Years ago I installed my center stand spring first, then pulled the stand into alignment with the bolt holes, then installed the bolts. I'm old and weak now, and wasn't looking forward to this proceedure this time around. What I did was, I hooked the spring onto my vice and streched it, jamming 1/4" nuts between the coils until I got the required length. It work great. Scared the hell out of me though, seeing that spring come under tension right in front of my eyes, so I used some big zip ties to hold it to the vice just in case it let go. I'd like to know how the guys in the factory perfected their system to do it day after day productively?