I removed my center stand.

[bluegoatwoods]

Why?

Because real men kickstart their scoots!

Nah, not really......I don't take on a macho mentality.

But I do want to kickstart my scooter most of the time. Partly to avoid being dependent on an electric starter. Partly to be kind to my electric starter.  And partly because I want my riding to be as active as possible.

Until now I've found kickstarting to be too clumsy. The center stand needs to be down. There were a few times when I'd try to kick it with the center stand up in the hope that my kick would simply push the center stand down and out of the way. But that didn't work well at all. I even worked out a way of getting the scooter up on the center stand while I was still in the saddle. For those times when I'd stop the bike without getting off. I'd put my foot on the center stand lever, lean the bike right, turn the front wheel right and push with my foot while pulling on the handlebars. That was a bit of activity, all right. But it was clumsy and I was risking a broken ankle.

So today I decided to simply remove the center stand. And it works nicely. I lean the bike to the right and this gives me a very nice 'arc' of kick. (Somewhere in my past there's a motorcycle that kicked on the left. At least I think I remember one. I'm thinking it was a 1968 Honda 305 Scrambler I had as a boy. If not, then it must have been a bike that belonged to someone else. But if so, it would be one I rode more than once. But I also wonder if this isn't just a false memory.)

Now what I'm really getting at is that I'm wondering if there's any downside that I'm not considering. The side stand is not as stable, of course. But I'm pretty careful about parking my bike on a good surface anyway. I also wondered if filling with fuel would be less easy when the bike was leaned over. But I put some gas in it this afternoon on the side stand. Though the scooter wasn't perfectly level, it was close enough to be no matter at all.

I can see possible difficulties when the bike is on my service stand. It can certainly be handy to have a center stand then. Yet I think I can get the bike up and stable one way or another when needed.

Can anyone think of anything I'm missing here?

[humanshield]

Not to mention with all the weight you shed, that puppy is a screamin demon now !

But seriously...The center stand on my 150 is a PITA. Makes ALL KINDS of noises. I should remove it too.

Ok here's the downside, at least in my case.....
I have so many bikes in my garage that it's much easier to get them in and out if they stand straight up. 
I squeeze the one I've been riding in straight up, then work my way in between the two beside it and put it on the center stand.

If I sold a few I'd probably take the center stand off.

[FrankenMech]

The kickstart has been shown to be an emergency alternative to the electric start. Constant use of the kickstart breaks the CVT cover boss around the kickstart lever.

FYI- Here is a thread from a guy with a missing center stand:
49ccscoot.proboards.com/thread/20095/center-kickstand-pics-info

[oldgeek]

Another reason you many not want to take center stand off is if you do not have a side stand.
My Vino does not have a stock side stand, and the Zuma did not have a stock side stand, it must be a Yamaha thing.

I actually had to install a side stand on the Zuma because I had to remove the center stand due to damaged mountings.

The only other thing I can think of is that the center stand is very handy when the scoot is broken down on the side of the road.

[oldgeek]

Oct 11, 2017 21:46:37 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

The kickstart has been shown to be an emergency alternative to the electric start. Constant use of the kickstart breaks the CVT cover boss around the kickstart lever.

I think improper use of the kickstart is what breaks the CVT cover. There is a definite procedure to use a kickstart.

[lostforawhile]

you don't want to get rid of the center stand, for one thing, they tend to fall over on the kickstand, if you remove anything, bypass the kickstand safety switch, and get rid of the kickstand. It's best to kick start off the scooter anyway.

[bluegoatwoods]

Oct 11, 2017 21:46:37 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

The kickstart has been shown to be an emergency alternative to the electric start. Constant use of the kickstart breaks the CVT cover boss around the kickstart lever.

FYI- Here is a thread from a guy with a missing center stand:
49ccscoot.proboards.com/thread/20095/center-kickstand-pics-info

Thanks, Frankenmech. This is something that I obviously need to consider.

I'm not very familiar with these parts. But I imagine that the outside end of the 'axle' of the kickstarter is supported by an indentation in the CVT cover. Is that what you meant by 'the CVT cover boss'? 

You might not even need to answer that question. It's hard to see any other explanation.

My wife's Honda Metropolitan also has no side stand, oldgeek. So it's not just a Yamaha thing.

[AtariGuy]

That boss - literally a 1 inch "pipe" deal sleeved into the aluminum cvt cover that the spindle (axle) of the kick starter slides into. Its literally there to take up space and pretend to be a bearing. It works though.

If you -want- to kick it often, you may want to shop around for a sturdier cvt cover. Plenty of 2 strokers omit their electric start for a monster overrange variator - so they only kick n go. Usually thems are racing setups and really are only started up for pleasure rides though. Daily commuters will still prefer using the electric for the longevity of their cvt cover. 2 cents

[lostforawhile]

mine (when it's running) kicks starts really easy, for one thing I used spray penetrating oil on the mechanism, and the difference is night and day

[bluegoatwoods]

Interesting thoughts, atariguyfc and lostforawhile.

Another reason I'm leaning toward mostly kickstarting is that I feel that I'll be more 'in tune' with my engine. I'll be more likely to 'feel' when a tune-up is in order.

And I like the idea. But if I'll also be threatening to pop a hole in my CVT cover, then I guess I might have to do some rethinking.

[AtariGuy]

Or... you got a new cvt vent for your electric start only scooter!

[ThomasTPFL]

The 139qmb covers seem to like to break. I haven't seen that issue with any Minarelli clones. Depends on the scooter how safe it is to rely I kicking.

I have no center stand or electric start on my bike. I want to delete the kicker and build a pull start assembly for it.

[bluegoatwoods]

I have come to realize another downside to having no center stand. It's now much more difficult to check my engine oil level.

This alone could actually convince me to put the stand back on. Though I guess I might be able to work something out with blocks to hold the bike stable right at the stand mount points.

[FrankenMech]

Just get training wheels, like my R-trike has.

[90GTVert]

For me, the big downsides of no center stand are : less stable parking, harder to service.

Minor downside : Not as safe for starting or running. If anything goes wrong that causes it to rev, it will take off when on the side stand and tip over. Most fluid levels should be checked on a level surface, which the center stand often provides if it's in decent condition.


The big plus of no center stand : Can't scrape it on turns if it ain't there. Could also be required with some race pipes, at least for the Minarelli engines.

Minor positives : Less weight, less crap to break or rattle.

Oct 11, 2017 22:02:20 GMT -5 oldgeek said:

Oct 11, 2017 21:46:37 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

The kickstart has been shown to be an emergency alternative to the electric start. Constant use of the kickstart breaks the CVT cover boss around the kickstart lever.

I think improper use of the kickstart is what breaks the CVT cover. There is a definite procedure to use a kickstart.

I kickstart my 2T all the time now (no e-start) and it's fine. The 4Ts, they break too much if going that route. I had trouble with the 2Ts when I was clocking the lever to get a big kick on it. Stopped doing that and stopped breaking them.