How-To: Properly lube centre stand

[gn2]

A really easy job, takes minutes and should be done immediately if your stand starts getting stiff and won't go up automatically.

Tools: You will need a pair of long nose pliers, a piece of wood, a hammer and a large phillips screwdriver.

Consumables: You will need a new split-pin (or an R-clip) and some grease.
I used copper grease because its what was available and won't melt in the Scottish heat...

Put the scooter on the side stand.

First, remove the split pin and washer.
Keep the washer, discard the split-pin.

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(ok, ok, I know the stand is down, I took the pic before I started)

Next, push the pin out until it is flush with the engine casing.

If it will not come out you'll need to get the exhaust pipe off so that you can place a drift on the end of the pin directly and give it some welly.
N.B. It should be borne in mind that the crankcase mounts are brittle alloy and when you strike the pin, force will be applied to the mounts so some care should be exercised, consideration should be given to using some form of penetrative easing fluid beforehand.

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... and the stand falls down:

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Note that the spring has two concentric elements which form a loop at the pivot pin end and a hook at the stand end:

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Withdraw the pin by getting a hold of its endplate and wiggling it out.
If it will not come out you'll need to get the exhaust pipe off so that you can place a drift on the end of the pin directly and give it some welly.

The exhaust is a one piece item secured by two nuts at the cylinder head and three bolts at the silencer.
Its easier to get off if you take the heatshield off first.
There is a small gasket which fits over the pipe at the cylinder head end.
Don't lose the gasket, it can be re-used.

Once you have the pin out, give it a good coating all over with grease:

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Note that there is a pin projecting out of the crankcase which locates in the hole in the pivot pin end-plate:

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Insert the pivot pin through the mounts and centre stand pushing it fully through with the endplate over the crankcase pin.
Replace the washer and fit a new split pin to secure the pivot in place.

Next comes the fiddly bit.
Put the closed end of the spring on the pivot pin and put the hook end over the phillips screwdriver with a notch of the cross in the end of the screwdriver like a V on the tang on the centrestand:

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Next, holding the stand fully up with one hand push back on the screwdriver stretching the spring which will slide along the screwdriver and into position in the notch in the stand.
Make sure both halves of the spring are correctly located at both ends, wiggle them into place with the pliers if necessary.

Job done!

[PKrellner]

Man, you've got one rusty scooter. many miles in bad weather I suppose. How old is yours and how many miles have you racked up? No offense, nothing you can do about it. Thanks for the lesson, appreciate all the help on this forum.

[gn2]

That's it after a clean and some bits repainted...
Bought in October 2010 it has seen three Scottish winters and currently on 16,000 miles.

[GeorgeSK]

Thank you for your post. That job seems quite doable, and should probably be done on my new scoot in the near future. It would be far better to avoid the problem than to cope with the problem.

[WhiteNoise]

Ah good thank you for this! I'm not needing to do the job yet, but when the time comes and if I have ???, I certainly will ask. After seeing your spring (being the fuss that I am), I probably would change a few rusted parts out as well. But, "you" are gn2 .... I've read, a clean bike not all that important. An eye on bikes safety bits & using it to commute is. That's fine/cool. I'm amazed @ 16,000!!! Holy ____! I will never ever put That kind of mileage on any bike! Cheers, & glad to have you here gn2! Experience = Best Teacher (in my book, & my opinion
(oh, on cotter pins, Not a fan, Always nick myself removing or cleaning around them. We put quite a bit of faith into the job of this soft metal pin. Wonder, are stainless steel available?)

[gn2]

a clean bike not all that important

Not at all important to me, I bought it for riding, not for washing and polishing

[GeorgeSK]

Ah good thank you for this! I'm not needing to do the job yet, but when the time comes and if I have ???, I certainly will ask. After seeing your spring (being the fuss that I am), I probably would change a few rusted parts out as well. But, "you" are gn2 .... I've read, a clean bike not all that important. An eye on bikes safety bits & using it to commute is. That's fine/cool. I'm amazed @ 16,000!!! Holy ____! I will never ever put That kind of mileage on any bike! Cheers, & glad to have you here gn2! Experience = Best Teacher (in my book, & my opinion
(oh, on cotter pins, Not a fan, Always nick myself removing or cleaning around them. We put quite a bit of faith into the job of this soft metal pin. Wonder, are stainless steel available?)

Stainless cotter pins are available from sailing stores. They are quite tough and sharp (read "even more likely to nick you"). If this were to be a part of routine maintenance, you could consider a split ring instead, although in a vibration environment that may be a lame idea.

[tomtic]

Thanks for this gn2!
Have just managed to get the pin greased before starting work this morning. By the look of it, my pin was definitely in need of lubing, so I gave it a quick wipe over with emery paper as well.
One thing I found with using the phillips screwdriver, was to lever it slightly down further than the height of the peg on the centre-stand. This way the spring is more likely to want to slide back up the screwdriver onto the peg - a small bit of grease on the screwdriver helped here as well.
I would say anyone in Britain who rides all year round should get this job done. Copper grease looks like it will not need doing again for years.

Thanks once again

Tom

[skuuter]

I have added a Thread in the General Forum titled "Center Stand Bosses Revisited".....the PCX150 has much beefier Mounting Lugs cast onto the Engine Cases for the Center Stand to mount to than the PCX125 to help eliminate cracked mount issues. Interesting Discovery.....

[gn2]

Yes I saw that thread, its definitely a very interesting discovery you made there Skooter, good ammunition for the forthcoming war with Honda UK.

[Kenno]

Thanks for this thread gn2 - my centre stand has stopped springing up into place so I'll be giving this a go soon.

Does anybody know what size split pin I'll need?

[Alibally]

I reused the old one. Unless it's badly corroded or seized in it'll probably be ok.

[Kenno]

Thanks. Doesn't look too bad but I didn't know you could reuse them. Never used one before. I sprayed a bit of white grease stuff on and tried to work it in a bit but hasn't helped. I'll do it properly tomorrow!

[gn2]

Give it some WD40 between the lugs a few times and try to loosen it up before resorting to the big hammer.
Go carefully, its very fragile.
Not too long after I made this thread one of my stand mounts broke, it might have been caused by me being too rough with it.

[Kenno]

Cheers for the advice. It's only 6 months old so I'm hoping I can get the pin out easy enough. We'll see tomorrow!

[gn2]

If the scooter is only six months old, don't touch it.
Get the dealer to sort it under warranty.

[Kenno]

Dealer's miles away. It'd be a proper hassle to take it back so I'd rather sort it out myself - unless it's something that could get worse / really shouldn't be happening at 6 months / might be a sign of some other problems?!

[gn2]

The only thing its a sign of is shit design.

[Kenno]

True. Carefully took the split pin out my snapping it into pieces then sprayed a bit of wd40 on the stand pin thingyo. It didn't seem to want to move (didn't try too much force) But I noticed that the stand was now flipping back up into place so I whacked a bit of copper grease one, put the washer and a new split pin in and tried the stand....
Still doesn't flip back up from fully down so haven't fixed anything. Might have abother go at the weekend when I've got a bit more time. I'm thinking I should probably have taken it to the dealer!