Broken center stand spring

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Richard Tool

Richard Tool

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Anyone care to weigh in on this ? My center stand spring broke today while out for a ride . It broke just at start of the coils where the long tang begins at the stand end .
The spring was about a year old with something a little over 1k miles . Short life .
To go with all the Stainless bling on my build I purchased a Stainless spring as well .
Bad move maybe ?? Work hardening / embrittlement ??
Whadya think folks ?
RT
 
I would agree with Fast Eddie about stainless springs, however I fitted
stainless main and side stand springs 30+ years ago and they still are
fine, probably both will break today now I’ve said they are fine.
 
Stanless isn't always a downgrade - depends on the alloy.
If you don't know the alloy then there's a good chance @concours is right.
Springs don't normally just break early in their life.
Best security is to buy from a reputable supplier.
 
I have a good "Norton" friend who had a spring break just before he rode over some railroad tracks. The center stand hooked the track and stopped the bike completely! He and his girlfriend went straight over the handle bars!! On my center stand I have welded a piece of steel from the curved pad at the bottom up to the stand tube so it cannot act as an anchor in the event of a spring failure.
 
@motorson - thanks for that - low probability but I'll be doing the same to mine!

They do say that a substantial part of wisdom is learning from the misfortune of others.
 
Saber said:
Did it drop while riding?
Click to expand...
Yes it did . On my previous outing just before my driveway I heard a metallic rattling from right silencer . Pulled into garage and tapped silencer with my boot and heard it again - thought baffles had come loose internally but turns out it was a loose exhaust rose . Bronze roses tightened as per recommendation after allowing head to get hot - did this through several cycles and had no further problems- till now. So on my ride I began to hear metallic noise again and assumed it was rose but no - center stand dragging. Fortunately no harm done other than some paint scraped off and lucky for me someone stopped to check on me and he had some wire so I wired it up and got home. Wire and cable ties now in my tool kit on bike.
The spring that broke was from a very reputable supplier in the UK.
Have ordered two new non-stainless ones from Andover and still have my original non stainless one .
 
Yes, looks like our center stand would work well if we had to land a commando on an aircraft carrier. Glad you and the bike are ok.
 
How many times have I caught something on the handbrake handle on my car? A LOT. So design out a fail area on the
centre stand would seem, by now, something everyone would do especially replacement parts. Liability. Commonsense.
Thanks for pointing this out.
 
Any tips on the install of a new spring.Mine fell completely off the m/c on a ride and cannot find anything pertaining to put a new one on.
Thanks,
Mike
 
With the centre stand removed, I hook the spring on first, then lever / guide the stand into position so I can slide the bushes in, then the bolts.

It involve a bit of lying on the floor and grunting, but it’s not too difficult.
 
Fast Eddie said:
With the centre stand removed, I hook the spring on first, then lever / guide the stand into position so I can slide the bushes in, then the bolts.

It involve a bit of lying on the floor and grunting, but it’s not too difficult.
Click to expand...
Maybe for you young people! I do the same but either with help or I use it as a "teaching opportunity" for whatever young person I can hook into the job :)
 
T
Fast Eddie said:
With the centre stand removed, I hook the spring on first, then lever / guide the stand into position so I can slide the bushes in, then the bolts.

It involve a bit of lying on the floor and grunting, but it’s not too difficult.
Click to expand...
Thanks Nigel
 
I did this job about 10 years ago .. The hardest part was removing the very pointy end of the spring from the bone in my finger . I had the spring stretched just about right when it slipped . However you do it ...keep your hands out of the way :)
 
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