TE auto-retract kickstand; who likes them?

yeah, no thanks. i doubt the stand bracket would survive for long, the original owner of mine swore blue that he never kicked it on the stand and the bolt holes were stretched way out of shape to the point where i had to put helicoils in the frame lugs after attempting to tighten the bracket so it didn't move. if a later aluminium stand will fit and is a little shorter i might just fit one of those, but like the rest of you i need to know that it sits out a bit further than my original.

paul.

I was at a MC shop awhile back on the 510. A guy there was saying how he once had a Husky and loved it and asked if he could sit on mine (key was in my pocket ) so sure. I tell him he needs to put the kick stand up before he gets on the bike. (Auto retract nub has been cut off) The guy was so glassy eyed over the TE that he didn't hear a word I said/and was saying as he got on the bike. He said the bike was tall, DUH! it was on the stand. No more tards on my Husky.

I am the minority on this issue: I always liked the retractable stand set up, it was habit to follow it up with my foot and it stayed up so well when bouncing around.
It is a (or was) an EU or OEM safety requirement (because it does not have a side stand safety switch) for street bikes and you will find the feature on some Cagiva/Ducatis and maybe others if I recall. To prevent from riding off with the stand down (seen it and done it in the past)

I use this exact method to spin my TE610 in tight spots. Seems to work just fine.

Using the stand for a 180* trail turn around... I have never before heard of such a thing? I do my 180* +/- turnarounds with my left foot, left hand on the clutch and right hand on the throttle. If the space is to tight then I will lift and drag the back end around untill it's good. Excuse my... but I suggest mastering the doughnut with the controls and not the stand.

I,ve been working on the wheelie 180. Super fun

Using the stand for 180's is completely unnecessary once you master the stoppie!

As demonstrated on a Husky...
http://www.stunterschool.com/180_stoppie/stoppie_180_et_frotage_husqvarna_125.htm

......and did you see that road rash some of those guys got?
I used to do stoppies (w/o 180) on trails for fun, until one when the front wheel caught and....well, I 'stopped'.
Guys I was riding with thought it was quite entertaining

believe me, there are tight spots &/or steep places, where that kick stand pivot works very well (as long as ground is solid) where a donut just can't be done, doesn't throw roost/dust all over your riding buddies (whether they had it coming or not) and most of all doesn't tear the trail up

+1. The last time was on a trail with 3ft high vertical banks both sides when we met a convoy of 4x4s coming the other way. It was wider than the length of the bike by just a few inches. Some people may well be able to doughnut in that width without ramming the bank and looking like an idiot, but sadly I'm not one of them! Luckily that was on my old WR250R so a pivot around the sidestand worked a treat.

Anyone got a clip of some one doing a side stand turn? I have never heard of this before.

Don't have a clip, but basically you put the side stand down, get yourself on the left of the bike and pull it towards you balancing on the side stand so that both wheels are off the ground, then pivot it around the stand until it's pointing the way you want and lower the wheels back onto the ground. Takes longer to describe than it does to do and lets you spin the bike around in very little space, but you do need fairly firm ground or to put something solid under the stand.

Wouldn't recommend trying it on the Husky stand as I'd expect something to snap, but I've done it on various other bikes including my F800GS, and my friend does it regularly with his 1200GSA (over 500lb) to get it into the shed where it lives.

Another option is the wheelie pivot turn where you stand on one leg, pop the front of the bike up in a wheelie until it's almost vertical then drive it around your leg on the back wheel (shuffling your foot round) until it's facing the other way and let the front back down. This looks super cool if you get it right, not so much if you don't! Haven't quite mastered this yet (or any time soon I suspect). See Top Tips #6 (PDF) for a better description with pics.

http://www.livevideo.com/video/133CFA909FB847AB9C6B5E4F116D598C/bike-turn-on-sidestand.aspx

I don't think I'll be doing that with a bike that size. I hate to think about what would happen if the stand bent or broke quickly.

It depends on the terrain whether or not I kick the stand up first or not. In most cases I can get on because I'm 6'2" and can stand over it without putting any weight on the bike. I do have to lean it past vertical though to get the stand up unless it's very loose dirt and I can kick it through.

It sounds like I'm not the first one to damage a kick stand-- whewwww.
I tried to kick start my bike the other day while the stand was engaged
I won't be doing that again. The bracket that attaches the stand to the frame busted at a spot that had been welded at least once before. It's looking' like I'll be keeping my metal fab buddy busy for a while.

Those side stand turns sound like a great idea. I'll have to let him know my intentions so he can beef everything up.

If the mounting tab is already broken off, I'd consider this instead of fixing it:
http://www.motosportz.com/HVA-SS/Kicker_details.htm

I don't think it'll fit the 2007 TE510-- maybe I'm wrong?

Can you do the side stand turns with the Motosportz one?

^^^ Sorry, I somehow assumed it was on 08 or newer. My bad.

2010 cast stand

The new ultra light TE250 has just been released in UK. The cast stand looks like it allows a good degree of angle. Is this finally the answer or is the 2009 cast stand mentioned in this thread the same and not a good solution?
Cheers
Harry

Try having a auto retract on a SM. Everybody that sees my bike wants to touch it. Some people probably think I'm an arse about it until I get a chance to explain. KTM's stock kickstand sucks too & it's not even auto retract. Thank God for the Pro-Moto Billet stand I have on my pumpkin. Now that's a kickstand. I wonder why euro's (Ducati, KTM, HVA & others) don't place much emphasis on the only thing that keeps the bike off the ground when your not riding it.