MZ side stand

[veloce2003]

Hi, my TS 250 came equipped with an MZ side stand. Although it holds the bike ok on the side stand, as soon as I start to move or lift the bike to vertical , the side stand retracts straightaway. Is that correct? I don't really feel safe using the side stand right now. Thanks Michel

[DAVID THOMPSON]

most bikes do that and have for years it a safety thing
you have never had a exciting ride till you bury the side stand
in a right hand corner
my 1974 BMW r90 s had one that had a spring when the wind blew it fell over..
or if someone in the parking lot sneezed

rider passing shaking his left foot meant stand is down

rider opening and closing his fist meant your turn signal is on

[Puffs]

David saying 'most bikes do that', makes me think it's a US thing, as I never actually had a bike that did that. But I know of several that do.

It sure is a safety feature. Take a left turn with the sidestand out & you'll know why. But what I think is the more common factory installed safety feature, on this side, is an electric switch on the sidestand. That either switches the engine off when the stand is out, or in the more elegant version: switches the engine off when it's out with the bike in gear.

I think the important question is: how stable do you feel it is, when it's on the sidestand? You'll probably have the sidestand on the rear wheel axle, which doesn't help for stability, as it limits the lean angle. Watch out when parking on uneven ground, but if it stands the bike in a stable manner, I see no problem with the sidestand retracting automatically.

My MZ has no sidestand, only the centrestand.

[dave47]

Hi Veloce,
You've got the expensive 2-spring type sidestand. A cheaper type is available with one spring which does not automatically retract. You might prefer this.

[veloce2003]

Thanks for all of your replies. I really appreciate you all taking the time to read and reply to my post. I also have a Velocette Viper and a Triumph Bonneville both of which have a side stand that needs to be kicked back. I didn't realise that there is a cheaper side stand for the MZ that does not retract automatically. Thanks Dave I'll check it out. For now I'll just keep using the centre stand it feels a lot safer. Thanks again Michel

[DAVID THOMPSON]

my rt125 kills the engine if you put the bike in gear with the stand down
not sure about the saxon tour with rotax its been stored since 2008
friend has a bike that stand is down till you put it in gear

a fellow tried to take the traveller for an test ride
i had a non stock lever on its foot shift with a backwards pattern

2 Harley riders held a stomping party on his ass
for messing with my ride

[Puffs]

Those are nice bikes Michel!

Explains the veloce.

On the shifting pattern: those Brit classics even have the shift lever on the RH side, and the brake LH. So that takes a bit more getting used to. Luckily fewer Harley riders around.

[parrbd]

At one stage I had a BSA with a right side one down three up, a TZ350 one up five down and an RD350 one down five up both on the left. I was riding all of them at the same time. The TZ spat me off at speed when I changed down instead of up in a long sweeper.

[DAVID THOMPSON]

Cockpit errors hurt when your FLYING ... falling off hurts even setting in the parking lot
Dave