TE auto-retract kickstand; who likes them?

I'm looking into a fix for the poor fitting 08-09 TE kickstand and was wondering how many riders like or keep the auto-retract feature?

I changed out my auto-retract bolt before the first ride. Although I might as well left it installed since the bike falls over so often with the stock kickstand.

Does anyone think the 09 kickstand works or much better?

I tried the 09 cast aluminum stand on my 08 and found it was still unstable (looks good). The 09 stand has a larger foot which helps, but the biggest issue seems to be the steep angle that the mounting tab is welded on to the frame. Most of the 08's & 09's I've seen the kickstand foot doesn't angle out much past the outside edge of the foot peg.

With the stand foot so close to the center line of the bike and a little extra sag of the rear spring (pack pack on seat) the bike falls over to the right. The bike will fall over to left sometimes if the normal sag unloads if the bike is leaning a little left.

the stock item was rubbish way before the 08 bikes ! my 05 is bearable but only just ! i need to look for an incline in the forest and even then, it feels unstable..

rabskyline, my cousin's 05 is way different than my 08.

I hate the auto-retract. I left it there for awhile to give it a chance but then you have to make sure every one you know that might touch your bike knows and understands how that auto retract works or you might have your bike tipped over or they may get hit in the shin. Also, if it's on the stand and your doing work on the right side of the bike, you can't lean the bike up for a sec because the stand will retract. Hate it and glad it's gone!

If it's any consolation the one on my '04 TE wasn't great. I spent a lot of time reworking the bracket to get the bike stable on the stand and now it's just about bearable.

Then there's the daily "Will it snap in half?" paranoia...

Like rabskyline I have to look for an upslope when I stop (or kill the engine and leave it in gear if there's no room to turn). If it won't foul anything when it's retracted then I may increase the area of the foot as it just sinks in the ground as it is.

I'm glad to be rid of that self retracting doo-dah, btw. I can't imagine anyone being sad to see the back of that "function".

I cut the knob off the bolt before my first ride - 09 te

I have a minimum of static sag in the suspension so I'm glad the stand is long - it's about perfect for my application.

The stand on my bud's 08 te450 = PITA

MAT

On my '08 SM510R, I left it as auto-retract for quite a while. It had tipped over at the dealer before I bought it but never tipped on me. While it's convenient to be able to just rock the bike back to have it retract, I eventually found that it's even more inconvenient to have to hold the side stand down when when extending it, especially since the '08 SM side stand is too short ('08 TE 450/510 are too long, SM are too short) and requires precision placement to prevent the bike from falling over even on flat pavement.

So eventually I cut off the auto-retract post like everyone else, and I am far, far happier with it gone. Also I extended the side stand 1" or so and it is now usable without too much care on flat pavement. Off-road I think I wouldn't even bother trying to use it if a tree was anywhere nearby. The angle is just wrong.

My auto-retract was disabled by the dealer (at my request) before I picked up the bike. I don't miss it at all; you couldn't possibly get on my bike with the stand down and not be aware of it as there's none of the normal sag when you hit the seat.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm not impressed by the 09 stand which I find awkward to use and not reliable at keeping the bike up (which I'm kinda assuming is what it's there for). And watching the way it bends I too have the "Will it snap in half?" paranoia.

To add errr... injury to injury, I'm now nursing a bruised knee after the bike fell off the stand in my yard this afternoon while I was standing nearby looking at something else, and landed on my leg. Also had to repair my GPS mount. The foot of the stand had sunk into the relatively firm ground by less than an inch (from looking at the hole afterwards) and that was enough for it to topple over to the stand side. Obviously any stand will topple eventually if it sinks in enough, but it would be nice if it could cope with at least an inch.

just like the old In Living Colors---Hated IT with 2 snaps and a twist.

When I got home from picking the bike up at the dealer, I started the 510 for the first heat cycle and went into the house to grab a warm Newcastle. Heard a dreaded CRASH! Damn thing fell on its own and snapped my clutch lever off with less than 1 minute on the bike. Looked at the concrete froor and saw the 510 walked back 2 feet in a very short time until the sidestand lost its angle. I still use the retractable stand to attack those who want to sit on my bike though.
BTW I found a rubber mat that I set the stand on and that won't let the bike creep when she's alone.

My 09 450 is very stable on the stock stand... as long as nobody touches the bike. But I don't like the shin-ripping auto feature. I can put a stand up by myself, thank you. I'm afraid that if it's parked somewhere and somebody touches it... the stand's gonna snap up, and down the bike will go. And I'll probably get sued by the guy trapped underneath. I thought I'd disable the auto feature by cutting off the bolt, but then it looks like the springs will gouge into the kickstand. I find neither solution satisfactory. Funny, I've never had a good stand on a Euro bike, whereas my Japanese experience (yamahas) has always been very simple, strong, stable stands. But then I have to ride one.

It sounds like nobody would miss auto-retract.

hmmm exactly what the tally's got wrong !

wouldnt be italian withut quirks like this then eh ? lol...

I quite like the auto retract. The issue for me on my 06 TE450 is that the tang that bolts the stand to the fram is cast and is prone to bend. Over time this puts inordinate pressure on the stand itself at a spot just below the bolt. The net result is metal fatigue and then breakage. I have straightened the tang several times and recently replaced the bolt and last month the stand itself. If the tang could be stiffened up and not bend outwards -end of problem.

yeah that would be better.. mine leans over like the tower of pisa !! i think thats where they got the design idea ?? the older it gets, the more it leans over ?

Husky changed the frame in 08, was the stand mount different on earlier years?

Here's a picture of the welded on tab on an 08 which is the same as 09.