nut on it very loose.  That will effectively disable it.

[WayneDW]

Just to put some closure on this topic:
I finished the work today.  Including: re-painted and lubed the throw arm, center stand, side stand, new cable, adjusted all, etc.  I also decided to put the side stand retraction system back together. 
You guys were right, when it's all lubed up and adjusted right it works (as we used to say back on the farm) "slick as snot".  So, I'm glad I left it as BMW designed it and thanks again for your help.

[frankenduck]

Sounds good. 

Thanks for posting a follow-up. :2thumbup: