I cannot get my Norge on the centerstand!!

[Robert Villiard]

I got it! But I cheated. Rolled the Norge back onto a 1” board, then was able to get it on the centerstand.
View attachment 22119

Thanks, it totally works cuz the stand it too tall. After this its a piece of cake!

 

[Brian UK]

I modified mine by adding a larger foot on each leg. I cut the old foot off first, so may have shortened the stand by 1/8 inch, but no more.
It no longer sinks into soft ground. Did the same with the side stand.

 

[scott_m]

Thats inaccurate, no matter mine wont. The stand is too freakin long. After i roll it on a piece of wood it will go up

Ok. I'll concede your viewpoint.

I would be remiss though if I didn't say that I cannot help but wonder how in the world a collection of short, squatty, Italian men (of which I am a proud member) who work at the factory, designed and built a motorcycle that they couldn't raise onto the center stand they designed, without a block of wood. It must have been maddening indeed.

I'm glad you found a solution that works for you. Well done.

 

[oldgoose]

Well I'm just a youngster at 76, but I can do it.
How do you have the rear suspension set? If too soft then the rear of the bike will be lower, requiring more lift to get it on the stand.
Left hand on handlebar, right hand under frame at back, right foot standing on the stand peg.
But if you have much luggage weight it will be more difficult. When mine is fully loaded I don't usually try to get it on the centre stand.

 

[Robert Villiard]

Not sure if some are longer than others, my shock is all the way stiff. Im 5'8" 185, my friend Ron can do mine. He's 5'11" 210

 

[oldgoose]

Hi to members;
After reading all of the articles on centerstand subject, I thought about what happened to me and sharing my experience. I could not install the bike on centerstand, something was wrong, I checked and there was a bushing and a bolt missing on RHS of stand, the parts are on the way. When everything get safe I will be using LOCTITE on the two bolts to make sure nothing happens

 

[john zibell]

Hi to members;
After reading all of the articles on centerstand subject, I thought about what happened to me and sharing my experience. I could not install the bike on centerstand, something was wrong, I checked and there was a bushing and a bolt missing on RHS of stand, the parts are on the way. When everything get safe I will be using LOCTITE on the two bolts to make sure nothing happens

Not surprised. I had that happen early on with my 1100 Breva. I even put a post about it on the original forum.

 

[Brett]

My 2 cents worth. I find both of our bikes hard to pull up. I really like what Bill said. My riding partner (can't call her pillion princess) is always helpful. I pull the bike of the side stand, push centre stand down with the right foot and slowly find centre/level across the feet of the stand. I then apply full weight down on the stand while balancing on left handle bar and left pillion handle. I then have to shift to pulling up with increasing force on the pillion handle until it rocks up onto the stand. My 11 year old son is also able to help, he will grab the right pillion handle and lift up. it doesn't take much additional force to make it easier. I have also found that hard sole footwear helps, I find a soft running shoe leaves my foot sore from the push, especially when the luggage is on. The more a persons mass is, the easier it should be to engage the centre stand as well.

 

[07JGM]

i’ve watched people do all manner of techniques but they fail to utilize the fulcrum power of the stand correctly.

The center stand is like a impact driver. It is designed to take linear force and turn it into rotational force.

The technique lies in using your right foot, body weight, and inertial in pushing STRAIGHT DOWN on the center stand pawl while bracing your left hand in the handlebar and your right hand on the rear grip. You do not lift anything, you brace yourself with these two points, and focus your weight, energy, and intent STRAIGHT DOWN on that pawl. The design of the stand will cause the bike to rock backwards and right up onto the stand.

When you discover how this works, you can literally use 1 finger on the bar and 1 finger on the rear grab, just for stability, and it will pop right up onto the stand. I’ve demonstrated this many times to the bewilderment of viewers.

Let the lever of the center stand do it’s thing, Don’t fight it.

I need to make a video I think. Hmm....

Yesss, please make a video!

 

[tris]

On my B11 I found that the passenger grab handle gave the wrong angle of dangle to get the bike on the CS without doing myself a mischief.

I used the pannier mount as a point of purchase closer to the centre of the bike.

It was still a fair old tug though

 

[Stuart Whitehead]

My lad is 14 6"0 and he can pop mine onto the centre stand no problem and he has only watched me do it ,now my father who has been riding bikes for over 40 + years cannot that was one of the reasons he sold it to me as it was to heavy for him but that suits me to a tee

I must say unfortunately I find it all it the technique left hand on handlebars right on pillion hand rest and as I roll it back push down with my left foot and up it pops with or without panniers on

That my lad on the beast in photo.

 

[Dinsdale Piranha]

i have very limited space getting my bike out of garage, roll it to get rear wheel onto a plank and place a turntable under the stand, foot on stand and pull up with right hand, left on handlebars. my problem is getting the bike off the centre stand whilst seated on bike, need longer legs i think

To get the bike off the centre stand:
1. Get everything ready to go.
2. Climb aboard.
3. Start your engine and give it 10 seconds to settle.
4. Slip it into 1st gear.
5. Keep BOTH feet up on the pegs. Probably easier to stand on the pegs.
6. Very gently rock the bike backwards, then with moderate force rock it forward.
7. As it goes forward, off the stand, use your clutch as per normal and ride away.
8. Easy peasy!!

Been riding for 58 years now, and been doing that successfully for at least 50 of them. It works whether I'm fully loaded or not. With my trailer on or not. It's the only way for us short-arses. As the bike rocks forward off the stand it has enough momentum to keep you balanced while you feed in some clutch and ride away.

Everyone so far has the technique for getting it on the centre stand just fine. My other bike (Suzuki DR650) however has an aftermarket centre stand on it which is absolutely the worst deisgned centre stand in all motorcycling history. It does require a dead lift on the rear of the bike. It has no pawl/spiggot/lever to push down on. Terrible thing.

 

[jdub]

I could use more practice getting my Norge on the centerstand - I can do it but I don't look forward to doing it. My right hand pulls up on the passenger handle, which feels too high in my opinion. I feel that I could pull up harder if there was a handle somewhere lower on the bike. If I have the sidebag installed, I remove it first. Otherwise, with the bag installed, my body is too far away from the bike to have any leverage to pull up on the handle.

 

[Nordicnorm]

Ok. I'll concede your viewpoint.

I would be remiss though if I didn't say that I cannot help but wonder how in the world a collection of short, squatty, Italian men (of which I am a proud member) who work at the factory, designed and built a motorcycle that they couldn't raise onto the center stand they designed, without a block of wood. It must have been maddening indeed.

I'm glad you found a solution that works for you. Well done.

All these squat, fat factory workers first tried to win the Giro de Italia on their bicycles. They failed, so got a factory job instead. It has been said that the strongest muscle in our body is the thigh muscle, the one we use to straighten our leg. So: Right arm straight (I'm hanging on to the rear grab handle), left leg straight, left arm keeping the bike balanced. The only muscle you use is your right thigh muscle. Straighten that leg out by pushing straight down as hard as you would climbing the Stelvio Pass, while pulling with your right arm and straight back too. It's all in the right thigh. For me that is.......

 

[Bill Hagan]

All these squat, fat factory workers first tried to win the Giro de Italia on their bicycles. They failed, so got a factory job instead. It has been said that the strongest muscle in our body is the thigh muscle, the one we use to straighten our leg. So: Right arm straight (I'm hanging on to the rear grab handle), left leg straight, left arm keeping the bike balanced. The only muscle you use is your right thigh muscle. Straighten that leg out by pushing straight down as hard as you would climbing the Stelvio Pass, while pulling with your right arm and straight back too. It's all in the right thigh. For me that is.......

OK, I suppose we have beaten this Norge-to-center-stand tutorial to death, but, of course, that doesn't stop me from adding irrelevancies, especially when I see references to riding bicycles in Italy.

I once posted about this before, but add a bit as this follows yours and Scott's comments about Italian men in general and bicycles there in particular, all inspired by your Giro d'Italia quip.

Yes, my present physique might understandably strain credulity about my statements but, subject to the frailty of memory and an old guy's vanity, I swear that this is all true.

I lived in Italy in the late '70's, and was seriously into "pedal bikes." I was even a member of a local amateur bicycle racing club, Veloce Club Thiene.

When I first joined (aged 31) some of the bandy-legged, potbellied "old guys" (probably then in their 40’s and 50’s!) decided I needed to be inducted properly, so they proceeded to see if I could hang with them “at the pace.” Holy smokes, they were fast. They kicked me all over some of the challenging hills north of Vicenza.

But, American adrenaline (and, more so, shame of any potential humiliation kicked in), so I managed to stay with them. In truth, I would rather have died, puking blood at the side of the road, than give those lovable bastards the satisfaction of kicking my American ass.

And, after that “initiation,” I was one of the boys and had a great time in local rides and amateur races. More on those sometime, but the short version is that if you have ever been in a crash during a race involving LOTS of bicycles at close quarters, you know exactly what a Roman battle sounded like, replete with screams, grunts, thuds, clashing of steel, etc., after etc. Charming.

Enough. This reverie has Kathi looking over at me and wondering what weirdness I am up to, and (happily) kept me from my morning's original mission of trying to figure out what all the odd-looking GU and AP parts in plastic bags are. No need to order what I already have, but I have no clue what some are. Doh.

Ciao ciclismo!

Forza!

Two "P.S's.

1. Don't forget to follow that grand event: The Giro d'Italia

2. Cabin bound in B.C. winter or similarly elsewhere? Read this? The Beautiful Race

 

[Angel Angelov]

Hi guys, I had a problem with balancing the motorcycle over the center stand. Watched videos - done perfect now.
One very important condition for me: "Hard boots", no snickers no sporty shoos.
Enthusiastically I did a platform for easy moving the bike:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zGcPcAfEoZx8Dto99

 

[john zibell]

All these squat, fat factory workers first tried to win the Giro de Italia on their bicycles. They failed, so got a factory job instead. It has been said that the strongest muscle in our body is the thigh muscle, the one we use to straighten our leg. So: Right arm straight (I'm hanging on to the rear grab handle), left leg straight, left arm keeping the bike balanced. The only muscle you use is your right thigh muscle. Straighten that leg out by pushing straight down as hard as you would climbing the Stelvio Pass, while pulling with your right arm and straight back too. It's all in the right thigh. For me that is.......

I use the same technique with my 1100 Breva. Also with the saddle bags mounted I even place my right leg against it to help rearward motion.

 

[DeadEye]

Hi guys, I had a problem with balancing the motorcycle over the center stand. Watched videos - done perfect now.
One very important condition for me: "Hard boots", no snickers no sporty shoos.
Enthusiastically I did a platform for easy moving the bike.

Nice Work !
Is / was that a thread mill frame ?

 

[Angel Angelov]

Nice Work !
Is / was that a thread mill frame ?

Hello, yes it is a thread mill frame. I got two frames out of one thread mill. Have been very enthusiastic to make a platform/dolly,
very solid when is on four wheel on brake. Did not move moving at all when I put the bike on top of it.

 

[Nordicnorm]

OK, I suppose we have beaten this Norge-to-center-stand tutorial to death, but, of course, that doesn't stop me from adding irrelevancies, especially when I see references to riding bicycles in Italy.

I once posted about this before, but add a bit as this follows yours and Scott's comments about Italian men in general and bicycles there in particular, all inspired by your Giro d'Italia quip.

Yes, my present physique might understandably strain credulity about my statements but, subject to the frailty of memory and an old guy's vanity, I swear that this is all true.

I lived in Italy in the late '70's, and was seriously into "pedal bikes." I was even a member of a local amateur bicycle racing club, Veloce Club Thiene.

When I first joined (aged 31) some of the bandy-legged, potbellied "old guys" (probably then in their 40’s and 50’s!) decided I needed to be inducted properly, so they proceeded to see if I could hang with them “at the pace.” Holy smokes, they were fast. They kicked me all over some of the challenging hills north of Vicenza.

But, American adrenaline (and, more so, shame of any potential humiliation kicked in), so I managed to stay with them. In truth, I would rather have died, puking blood at the side of the road, than give those lovable bastards the satisfaction of kicking my American ass.

And, after that “initiation,” I was one of the boys and had a great time in local rides and amateur races. More on those sometime, but the short version is that if you have ever been in a crash during a race involving LOTS of bicycles at close quarters, you know exactly what a Roman battle sounded like, replete with screams, grunts, thuds, clashing of steel, etc., after etc. Charming.

Enough. This reverie has Kathi looking over at me and wondering what weirdness I am up to, and (happily) kept me from my morning's original mission of trying to figure out what all the odd-looking GU and AP parts in plastic bags are. No need to order what I already have, but I have no clue what some are. Doh.

Ciao ciclismo!

Forza!

Two "P.S's.

1. Don't forget to follow that grand event: The Giro d'Italia

2. Cabin bound in B.C. winter or similarly elsewhere? Read this? The Beautiful Race

Bill, that is a wonderful story. "Chat" is allowed, so I'll tell you mine.
In 1968 I was 21 years old. The Norwegian cycling federation selected 4 riders (I was one of them) as prospects for the Olympics in Munchen in 1972. We were amateurs. No money in it. I did get free bicycles from a company in Sweden for a couple of years, but little else. Had quit school after grade 9 to pursue the dream. By 1972 I would have been 25 years old, with no education, and no Olympic medals. So I went home and quit.
Back to school.
In 1972 I was towing beer commercial banners over northern Germany in a Piper Cub (Schultheiss Bier), with a freshly minted Commercial pilots license. The rest, as they say, is (my) history. I still own a 1980 racer built in Italy for the Norwegian DBS factory (Den Beste Sykkel), who did not build high end bikes. Now I am too fat to push those tall gears up the hills, so I ride a modern Carbon bike with lower gears.
So it was in my destiny to be able to hoist a Norge (we pronounce it "Nor-geh"), or in my case a Breva, onty the centerstand.
All those lonely hours racking up the miles also gave me a love of the open road, and I still have a strong preference for riding alone.
It's been said that the average male gains fifty pounds between age 20 and and age 60. I am a poster boy for that, but I still have those thigh muscles....
I also need to apologize for calling the factory workers "fat". At 230 lbs+, I have no right to judge anyone else, especially the nice people who built my favorite bikes.