Hi everyone

The centrstand on my 1984 K100 broke and I desperately want to find a replacement.
I noticed that the later design stands are much more sturdier but I don't know if they fit my bike.
Can anyone tell me which centrestands will fit my 1984 K100 and will I be required to replace the mounting bracket if i decide to use the later model?
There is a centrestand for sale (from a K1200) and would like to know if it will fit on my 1984 K100.
Your replies will be appreciated.

From K75 to K 1100 every centerstand will fit without probleme. For the K12 i don't Know. Here in france we are some to use a K11 centerstand on ours K 100, it's much more easier to deal with!!!

I'm not sure if the stands are interchangeable or not
as a pal with a K75 had his break on him and bought one
from a later/bigger bike.
while it bolted on the front OK, the rear
holes were about 10mm further back as I recall

As far as I know he's still using it bolted on the forward part only
and hoping for best.
He did say it was a much better/stronger stand but not sure what model
it came off.

This snag may only apply to K75's and the 100's and above could well be interchangeable
for all I know.
Just thought I'd inject a note of caution before you part with cash

Hi Gabriel,
This is a known problem with early K centre-stands unfortunately but I guess by now you have been told that a zillion times. K"s up to 85 had a weak design of centre-stand which is prone to breakage variously attributed to water causing corrosion to bad mechanical design. BMW did a replacement for these way back when the problem was diagnosed but like many small issues unless the owner knew about the replacement and demanded it it probably did not get done as it was time in the shop for less return than customer paid for service.

Replacements off the 86 on should fit and e-bay or similar should get you one. Alternatively my guess is check your dealer they may be able to get one. With the age of our bikes almost any accident will result in the insurance co writing them off so spares are around.

Repair is the next option see http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/centerstand.shtml

Regards,
K-BIKE

Hi same place as superdream ! Welding a brace in is easier,cheaper and you can strenghthen to your tastes.Looking at it sugests there is plenty of space for full strength opportunities with flat bar for full arc of stand.
pete
Any reasonable mig should cope with it,all though an arc welder could it is a time consumer for an at home repair.

That brace idea aint bad at all
I may get the mig out and do that on mine
My bike's an 87
( does that mean it has the later/better stand ? )
but I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it

Preventative maintenance for the centre stand:
Every year, pour the thickess oil that you can find inside the centre stand. fill up the tubes then drain it and re-insert the two rubber caps at the end of the stand. These are essential to prevent the water entering the tubes.
Here in Canada, we have special oil to treat our cars against winter damage (Rust Check).These products are lubricant and water repellant. They are very sticky and are perfect for the stand application.

Hi Guys.

My bike is the same year as Gabriel and I have a later straight stand I think from a 4 valve K100 sitting in my shed which I plan to fit hopefully over Christmas. The pre-requisite, supposedly, is that it has the newer mounting bracket which mine came with. Apparently there is also a little bit of trimming to do but other than that it is supposed to be a straight fit.

When I get around to it I shall try and document the procedure but it is supposed to be worth the effort as it is easier to use.

Time will tell....

Regards,

Phil

Finally got around to replacing the centrestand today and the hardest thing was supporting the bike and reconnecting the springs.

In my case it was a straight replacement with the only potential issue the clearance between the tyre and the lh leg. Just as well it was replaced as it appears the pivot bushings had never been lubricated and were badly worn.
Comparison old and new.

RHS plenty of clearance (more than it looks).

LHS much less clearance but might be ok. Greater than a 130 tyre might prove difficult but there is room to grind some of the foot away. Fits perfectly into the rubber stop on the muffler.

An added bonus is it seems easier to operate so a huge improvement and hopefully I don't have to worry about it breaking at an inopportune moment.

Regards,

Phil

Hi Guys,
An old motorcycle trick taught to me by a very dear friend was to use coins to expand the coil spring. Basically get a handful of small coins one cent or similar and bend the spring inserting a coin in the gap that opens up. Bend the spring back the other way and insert a coin in the gap which opens up. Keep doing that till all coils have coins in between them and the adjacent coil and the spring will be expanded to the correct length (if you used appropriate thickness coins (or washers). Pull the coins out once the spring is in place.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Another trick with the springs which I read somewhere possibly here and I employed successfully was to tension the spring using some strong cord around the hook to be attached and even though it was vastly thicker than recommended (suggestion was bootlace) the additional leverage makes it dead easy and all you have to do is wriggle the cord out from under the hook when attached.

As I am married the coin idea would not work.

Regards,

Phil

Footnote is the sidestand was a little snug against the centrestand arm and difficult to operate so five minutes with an angle grinder trimmed away the rear of the foot so it is flush with the arm and now seems ok.

Definitely easier to put on the centrestand but a little harder to go the other way so a bit of a swings and roundabouts issue but I think they look better and definitely worth the peace of mind.

Regards,

Phil

A really good result Phil since the bike falling over is no fun at all and replacing like for like just means it will happen again in the future.

What Phil's work teaches us is that those of us with the old stand should start looking for a replacement now before it breaks because unless you live in a guaranteed no rain, no rust area, it will fail. The bike crashing down is bound to do significant damage so the lesson is replace or reinforce as soon as possible.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Other lesson is to spray the inside of the stand with a thick grease/water repellent (at the beginning of the season). Keep the rubber caps in good shape as they prevent water to enter the stand.

There is also a Service Note about the center stand mods. See Burt's collection. It may be in K100 section I don't remember.

I've dredged up this topic because it seemed the most fitting place to post this procedure without starting another thread...

I've just now finished bolting up a second hand 1993 K1100RS centre and side stand to my 1987 K100RS. I bought it complete from an eBay source in Germany because I'd read I needed it when going to the wider 4.5x18" wheel and 160/60ZR18 tyre. When laying one next to the other the earlier stand looks like it has far more spread and would allow for a wider tyre with no worries. But it also looks slightly more spindly, if that word can be applied to robust steel tubes, springs and bolts, compared to the later stand.

I used two Ancra-branded tie downs between two sturdy posts and wrapped them round the handlebars and forks under equal tension so the bike would free stand without a side or centre stand. Then I crawled onto the ground and from underneath unscrewed the four 8mm Allen head screws. Fortunately they came out relatively slowly but easily with an extension bar on the Allen key. I assembled the complete stand on the bench then inserted a short screwdriver into one of the four mounting holes to force the spring-loaded centre stand down away from the bottom of the gearbox where the stand's mounting plate attaches, otherwise the mounting plate won't clear the gearbox and you can't 'start' the screws into the gearbox base. It was one of those three handed moments and I'm glad for a fair measure of ambidextrousness borne of having to do mechanical things by my lonesome quite often. Inserting one bolt at a time and getting a few threads started I was able to slowly bolt the mounting plate up to the gearbox. It was a tedious process made more difficult by the lack of spanner spinning room and less than a foot from cement floor to aluminium gearbox and engine oil pan. Torqued to spec I swung the side stand down and noticed it leans less than the original and has a larger footprint and is easier to reach from the saddle.



Lo and behold the left leg is far closer to the edge of the original 130/140mm tyre, the right leg is a little bit closer but there's room enough. I began to wonder where I'd read it was necessary to have the later stand. I loosened the tie downs and walked round to the left side of the bike, rocked the bike up onto the stand using the far longer and more pronounced lever. It was amazing how easily the bike went up into position and how much prouder it sat. Mind, my old stand was fine. Still is. But I'm liking this new stand and though it's only cm's from the tyres edge I reckon there'll be room enough when the 160mm meat slips between those legs. I'm looking forward to greasing those nipples too.

nice one mate .......lets see what happens when the next step happens

The back wheel is in our body shop getting a blast and a re-spray in satin black so it is discrete back there underneath, and the Pirelli Angel ST tyres await their new home. It looks as though there's room. There'll have to be. Otherwise out comes the grinder...Don't worry about me. I know how to do the safety squint. :suspect:

Thanks for posting this mate! I was actually down on all fours in the Safeway parking lot the other day looking at an 1100 stand and it certainly didn't look any wider to me so it is great to get some accurate info on this.

Oldgoat wrote: I was actually down on all fours in the Safeway parking lot the other day...

I hope you didn't have to pay too much for the experience, OG! Footage of such things has ruined the life of politicians and celebrities!

Oh, you know mate just a little discussion about "extras", lol!

Too funny! Had to take the swipe. You left yourself wide open. Pardon the pun.
:joker:

I have fitted at R1100R 3 spoke 4.5x18 wheel and shod it with a Pirelli Angel ST 160/60ZR18 tyre. I have not had to modify the swing arm on the right side, although it is a close fit. The problem is that the K1100 centre stand does not clear the left side of the tyre. I have experimented with a 1998 R1200GS centre stand but it has the same problem on the left side - it hits the tyre. I measured the internal distance of each stand between the two legs at their feet. The R1200GS stand's gap is slightly narrower than the K1100. This means that the R1200GS stand is not a suitable modification. My next move is to widen the spread of the left leg of the K1100 centre stand as is well described in a later post elsewhere in this forum with excellent photos. Time for the angle grinder with cut-off wheel and some careful welding and painting.

Hello!
Since the old 2 Valved bike main stand is known to break, I have change it on both my K75 to a 4 Valved stand. Easy to do and the bike goes easily on the main stand now. I have used the old sidestand from the K75 works fine.

Cheers

The stands themselves are not all interchangeable, but the complete assembly as in mounting plate and springs/stands is.

My 84 K100RT stand broke as they do, even though I could have welded it and had a full repair set I didn't bother...... I simply got a complete 16 valve one and bolted the whole thing on. K1100 stand assembly also fits.

Can be got from Sherlocks/Motorworks or more.

I've a related issue with the main stand on my 1996 K1100LT.  
One of the grease fittings seems to be plugged in that I cannot pump grease through it.  Are these items universal?  In other words, would I be able to buy a replacement here in the US in any of the common hardware stores or is it necessary to find a metric grease fitting?  

redrockmania wrote:I have fitted at R1100R 3 spoke 4.5x18 wheel and shod it with a Pirelli Angel ST 160/60ZR18 tyre. I have not had to modify the swing arm on the right side, although it is a close fit. The problem is that the K1100 centre stand does not clear the left side of the tyre. I have experimented with a 1998 R1200GS centre stand but it has the same problem on the left side - it hits the tyre. I measured the internal distance of each stand between the two legs at their feet. The R1200GS stand's gap is slightly narrower than the K1100. This means that the R1200GS stand is not a suitable modification. My next move is to widen the spread of the left leg of the K1100 centre stand as is well described in a later post elsewhere in this forum with excellent photos. Time for the angle grinder with cut-off wheel and some careful welding and painting.

It is the left hand side inner 'foot' or base that has to be ground away, to almost even with the LH leg to which it's welded, when converting to a K11 stand on K75/100 for tyre clearance. This 'Guest' post is mine, done to my OZ-based RS about eight years ago when I fit the 160/60ZR18 tyres to it. There is a follow up thread when I fit the wider wheel(s) with images somewhere here in the forum's dusty archive.