Getting rid of the center stand - three questions

[frankenduck]

Disclaimer: I know there are some people who are purists or whatever and don’t care for café builds. I’m not one of them. I figure that it’s your bike and you can do whatever the heck you want with it. This post is just some things that I’m curious about.


Question 1: Why?

I get that it can shave off four or five pounds.  It also makes more room to explore various custom exhaust possibilities.  Aesthetics?


Question 2: How do you check the oil level and do other maintenance?

Do you have somebody else hold the bike upright or use a front wheel stand to check the oil sight glass?

How about other maintenance tasks that are facilitated by using the center stand?


Question 3: What do you do if you get a flat tire or need to install a new tire?

Minor puncture flats can sometimes be repaired without having to remove the wheel but if you get a “serious” flat that requires an internal patch or you need a new tire then having the center stand makes it a whole lot easier to remove either one or both wheels.

[Past-my-Prime]

Have you ever actually seen one of these creations in the wild?

I think oil usage is a non-issue if the engine rarely runs, and flat tires don't happen if they're not ridden. Loud exhaust pipes, likewise, don't irritate anyone if the engine is off.

You can also save few pounds and the aesthetics of having a battery someplace, if you never need to actually start the engine.

It's about the satisfaction of a piece of artwork, not about function!  LOL

(Sorry, maybe my response belongs in the Dissenter's Paradise)

[frankenduck]

Have you ever actually seen one of these creations in the wild?

Yes. Earlier this year I helped a guy spline lube a cafe K100 that had the center stand removed.

[Past-my-Prime]

Yes. Earlier this year I helped a guy spline lube a cafe K100 that had the center stand removed.

That must have been fun with no center stand! 

[frankenduck]

That must have been fun with no center stand! 

We did it at my place.  I had a spare center stand to swap in. Would've been harder to do without that.

[Chaos]

"cafe" is synonymous with "impractical" so all the stuff you mentioned is an asset.  Like no fenders, no luggage, torturous seat and riding position, maybe some huge meaty off road tires.  And missing the all important loop.

[frankenduck]

"cafe" is synonymous with "impractical" so all the stuff you mentioned is an asset.  Like no fenders, no luggage, torturous seat and riding position, maybe some huge meaty off road tires.  And missing the all important loop.

At least in WA state, cafe guys get sadded when they discover that fenders are a legal requirement.

I've never understood the whole thing about putting dirt/dual-sport tires on a street bike that will never see even a forest service road.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I've never understood the whole thing about putting dirt/dual-sport tires on a street bike that will never see even a forest service road.

It's possible that those knobbies are the only readily available radial tire that you can get in sizes that fit a brick. 

On the other hand, I suspect that the real reason they're used is the really cool macho image they project in a Mad Max sort of way and look a lot more appropriate than street tires when posed for a photograph in front of a graffiti covered  dumpster in a public housing project.  Once you realize that a cafe bike isn't actually meant to be transportation, but rather a piece of anguished dystopian urban sculpture that reflects the modern Social Justice Warrior/Woke Cancel Culture everything about them makes sense.

[beemuker]

Once you realize that a cafe bike isn't actually meant to be transportation, but rather a piece of anguished dystopian urban sculpture that reflects the modern Social Justice Warrior/Woke Cancel Culture everything about them makes sense.

wow MG, that is quite the sentence! 

[The Mighty Gryphon]

And to think, when I was a kid, my teachers thought that English was my second(or third) language.

[frankenduck]

but rather a piece of anguished dystopian urban sculpture that reflects the modern Social Justice Warrior/Woke Cancel Culture everything about them makes sense.

I don't know about the SJW part but "anguished dystopian urban sculpture" fits.   They also want to demonstrate their individualism with their cafes. But given how many people are doing it it's about as individualistic as the HD guys who all do the same mods to their bikes in order to be individualistic social outliers.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

The SJW metaphor is that you have someone, who could never build the bike the way the OEM engineers did, "improve" it by taking it apart, throwing away all the stuff that made it what it was and then build it back totally useless for what it formerly did so well with a bunch of parts that aren't as good as what they removed.  Sort of like converting a really nice resort into a hippy commune/homeless encampment.

"Dude, I got this degree in medieval Flemish gay porn with a minor in trans gender studies.  Now get outta my way while I make the world a better place."

[Laitch]

". . . Now get outta my way while I make the world a better place."

Defined as "like Amsterdam." Now who doesn't want that, except a few malcontent neighbors in the Window Districts who can't stand seeing people having fun and borrowing the use of their porches, sidewalks and flower boxes as toilets. Next up: the new and improved Seattle! 

[The Mighty Gryphon]

...borrowing the use of their porches, sidewalks and flower boxes as toilets.

Free fertilizer!  No need for MiracleGrow to get lovely blooms to brighten the neighborhood.

[Laitch]

Free fertilizer!  No need for MiracleGrow to get lovely blooms to brighten the neighborhood.

Try that as a cement cleaner in your garage and let us know how well it works. I suggest keeping your diet on the acidic side.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I suspect it would make the floor a bit too slippery for safely moving my clumsy Bricks.

[Chaos]

I suspect it would make the floor a bit too slippery for safely moving my clumsy Bricks.

But they'll slide around easily on a well urinated floor if they're on their centerstands!  And this thread has now come a full circle.