The kickstand on the 250S sticks out far enough that my wife got stuck (temporarily) in a deep, narrow rut twice on Sunday. The only thing that "stuck" the bike was the kickstand. It was cutting a 3" deep groove into the left wall of the rut and wedged the right side swingarm and axle nut into the right wall of the rut.

I would guess that this happens to other KLX250 and KLX300 woods riders, so do you guys know of a kickstand from a different bike that can fit on the 250 and get up high and out of the way, or that will tuck in closer to the swing arm when it is up?

I could not find any info on this subject using the search, so my guess is that there is no such stand out there and that I am going to have to get one fabricated, or just take it off for woods riding.

Here's a pic of her stuck in the rut....

[IMG]local://upfiles/2447/E5E73556222B46CFB2E52C876C1496D4.jpg[/IMG]

The rut is wider near where I am standing taking the picture than where she is stuck. We did an out and back on this trail. She got stuck in it going both directions.

 

Well first of all welcome to the forum, it nobody said it yet, and the kickstand has always looked funny, I went riding with a guy on a Yamaha and his kickstand went way up and was almost pointing straight up. Not sure if they make an after market one yet.

 

Ok, first off, you must be a newly wed. But by now you've surely learned that when your wife is stuck, you DO NOT stop to take pictures, you just jump off your bike and don't waste precious seconds putting your kickstand down, just bail off that think and let it fall in the mud while you hurry as fast as you possibly can to help her get out.

Secondly, the solution is simple - wheelie through that rut so there's no chance for the kickstand to get hung up.

Thirdly, I think I remember seeing an aftermarket kickstand somewhere, aha, here it is, these guys make a kickstand for MX bikes that don't have one.

http://www.promotobillet.com/


I don't know if it would bolt-on to the KLX or not, though, but you could call and ask. Kind'a pricy, though.

http://www.promotobillet.com/shop/category.asp?catid=12


But it looks like it does fold up away from the swingarm like you are wanting:




And finally, welcome to the forums!

 

G'day and welcome,

if the bike is mainly ridden off road I'd prob take it off. Funny I have been in heaps of ruts and never had the stand get in the way, my problem in ruts is the gear shift getting knocked into neutral, bloody annoying going up and down hills let me tell you [:@]

 

Hey, AntiLoc! Welcome to the ruts! I mean the forums! (Come to think of it, some of the threads do seem like ruts! Oh well, that's a different issue ... )

Although I've never got my kick-stand stuck, I have noticed that it sticks out a bit. I ran across a bike picture recently where the kickstand was pointing up at about a 30-degree angle, instead of sticking horizontally straight back. This probably means that it swings down about 120 degrees to stand the bike up. My guess is that a simple after-market bolt on would require some modification to the pivot bracket where the kick-stand gets bolted on, since the stock bracket is built for a 90 degree swing. (This would also probably involve removing the kickstand safety interlock - it kills the engine if you let out the cluch while in gear and the kickstand is down. Simple mod.)

Another avenue might apply if your bike is too tall and you're also considering lowering. There's a thread where someone lowered their wife's bike by about 2 inches, then had to remove a couple inches from the kickstand as well.

And then there's always Plan C, as Nobrake's link suggests: remove the kickstand and lean your bike against a a tree or rock (or Coke machine) each time you stop. [:'(]

Don't worry though, we're talkin' KLXs and you've come to the right place ... if there's an answer to be had, it will surface here!!!

Mike

 

I saw another one that actually attaches inside the axle. Not quite sure how it stays on but essentially it pulls out and folds over, it has a large bar for a foot and the height is adjustable. It's been a while since I've looked at the axle on the KLX so it may not work with our bikes though.

 

ask nobrakes about ruts... he is very framiliar with them.....

that aftermarket kickstand is 150$ geese...

 

AntiLoc,

As others have said, welcome to KF and the home of the KLX250!

So, what part of the country are y'all from?

That looks like some serious terrain!

 

Thanks for all of the help on this topic.

Thanks to all for the big "Welcome".

To answer some of the questions and comment further...

Nobrakes, Friends comment that we often act like newlyweds, but we have been married for 16 years. I went ahead of her to get that picture. I knew it would be a good spot for a pic. I figured she would get stuck again since she stuck there on the way in. I did offer to help her get out, she refused my offer and got it out on her own with a little throttle and clutch work. Umm, make that a LOT of throttle.

Marty, We live in East TN. Those trails are at Coal Creek/Windrock, a 78,000 acre OHV area near Knoxville, but these trails are not on any maps and are basically single track. They are not suitable for 4-wheelers. The mud ruts are only a short section near the entrance to that particular trail, and then it gets really good.

Nobrakes, Thanks for the link to promoto billet. I'll bookmark that one.

deej and YYY.GUY, I met a guy at a Hare Scramble with a KLX300 and his kickstand was kicked up high like you guys said. He told me how he did it. He modified the stock kickstand. It involved grinding, cutting, welding, heating, bending, and painting. But it was sweet.

MaverickAus, As for the kickstand, for the time being, I'll probably just permanently disable the safety switch, and take the stand off for woods riding. It is only one bolt and a spring.

 

Antiloc,

Heck, y'all need to head over to Tellico Plains on the third weekend in May!

We had a group staying at the Cherohala Motorcycle Resort and had about 50 dualsport bikes up there running, including 4 KLX250S's. We had a ball!

Feel free to join us next year.

16 years of marriage? Heck you still are newlyweds!