Page 1 of 2

Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 4:32 pm
by logepoge1
I will be going to college in the fall which means I will have to be really careful with my scooter while riding and while not riding. I know the center stand is secure and will hold the bike up with an okay amount of stability, but I want more than that. I pushed gently to the side and saw that with a good storm my bike would easily blow over and in north louisiana good winds are possible especially during hurricane season. I have a ground level on campus engineering apartment, but I am pretty sure it is against the housing contract to park a motorcycle indoors(would probably fall under storage of flammable liquids). MY mom's work has an office in the same city as the college(where she works, but lives 30 minutes away) but they have hardwood floors and the only time the pcx was stored there was when we bought it because we had to wait on my dad to get a trailer from the house since I didnt have my license yet. I have a cover for the scooter but I only feel like that would add more wind resistance and act like a sail, again knocking it over. I am already going to contact campus police to find out if all motorcycle parking spots have cameras, and if so only park in the ones with a good view to prevent hit and runs or someone being stupid and knocking it over. I have full coverage insurance but have a feeling being 17 years old already has the premium high enough without the addition of having to file claims. Its just one of those things I am worrying about after I accidentally knocked my scooter over at home earlier(while on kickstand, not centerstand, and only damaged the passenger footrest area where there are now a few scratches.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 4:53 pm
by Taz
Mine survived a storm with over 60 mph winds parked on side stand with steering locked over to ther right. The scooter next to me on its main stand blew over into me and a big 1200 bike blew over. I will keep using the side stand as think its a bit more stable than the main stand.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 5:15 pm
by logepoge1
Understandable. Now trying to find a good parts diagram to see what my amount of damage is. Anyone have any tips on painting these pieces with some touch up paint?

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:15 am
by maddiedog
I've used nail polish in the past with varying levels of success.

I'd park it on the centerstand under a tight-fitting cover. If you chain it to a bike rack, the rack will prevent it from falling.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:37 am
by Mel46
If you put it on the side stand for any extended time, such as if you park it while living in the dorm, I would run a long bungee cord through the front tire and connect it to the side stand so that no one would accidentally kick the side stand. I noticed that the side stand stops right at the center mark instead of a little further forward, which makes it more stable.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 3:53 pm
by cessna151
It sure seems to me that the side stand is much more stable than the center stand. I keep mine outside on the side stand with a cover on it and it has sat through numerous 60+mph storms, including one storm that had a peak gust of 102mph which knocked out power for a week, and it sat there just fine. If the ground isn't level then you should have the side stand on the down hill side for more stability.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:57 am
by Larry David
I always have mine on the centre stand apart from when its in the garage. Its much more secure this way. With it being such a light bike, I would be worried about it blowing over if it was on the side stand. I believe this is the reason that light motorcycles have centre stands.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 8:32 am
by gn2
Centre stands used to be standard fitment on all road motorcycles and scooters.
Its only recently that the centre stand stopped being a standard fitment.
When I say recently I'm talking more than a decade...
They were omitted due to the fad of the modern plastic missile sunday afternoon posing machine.
Its all about impracticality, you simply can't have a centre stand on your FZRRGSXRRZZWANKRR1 because its just not hardcore.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 11:38 am
by you you
gn2 wrote:Centre stands used to be standard fitment on all road motorcycles and scooters.
Its only recently that the centre stand stopped being a standard fitment.
When I say recently I'm talking more than a decade...
They were omitted due to the fad of the modern plastic missile sunday afternoon posing machine.
Its all about impracticality, you simply can't have a centre stand on your FZRRGSXRRZZWANKRR1 because its just not hardcore.

And it restricts the lean angle

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 12:09 pm
by gn2
Still allows more than enough lean angle for safe road use.
But who wants to ride safely when you can launch yourself into the scenery and/or other vehicles.
Mashed up body parts are just so sexy and there's nothing quite like a good biker funeral :roll:

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 5:26 pm
by WhiteNoise
Sarcastic, but oh so funny gn2 :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 5:30 pm
by you you
gn2 wrote:Still allows more than enough lean angle for safe road use.
But who wants to ride safely when you can launch yourself into the scenery and/or other vehicles.
Mashed up body parts are just so sexy and there's nothing quite like a good biker funeral :roll:
Or that might not happen

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:45 pm
by WhiteNoise
you you, I most certainly hope Not

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:47 pm
by gn2
It might not indeed, but who really cares?
These days the average motorbike is a completely impractical pile of crap.
Road motorcycle design has gone nowhere in the last 30 years, if anything it has gone backwards.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:08 pm
by Mel46
I don't understand why the rice rockets are even allowed on the road. They are not practical and only encourage speeders to try to kill themselves. I thought I was really hot when I was young and had a Harley. Now the kids get on a rice rocket without any protection except the required helmet and try to see how fast they can go before they crash. Speaking of crashes, I just read that some guy tried to push his bike to 300 mph and crashed and died. Why?? Because they can.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 6:23 am
by strkngfang
I agree, most sport bike riders are racers & not cruisers. They account for the most wrecks & deaths than all the other bikes put together. As long as the young keep buying, the brands will keep selling. Of the sport bike riders I know, none of them go for a leisurely ride, they find a curvy stretch of road or highway & push it to its limits.

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:09 am
by CaptnJim
I'm not a kid. In fact, I turned 60 this week. We used to live in the Black Hills (western South Dakota) where there are some great motorcycle roads. I would start out for a leisurely ride, find no traffic through Spearfish Canyon, and find myself with a big ol' smile, eating up the curves. The BMW I had at the time was happy to run beyond those curve speed limits. Didn't hurt myself, never bothered others, and was always in control. It was GREAT to clear out the cobwebs after a long day at work.

While I agree that there are plenty of squids on sportbikes, not everyone with a bike that isn't a scooter or a Harley has a deathwish or rides out of control.

I find different bikes bring out different "inner animals"... on my Goldwings, I enjoyed the scenery in comfort; on the Harleys, I loved the feel of the torque and the open road; I liked stradling my BMWs and flicking through the curves. On the PCX, I find I am less aggressive... might be the diminutive size, may be I don't need the adrenaline rush as much as I age. ;)

Each of those rides made me smile.

OK, nothing to do with the original topic of keeping a scoot from falling over. Park it, cover it, chain or cable to something solid. It takes a pretty strong wind to blow a bike over. We have a home on the Gulf Coast (south Texas) and always know when a hurricane is coming... time to get outta there. Time to get stuff into cover. Enjoy the new scoot.

Captain Jim

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 12:21 pm
by logepoge1
It's just those few who make those types of motorcycles look bad. I was in my mustang once and had this crotch rocket come flying up on my tail and was tailgating me like he had a death wish while we were going 70mph. In north louisiana our winds aren't too bad from hurricanes, mainly lots of rain, but still not too bad

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 1:34 pm
by ScooterKim
interesting what we all think about the side vs center stand. I haven't been riding long enough to be an expert here. with the side stand, the scooter feels less like it will tip over than when it is fully erect on the center stand. kind of has that crouched curled-in stance in a way.

the other thing I like about the side stand is the "click", push the stand out and down, and you think, wow, was that a fun ride!

Re: Prevent scooter falling over

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 2:32 pm
by logepoge1
I also see the purpose of the center stand too. Such as maintenance. Only problem I had was stand was too close to oil drain bolt so some oil leaked