side stand alterations

[Stumpycliff]

OK, so I've just acquired an 07 650 and as you can tell from my name I'm a little short in stature, so I lowered the rear with 35mm dog bones (too low) and will now replace with 25mm when they arrive, I don't like how upright it sits on the stand, the question is, what alterations have you done to make using the side stand safer, without going out to the garage in me JimJams and having a look, I was wondering if any of you had altered the angle so the stand goes further forward when down thereby allowing more lean angle, if you have, how did you go about it, and are there any pitfalls to doing this, not too keen on cutting side stand length 

[Fat Rat]

Some shortarses vertically challenged riders have cut the stand. I think there are adjustable side stands available out there. Someone will be along with the info 

[Fat Rat]

Here is one from Septicland https://soupysperformance.com/dl-650-v-strom-2012-2020-adjustable-kickstand-side-stand.html

[colin]

I cut a bit from the sidestand and welded the flat end back on. mine is lowered 10mm front, low seat and the rear dog bones are the ones with 4 different positions. mine is not on the lowest but the next one up. I found on the lowest setting the back wheel would touch the underside of the mudguard,  And I did put a extra bump stop on the rear shocker to stop that happening.

[Stumpycliff]

Colin I found that lowering the forks 15mm made turning in a bit twitchy and little difference to height, so I returned to standard, did you find that too?

[davef]

After lowering my wee, I too found the bike too upright, so unbolted the side stand and filed away some metal from the forward stop so the stand now goes further forward in use, which makes it a lot more stable.

[Stumpycliff]

I have just done the same so hopefully when I replace the 35mm lowering dog bones rear end with the 25mm dog bones it will sit better 

[colin]

Colin I found that lowering the forks 15mm made turning in a bit twitchy and little difference to height, so I returned to standard, did you find that too?

I've never ridden the v-strom with standard height suspension as I couldn't get my feet on the ground. I think the rear has 50mm dog bones and I dropped the front 20mm to start with, but I have just fitted new fork seals and gaiters and dropped the forks 10mm.  haven't noticed any difference to handling or height really. it's only the low speed handling I find difficult, where the engine is not smooth I have to keep pulling in the clutch when filtering and feels like the bike is starting to sway from side to side. this is usually with pillion and luggage. I had a BMW f700gs factory lowered before and that was very stable when filtering.

[Tusker]

My experience of lowering was not with a Vstrom but a 1050 Tiger, after putting it down too many times in slow maneuvers I dramatically lowered it..  45mm on the back with Lust Racing brackets and dropped the forks through 19mm and had the bike balanced and the suspension set up by an expert.. This solved the height issues, mostly, but the handling changed, not for the better!! Two other problems emerged, 1. the side stand issue. 2. I could now peg the bike even riding as sedately as I do.. Eventually lost patience with it and chipped it in for the Kawasaki.. I now think you need to be careful, manufacturers spend time and money setting bikes up to be their best.. Drastically altering them is not sensible IMHO.. Buy a bike that you can ride "stock" and take full advantage of the makers expertise.. That is my experience..... Back on topic,, I was about to get a piece chopped out of my stand by a garage that could cut and weld cast iron....
 

[Paulghost]

Why not heat up the side stand near the bottom and bend it out a little which will give you more of an angle.

[Graham62]

When I lowered my bike and had the side stand cut down and the foot welded back on, I have now put the bike back to standard but it leans over a bit much.

[stealthtech]

Adding to this thread in case anyone else finds this. Here’s one option I’ve used to overcome this problem. A friend has a Honda Crosstourer, lowered before he bought it. He bought a second hand side stand, we measured how much to remove to achieve the required angle. I removed the required amount from the centre of the stand, inserted a solid steel section, roughly 3 inches in length, which was welded into the lower half, this then slid into the upper section until both sections butted together. Finally, this was welded into the upper piece, creating a solid inner brace. It worked really well, and allowed the welded joints to sit virtually flush with with body of the stand. When painted, it was a solid, and very neat job.

Regards Martyn