Sidestand worries

[nickst4]

What we used to call a propstand of course. I thought it odd that there was so much flop in the sidestand on my Scrambler, so checked it out today. Just as well I did!

The pivot bolt has a countersunk head which seemed to be protruding quite a bit, but it has a torx socket larger than I have a tool for. I tried the nearest hex key but it wouldn't tighten, so I decided to remove it completely. It was only half engaged with the thread at the inner end, the bolt thread was partially crushed, the bush sleeve was very loose and one side of the stand clevis was bent due the excessive side load. If the bolt had finally come out or snapped, the bike would have gone down and smashed plenty of expensive stuff, quite apart from the problem of lifting it back up and supporting it!

The OEM pivot bolt is a very poor design IMO, because it is too short to take a lock-nut on the inner end and many mechanics (including, I suppose, the professionals who had serviced my bike before) would not have a big enough torx tool to check and tighten it. Moreover, I doubt the depth of the torx socket is anything like sufficient for proper tightening. There was, therefore, no point in trying to get a new OEM bolt, but I got lucky with my stock of fasteners. It turns out that a 9/16" UNF bolt is the right diameter and even suits the fine thread in the stand inner 'ear'. I had to turn a conical spacer to suit the depression in the outer 'ear', and wack the clevis back into parallel alignment so the bolt could nip the bearing sleeve as intended. Adding a nyloc nut to the inner end (there's loads of space for this), and the jobs a good 'un!

Scrambler owners please take note, and if the GranPasso has the same sidestand, owners of same should check theirs too. I assume the bolt should be held in by locking fluid, since there is absolutely no other means by which it can resist the twisting force put on it by deployment of the stand, especially with the massive side-thrust imparted by the spring.

Nick

[nickst4]

Just another thought: that sidestand hangs off the motor so it may not be a type/fixing restricted to the Scrambler or GP. Time to take a look at it, I'd say!

Nick

[morini_tom]

Good observation Nick and thanks for the heads up. Worth a periodic check for sure.

Originally that bolt was paint penned so you would be bale to see it undoing, but most have probably washed off by now.

Assuming it is the same side stand bracket as Corsaro then I have the following observations.

-Early bikes had a fabricated side stand bracket. This was replaced quite soon (2007/2008) with a much more substantial cast item. I can only assume the thin plated bracket failed or flexed in service. The cast bracket was a direct replacement so I bought a cast bracket and bolts to upgrade mine just after I got the bike.

-Having looked at my second cast bracket just now, I can see one potential issue which may be related to your bolt undoing, and if not is certainly undesirable. Hopefully you can see in the attached pictures- The pivot bolt is threaded into the rear section of the side stand. As Nick says, it's not long enough to have a lock nut on the back. However it is also threaded all the way up, which means the threads run in the bronze bush which is in the side stand casting. My one actually has enough threads gauged into it to be able to quite securely screw the pivot bolt into the casting. Net result is that when done up, there would be threads engaged with both the side stand and the casting, so the rotation is going to be trying to undo one of them.

My suggestion is to check the bronze bush for damage and probably replace the bolt with a shoulder bolt so that the bush runs on the shoulder as opposed to the threads.

When I can get my corsaro on the paddock stand (currently in use on the dart!) I will inspect that for the same damage.

The plus side is that when you are riding it you don't need the side stand so just a good excuse to keep riding

Tom

[nickst4]

Hi Tom,

Interesting observations! My OEM bolt does have a plain shank to it but, as I see it, the bolt should pull up tight on the bearing sleeve (steel on mine) and the whole unit then pivots in the carrier bracket. The bolt should not be load-bearing therefore, just provide a clamping force. Yes, I saw the magic paint mark, but there was no corresponding index mark on the stand clevis!

Now that I've managed to reattach the sidestand springs, using a steel cable loop around a long wooden lever pivoting on the end of the sidestand ( ), I've found that having a through-bolt with locknut has potential problems. As the stand is pulled down, the springs swing past the clevis, such that they are going to brush the nyloc nut. Hopefully not enough to hurt, but I may have to resort to a slimmer nut and loctite.

Nick

[nickst4]

I did need to shorten the through-bolt I fitted, and resort to a plain locking nut with Loctite, so as to clear the springs.
Here, I hope I can attach a pic of the old bolt, and you can see how much it had come undone by the bruising on the thread.

(Images sent via imgb much too big...)

All should be well now, and I'll find how the sidestand works when I take the bike off the Abba today.

Nick

[nickst4]

Hmmm, that didn't work, so I'll scale the images down and try again...

[morini_tom]

Good info!

I suspect, as I ordered the cast bracket more or less as soon as they were available that the factory realised the error of their ways with not fitting the shoulder bolt. What year is your bike?

Bear in mind that as you've not used a countersunk bolt, the clamping area will be different, unless you've infilled the countersink with a tapered bush

[nickst4]

Good info!

I suspect, as I ordered the cast bracket more or less as soon as they were available that the factory realised the error of their ways with not fitting the shoulder bolt. What year is your bike?

Bear in mind that as you've not used a countersunk bolt, the clamping area will be different, unless you've infilled the countersink with a tapered bush

My Scrambler is 2010 vintage. Old enough, I fancy, to predate the fuelling compromises wrought by the later regulations. It really is smooth, allowing for a pair of 600cc jugs doing their stuff beneath you! How can a big short-stroke motor be so flexible at low revs? It does indeed put Ducatis to shame, much as I love them.

If you look closely at the head of the bolt, the edge of a brass cone spacer is just visible beneath a plain washer. This I turned very carefully to fit the counter-sink, so the clamping is as it should be. The sidestand now sweeps a better-controlled arc and has minimal play in the pivot.

I agree that the sidestand should be up as much as possible, given that enjoyable riding is the reason!

Nick