| Author | Message | ||
     Steveford |
The S2 side stand is just horrible. Has anyone found a replacement stand that works? I put a bend into mine which helped a little but it's still an accident waiting to happen. I had a fellow drop this bike once and I really don't want a repeat with a new paint job. | ||
| Fahren |
Did you spend some time looking through at other stand-benders' work, Here: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/193402.html Maybe the bending you did just needs more tweaking. | ||
| Ratbuell |
They don't make the retrofit sideplates anymore - I have the last set. They use a standard tuber sidestand. LOVE EM. Look at the sideplate, and at the sidestand. Can you, while the sidestand is down, run a screw through the sideplate to kinda "lock" the stand in the forward position? Not block it completely, but kinda give it a speed-bump it would have to get past if it had weight on the stand, and the bike started rolling forward? | ||
| Steveford |
Ratbuell, Could you post a picture of that sideplate? Fahren, Thanks for the link, I'd seen that before but didn't go as far with the bending in the press. I guess Henrik vanished years ago once he bought that house. | ||
| Ratbuell |
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| Ratbuell |
...and the part that's nearly sacrilege, a decidedly non-S2 lean angle:  | ||
| Lynrd |
pssst....youe tags are expired... | ||
| Lynrd |
On that sideplate - did they machine the whole thing as one piece, or is the tab welded on? From the picture it looks welded, which would be a bunch cheaper to make than machining away almost an inch of material. | ||
| Ratbuell |
One solid piece, a brand new set of side plates. Its an old photo  | ||
| Steveford |
That's more like it - thanks! That big ugly side stand's days are numbered. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Well you're gonna have to make your own, because according to Al at American Sport Bike...I got the last set (and that was back in '06). | ||
| Simond |
.......and I'm still cursing myself for not buying that last set! Lovely bike. | ||
| Lynrd |
You know, that would be a pretty easy part to machine, but unless you have an extrusion die to get the basic shape and want to pay for a whole lot of stock to use it, you are going to need to start with one big ass chunk of aluminum....you're going to convert about 80 percent of it to chips. I keep staring at mine, trying to figure out a way to whip one up without making a giant pile of chips. | ||
| Buellish |
Here is a side by side shot of a stock side stand and the side stand Rat is refering to. http://www.doncasto.net/DonCastosS2ConventionalWis dom.html#S2%20Sidestands | ||
| Ratbuell |
Yep, that's it. It was a debate when I bought the S2...but I figured even as relatively-pricey as the plates were, they were still cheaper than possibly damaging bodywork I still try to park all my bikes facing uphill...but it's nice that I don't have to treat my S2 any differently than the rest of them. | ||
| Buelljunkie |
I bet if somebody were making them again...there would be lots of takers, whether there was group buy or not. That sidestand is just silly stupid! I can't imagine any designer stepping back from that afterward and saying, "N-i-i-ce...". Unless maybe it was an HD designer playing a really long-standing (no pun intended) joke on us Buell owners... Ratbuell I envy your sideplates. Those ARE nice!! | ||
| Ratbuell |
I think it will be a boutique build at best. Let's face it...they're not making any more S2's. It is a very limited market, and as noted above...it would make a lot of scrap aluminum chips. | ||
| Lynrd |
Yep - it's a question of "Addressable Market". Of the 1399 S2s that were built , some subset that has not already been cut up for a chopper, crashed, or otherwise removed from active service may want a set of these, and a subset of those folks may actually have the disposable income...and so on. I am considering a couple of options to at least one off something for mine - I can think of two practical approaches: 1 - Build a template and cast the rough shape from aluminum, then machine to finish. Advantage is I can come up with something close to stock in appearance, disadvantage is that sand casting is an enormous pain in the ass. 2. Build new side plates from plate steel, machine the mount, then weld the two together - obviously won't look stock, but could be made to look cool - and could allow for a passenger peg delete at the same time. I'm leaning toward the second option, but in the "big list o' projects", this is below my current frame table project so I have time to sort it out. | ||
| Edv |
There was a fellow from the Detroit area that I met at the Buell 25th anniversary that said he had the programming to machine the side plates for the S1 style side stands but I cannot remember for the life of me his name all I can remember is he either worked at a Harley dealer in that area or had contacts there and that is who he made the plates for. I hate getting old CRS has taken over. Personally I just bent the stand to give the correct amount of lean and left it at that. | ||
| Buelljunkie |
I know what you guys are saying about cost and demand...I was just kinda wishing out loud. Like most people I do not have the time, knowledge or skill to make things like this myself. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, right?  | ||
| Ratbuell |
I don't know that I'd use steel....they used aluminum for a reason, yes? Probably? (NOT an engineer here....just a guy with a few bikes...) | ||
| Lynrd |
No reason not to use steel here - if it was an engine part, like am intake manifold, then yes, absolutely, as the two metals have different properties in terms of heat dissipation and expansion. I am confident that the factory used aluminum castings here because it would be faster to machine the sand cast parts, and they obviously had a foundry since they needed one to make the pivot block. With todays technology, though, I can watercut most of the shape I need from steel, technology that wasn't available to the factory (I don't think) when they were building the sideplate models - S2 and before. Either material would work. Pivot blocks (Basically the same part, sort of) on an FXR or FLT are steel. And obviously the pivots on the later models are steel as they are part of the frame. | ||
| Jolly |
I just bought an S2 and "need" a set of these side plates as well.....its time to go in deep on the S2...anyone here really looking into this or are we just wishing out loud?..my other bikes are mostly finished...I don't think they ever truly get completely finished...so its time to jump in to the S2 once I get it home. | ||
| Steveford |
I would have to buy one. That sidestand blows and my bike has already hit the cement floor once. | ||
| Jolly |
Is there someone willing to go into making them or at least offering a quote? maybe with enough people we can get the price down and encourage one of the engineer/machinests with enough of a production run to make it worth the time and effort to write a program and then run a "bunch"???? I'm in for set....well price dependent of course.... | ||
| Ratbuell |
Once the season ends...I could offer my sideplate as a template if needed. Unless the original builder wanted to spit out another run themselves... | ||
| Jolly |
Thanks Ratbuell!! should we start a list to see how big the demand is? Jolly left and right | ||
| Kc_zombie |
I would be interested, but wonder about a right side plate to match.. Who was the original MFG? | ||
| Buellish |
Jim Gilbert,of Gilbert's HD in Port Huron,Mi. was the guy who originally had them made.As I understand it,he was a big S2 fan and hated the lean,so had a local machinist fab up a set.Those side plates generated demand so they went into business.I bought my set from Jim around ten years ago. Unfortunately,Gilbert's is out of business. | ||
| 4speeder |
I'm not sure if I'm following this conversation because it seems like this sidestand issue is a huge problem. I just took the stand off my bike and cold bent it in the shop press so when it's down it is past center and won't roll forward off the stand. I bent it a little towards the inside as well so the bike would sit more upright when parked. This is about a 20 minute job including removal and replacement back on the bike. What am I missing in this conversation, is it the cast aluminum plate that is a problem?  |
