Just picking up on a previous post: I’ve had a grumble on here before as I find my CB750 hard to get on the centre-stand – the bike weighs in at a quarter of a ton and my 67 year old muscles just can’t pull it up & back. I didn’t have much difficulty back in 1988; I was a lot younger then but I don’t remember the rear wheel being so high off the ground, as it is now, when its finally on the stand. Its over 5cm.
The 750 K2 DK Special I bought came from the USA and the previous owner had removed the centre-stand in the interests of weight saving to give that extra 0.25 mph. So, I bought one off ebay and fitted it thinking they must all be the same. Wrong.
Looking at parts lists there are several different numbers and the one have is meant for a 750 with longer shocks or a bigger rear tyre – F1, Hondamatic, who knows.
Anyway, its too flippin’ long and I’ve decided to shorten it.
Using the skills acquired from my 1969 ‘O’ level in Technical Drawing, I drew a scaled plan which revealed that if I chopped out 3cm on each leg it would end up with the rear wheel just clear of the ground by a couple of mm. So less of a ‘lift’ for me.
Using my other 1969 ‘O’ level in metalwork, I set to with the angle grinder chopping out the required amount and then finding some steel tubing to act as ‘slugs’ to strengthen the points where they were to be rewelded.
I found an old worn wishbone pivot tube from my long gone Triumph TR3A which I’d kept, chopped off the case hardened ends and got a friendly local garage who restore pre-war Austins to turn them down to the required o.s. diameter so they fit within each tube of the centre-stand.
Holes have been drilled into the separated pieces of the stand so that the ‘slugs’ may be plug welded through them to increase the strength of the joints.
UPDATE
After about 12 yards of welding wire: it’s now all welded up and then stand is back on the bike; no cracks or bending and it hasn’t fallen over. It’s now far easier for 67 year old me to pull it back and get it on the stand. I know how you lot like a few pics….
