The auto-retract knob was just an accident always waiting to happen. You should also take the stand to a trusted welder and have them add 1.5" in length to it. This seems to be the preferred length and gets the bike up to a more appropriate lean angle. Mine is rock solid on the stand.
My 510 bit it within the first 15 minutes of ownership after letting it run for a few minutes before my first ride. Unfortunately when it fell the handlebars landed off the edge of the driveway so the rest of the bike took the brunt of the impact on the pavement. Results: broken front blinker broken left handguard scratched arrow muffler and the need to mix some J&B Weld on this I still like the auto retract stand but only let it idle on a rocky or grassy surfaces to avoid it from walking itself.
I've liked the auto-retract stand on my last 2 Husky's as well. Once you know the consequences, you learn quickly what you can and can't get away with. paul
My 08 TE450 kickstand sucks. It's almost impossible to find a spot on the trail that the bike won't fall over. I think I would be better off by just removing it and pretend I have a TXC. Yes, I removed the auto retract before it left the dealer. The biggest cause of this problem seems to be too steep of a vertical angle of the welded mounting tab. I have looked at other TE and seen variation in how far away from the bike the stand foot sits on the ground. Mine sits directly under the center of the foot peg, I seen other where it under the outside of the foot peg. With the bike almost vertical on the stand, the suspension sag has a huge effect and there is a lot vertical force trying to sink the stand into the dirt. Not sure what the best fix would be? I shorten the stand about 3/8" to increase the lean angle, but it still too vertical. You can't add a bend to the stand or it would stick out when in the up position. I could cut and weld the tab to change the tab angle, but that fry the frame paint. Anyone else have this same problem and great fix? I'm worried if they make it illegal to swear in public, I'm going to have a real problem.
it actually ran down a bit ... but I was too lazy to file off the excess drip. what is important is that the case stays dry on the outside. I patched the front of the case of a mini bike engine ( 3 hp Tecumseh) when I was ten or eleven years old with J&B weld after I put the rod thru it. That was a few days after I learned what the governor was on the throttle and how much faster it went when I removed it.
I've gotten used to mine and will live with it like it is. One thing for sure though is I could not add any length to it. If it was even a quarter incher longer, the bike would tip over on flat concrete. I can't even put the kick stand down or up without leaning the bike past center to the right because it's too long. Right now, I look for a spot where the ground on the stand side is a bit lower unless it's really soft ground.
My SM510R sidestand is terrible as well. Same problem as Seymore has. It's too short and too vertical. I plan to disable the auto-retract feature but that part doesn't bother me anywhere as much as its poor design. When I get time I'll weld on an extension to the end with a bigger pad that will stick out farther. My off-road bike is a Gas Gas EC300 and it suffers from the same problems. Auto retract (until I disabled it) and too vertical, although it's close to the right length. I almost always find a tree to lean the bike against instead of wasting time trying to use the side stand. KTM owners complain about their sidestands too but theirs work awesome by comparison.
2008 TE610 - kickstand was too short, added length 1.5" - mrkartoom 2008 TE450 - kickstand was too long, shortened 3/8" - seymore 2008 TE250 - kickstand is too long, being careful & leaving it as is for the moment - gandalf 2008 SM510 - kickstand was too short, may lengthen later & put a bigger pad on the end - jlk_250 Too short and too long? ?
My situation is identical except for shortening the length, I have left mine the stock length. I will just wait until someone comes out with a nice aftermarket stand and get it. Until then, I sit on my bike alot when we stop on the trail and there is nothing to lean it against. Or I spend a few minutes searching for a level spot with a flat rock handy. The rock has to be the perfect height or it will fall one way or the other. I spend way too much time kicking the proper depth hole in the dirt for the particular rock that is handy?????? With all the things they got right on the bike, it seems like they gave no thought what so ever to the kick stand. It is embarrasing having all your riding buddies sitting around while you are holding your bike from falling over. I pretty much forget about it when I start riding though. Ken
We have to be talking about different bikes here. Look at the lean angle of my 610 in my pic above. That's after I added 1.5" to it. The lean angle w/o the extra length was too leaned over with too much weight on that tiny little foot. The auto-retract, combined with the big lean, made it even easier to go toppling over if a mosquito flew by. She's rock solid now and you'd have to work at it to make her fall. venture4th started the thread about the 610 stand, which my comments would be applicable to. He'd be well-served making it longer. Trust me.
I'm not doubting anyone at all. I've been reading all the 2008 kickstand comment for quite a while now but could not figure out why some thought it was too long and others thought it was too short. I edited my post (#29) - did I get it right? The 2008 - TE610 & SM510 are too short, and the 2008 - TE2150/450/510 are too long?
My SM is an '08. SM has shorter suspension and shorter sidestand. Same issue with it being a poor design (IMO) because it does not angle far enough away from the bike. The "sweet spot" where it doesn't tip over one way or the other is very narrow since the side stand is so vertical. Edit--I would assume the TE450/510 and SM450/510 share the same frame so would have the same basic problem. The 610 has a different frame so the sidestand issue might be completely different. The pic of the TE610 earlier in this thread looks good. My bike's side stand goes practically straight down by comparison. I'll try to post a picture soon. Jon
Think even I am beginning to understand... did I get the right summary now? Post #29... Take a quick peek at the home page www.cafehusky.com that is a picture of my 2006 TE250 when it was new (March? 2006) and compare the angle to the 2008 bikes. Since then for whatever reason it sticks out much farther, wobbles when not down, and extends much farther forward when down. My guess would be the hole at the end of the kickstand where the pivot bolt goes through is egg shaped now.... cause: March 2007 - a year after that picture was taken with 1200 miles on the bike I had the bike lowered 1.5" the kickstand was too long - but I kept using it - like gandalf Fall 2007 - with 2400 miles on the bike the stand is almost too short cause it goes too far forward & out. .
I think you've got it. I was confused too until I realized some were discussing different bikes. Basically it sounds like few are happy with the stock unit regardless of the bike.
Interesting to see the new contributions coming through about other folks issues with the sidestand. Thanks for the note MrKartoom, but I'd already ensured it was lengthened by 1.5" to overcome the issue before it left the dealership. So that only reduces the risk, doesn't eliminate it. Regardless of the model designation (TE610/250/450/510), same issue applies about product risk management. Imagine the scenario: Short of milk at home, quick run to the shops to buy milk, go inside to buy it whilst crowds of younger kids gather around to collectively "ooh and Ahh" over your ride. Then, instead of hearing the 'bang' of it hitting the pavement becuase of a dodgy sidestand design, you hear a softer squish, and kiddies screams. Explain that to the kids parents. Not the sort of thing I'd like to risk happening to a product of mine, when the issue is so well documented. Makes me break out into a cold sweat thinking of it actually - will I have to take my MTB to the shops instead? My waistline would thank me, I'm sure.. Don't get me wrong, I love my rides and am a big fan of Huskies (610, 250), but want to see this product evolve and respond to feedback across all dimensions, including safety (not just performance). I'd rather see an over-engineered, fault tolerant solution that can be scaled back at the owners discretion (and liability), than an under-designed afterthought that's just asking for trouble. I'm not so sure there are as many sidestands out there lying in sheds as there are charcoal canisters.. Back to the centrestand musings: here's the underbelly of my 610 (pre-surgery) showing the mount points:
I will get a pic of mine tomorrow. It looks nothing like these. I will point out that it works very well in moderately soft even ground or in hard pack or concrete provided the stand side of the ground is down slope of the non stand side. On even ground it works, but it only takes a minor push to get it past center. If it's running it can walk depending on the ground and then I just have to choose the angle of the ground I park it on. The stand is so long and vertical I can't swing it up or down unless the bike is leaned to the right past center. Because of this, I can not sit on the bike with the stand down at all unless the ground below is very soft. I always only put the stand up or down while standing next to the bike because I have to lean it. Whenever someone gets off my bike for the first time, they try to put the stand down and then realize they have to lean it so they do and then they get off on the wrong side of the bike because they aren't tall enough to get off on the left side with the stand down. I'm 6'2" so I can, but it's annoying to have to lean it over to the right just to put the stand down. I'm sure a picture or two tomorrow will do better than the previous less than a thousand words. EDIT: My apologies for repeating myself. Pics tomorrow though.
Been there since it left the factory (08TE610E), and for the life of me I can't imagine what else they're on there for-certainly not a hold point for luggage straps . You'll see a small metal stop on the mount closest to the camera. Still waiting to hear confirmation of availability and price from Husky Australia via my dealer. Having a centrestand in place would go a long way to helping solve the issue (though it brings its own set of constraints as well, which I reckon I could put up with having had one on both my 95' KTM300, 650GS Dakar). No news yet though..
My 08' has the same tabs. I've heard rumors of a centerstand, but nothing more. venture4th, I know what you mean about the danger of the thing. I was nervous to park it anywhere in fear someone would come up to check it out, move it, and knock it over. I never thought about someone getting hurt, but that is a distinct possibility. However, as I mentioned before mine is really rock solid now and it would take some effort to knock it off the stand. If yours is still unstable then something is different. Others that have added 1.5" and cut the knob off have similar results. Regarding the sidestand design, this is a cheap way for Husky to meet the requirements for selling street legal bikes in the US and avoid the greater cost a sidestand cutoff switch. Legally they have to have something that keeps you from riding off with it down. KTM did it similarly on the LC4 with a centerstand. If you wanted the LC4 sidestand, it came with all the electrics to add the ignition cutoff. Husky has just done a poor job of it. It would be great if we could have both stands simultaneously. Some bikes like the LC4 you can't, but it should work fine on the 610 because of the different mounting points.
