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I agree, excellent write up. Thanks for sharing! Tomorrow, I’m picking up my OEM stand for my new ‘23 V7 E5 Special and these instructions will be handy.
Got the stand today and installed it this evening. I found it helpful to remove the right exhaust as well. I left the spring off thinking it would be pretty easy to hook up when on the bike - wrong. I think that was the toughest part. Managed to get them on using the suggested brake pliers. Loosening the motor mount bolts helped get the stand in between the frame tubes.
Stand works well. I heard others say the stand doesn’t go over center far enough, leaving the bike unstable. I don’t find that problem with mine.
The H&B center stand I ordered for my '22 E5 Special should be here Friday. On the H&B the up-stop is part of the mounting assembly so muffler brackets shouldn't be an issue. I'm undecided but thinking of getting Mistral long exhausts. They and Agostinis require a muffler bracket if the OEM or H&B CS is installed. I'd like to hear from anyone who has the H&B/Mistral Exhaust combination.
danketchpel... Nice job on the foot step modification. I couldn't live with it hanging out into space like that
OK, here's my OEM Guzzi center stand install "How To". Mine has some extra steps for the custom up-stop bracket, hopefully others can avoid that headache with either using the bracket that comes with it for the stock pipes or ordering the correct bracket for your pipe such as the Mistrals. I also decided to shorten the foot arm to tuck it in tighter to the Mistral pipes. I suspect it's fine for the stock pipes.
So.... first I mounted the springs on the pre-assembled center stand. I found it easiest to clamp the center stand in the bench vise upside down so the stand fell against the mounting bracket assembly in the retracted position which is the shortest distance for the springs. I clamped one of bracket assembly ears in the vise and pulled the large spring down ward using a large spring puller tool I have (Motion Pro).
Next loosen the lower right rear engine mount bolt and back it out a few turns so there's a gap between the head and the frame leaving room to flex that frame member enough to aid in both removing the existing crossmember and installing the center stand bracket member later.
Then remove the left muffler including the support bracket. I did not find it necessary to loosen or remove the header pipes or the heat shield. I levered the header pipe down just enough to clear the head of the long bolt that comes out. It doesn't need to be moved much, maybe 3/16" or so just to clear the head, the shaft of the bolt will slip pass so you can relax the header after the head of the bolt clears. After the bolt is out you can remove the frame crossmember. If the evap canister is still mounted you will need clip the zip tie holding it and separate the canister from the crossmember.
Next I changed it from the instructions and put the front bracket bolts in first and ran the nuts up but leaving them loose. This allows for a much easier insertion of the long bolt as you can pivot the center stand assembly up using the front bolts as a pivot point and with one arm push/pull the frame member out just a bit to allow the main section of the bracket to slip past the frame member while you raise it into alignment with the long bolt hole. Next flex that header pipe down again and insert the long bolt. It will take a bit of fiddling to get the bolt fully inserted in order to start threading it in.
After you've threaded it in you can tighten up the front bolts and then the pivot bolt. The instructions called for 50 nm for all of them. Then you can tighten the engine mount bolt. The service manual calls for 50 nm for that bolt also.
Next you need to install that pesky up-stop bracket which "should" replace the stock muffler bracket if you are running the stock pipes. For my case I had to do some fab work in order to create the bracket I wished I'd been able to purchase.
I ended up cutting off the long stop tang from the supplied bracket using a plasma cutter, trimmed it a bit to suit, then welding it to the Mistral bracket I had.
Here's the supplied bracket after cutting off what I needed.
Here's the trimmed stop tang tack welded to the Mistral bracket.
After fully welding it I bead blasted and painted it.
So next with it all mounted up, I realized the foot arm stuck out way more than I wanted. I suspect it would be fine for the stock pipes but the Mistrals are tucked into the bike quite a bit more.
So.... I decided to cut out 1.5" from the arm and weld it back on. This was a bit tricky as I had to align and weld it on the bike as I wasn't so keen to just tack it, then remove the entire stand from the bike, weld it fully, then replace it. So I did some welding yoga to get 'er done.
So now the foot arm fits the Mistrals as it should.
A shot of the center stand installed and doing what it's supposed to do.
thanks for posting the photos, it helped me even though it was still a pain to install. I sure it will be worth my trouble in the long run. For some reason the rubber bumper even when adjusted doesnt make it to bracket on the tailpipe. I had to put extra rubber on top of it and adjust from there.
OK, here's my OEM Guzzi center stand install "How To". Mine has some extra steps for the custom up-stop bracket, hopefully others can avoid that headache with either using the bracket that comes with it for the stock pipes or ordering the correct bracket for your pipe such as the Mistrals. I also decided to shorten the foot arm to tuck it in tighter to the Mistral pipes. I suspect it's fine for the stock pipes.
Thanks a lot for that tutorial. Those factory instructions, or lack there of, were pretty much an incomprehensible MF'er. They didn't even mention that you had to remove the original bracket that held the canister. It looked like it was welded in.
I just got mine finished. I did have to loosen my exhaust bolts in order to drop the pipes enough to get the long bolt out. No mods necessary for the stock pipes. Looks good and functions perfectly. Now I can get to the break in maintenance.
I am seriously considering installing the center stand. Do we have to remove the kickstand to put the OEM kit on, or can I keep it on the bike (I really want both the kick stand and the center stand).
I am seriously considering installing the center stand. Do we have to remove the kickstand to put the OEM kit on, or can I keep it on the bike (I really want both the kick stand and the center stand).
Tomorrow, I’m picking up my OEM stand for my new ‘23 V7 E5 Special and these instructions will be handy.
