I think I posted this question a day or two ago,
but don't find it now, I realize there is/are
ancient threads or a thread on center stands.
Should I necro the old threads and ask my
question or is this a good place to have
the conversation?
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-Clearance issues
-Best CS available today
-Does the foot-press catch calf when
sitting on bike, backing up etc, a
model where the foot-press is less obtrusive?

Should I necro the old threads and ask my
question or is this a good place to have
the conversation?

Personally, I necro the old threads unless they're already really long. If nobody's going to read 8 pages, might as well start a new thread.

I never considered a center stand because it's so antithetical to what my concept of a sport bike is supposed to be. You carry along a lot of weight that has no use except for when you're not riding. On the other hand, I'm, ten years younger than you. If carrying a center stand lets me enjoy the bike ten years from now, I'll do it. There's going to come a day where i can't lift the bike but I'll still be perfectly capable of riding it and enjoying all the wrenching activities.

If you do all the weight loss mods on this bike, it will be a lot easier to lift. A center stand still might be exactly what works best for you so do it.

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Yeah, ,surely not a weight saver

I'm really just looking for a means to safely lift
my bike as close to center when working on it, I have
a paddock stand but don't 'love' it, I want both wheels
off the ground with NO drama. I keep considering ways
I can get this done without a permanent center stand,
I may buy the TREX cs, and see if there's something
I can do there, I've been fabricating 'stuff' for
decades, it's a matter of how much time do I want
to invest in a given project.
----------
I did jack my bike up a month ago just lifting on
the pipes with a floor jack , I watched a video
where another ZX14R owner did the same, bad idea
I'm sure.
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I also have a Harley
type of lift, but there's no 'approved' obvious,
or 'safe' areas to use as lift points, it seems like the
receiver for the cs is the best 'target' area for
fabrication, without changing anything permanently
on the bike.

Yeah, I wouldn't lift under the pipes. You might consider an Abba or Heindl Engineering stand. These stands insert to the swing arm pivot holes. It's impossible to drop the bike after it's lifted to vertical as long as you hold up on the handle. It's still not easy peasy to lift a bike with stock mufflers but its the safest stand I've used. I have never used a center stand. I don't know if that would be any easier than an Abba. It looks like a center stand lifts at just about the same point as the swing arm pivot. You have to pull backward to lift on the center stand don't you? I think I'd feel safer pulling forward with a swing arm pivot stand. It seems like there would be a lot more leverage with the long handle plus you can also step on the lower bar of the Heindle Engineering stand and you can't drop the bike as long as you're holding pressure up on it.

* Last updated by: Rook on 11/16/2025 @ 12:57 PM *

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Yeah, I think they're pretty much all the same; Pull back,
but mostly HEAVY weight on the foot-pad.
I'm way under the typical/targeted 160lb rider so, I
really have to stomp on that footpad hard.
A video of deploying the TRex cs for zx14's looks
to be the same, but much easier to deploy,
probably being that its close to 400lbs lighter
than a GL1800 (GOLD WING).
---
A Heindi search returns with 'sold out' I'll have
to check them again later.

I'm way under the typical/targeted 160lb rider so, I
really have to stomp on that footpad hard.

Good for you man! I'm about 215 right now. I've been up to 230. The extra weight can come in handy for things but for the most part, it taxes your heart and makes a lot of bodyweight focussed tasks (like walking uphill) a lot harder. No BS about it, we all want to be great big men but there comes a point where it's a risk to your health even if it's lean mass. I was always happier with "Svelte". I'm pretty tall so getting under 190 lbs is a little unrealistic but if I could just get to that weight, I'd feel a lot better. Even 200.

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A Heindi search returns with 'sold out' I'll have
to check them again later.

I saw that too. The Abba stand is another option and possibly a little nicer with the screw in spikes that fit to the swing arm pivot holes. You can lift the front and rear at the same time with the Abba. There was another stand like this too but the name escapes me.

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The Heindl is very good. I think the Abba would be a little nicer.

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What about Trex, they make one for gen 2 and have a video
for it, looks pretty straight forward, nice foot pad, but
weird looking feet, still might be ok though.

Go for the one you want. I still think a swing arm pivot stand will be easier and you won't need to carry it on the bike.

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I stopped looking for 'info' on both products
once I found that the first search was sold out,
being not even sure how they were supposed to
interface, and assuming we were both using the term center
stand as in an oem or TRex style permanent center stand.
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Neither of these brands/models are readily US available,
but a search I just went through does indicate that
the ABBA is absolutely what I'm looking for, just
not an 'easy' US item.
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You mentioned 'swing arm' pivot points,
that should have been a clue for me but
I was still stuck thinking you were talking
about center-stands in the traditional,
permanently attached center-stand, I didn't
realize that the conversation was segwaying
into bike lifts, which seems to be what
the ABBA is, and the ABBA is exactly what
I would prefer, over my paddock stand.
I want to be able to lift the bike via
a frame member, and doing so at the
swing arm pivot point/s would definitely work.
---
Since ABBA 'lift' isn't readily available here,
I'll cool my jets on it, and just save
there AUS description page.
-----
Considering 'now' how a 'center stand' attaches
to the 14's I think I've sorted this whole thing
out;
Since I don't actually want a permanently
mounted Center Stand, I can buy one anyway
and just push the two bolts through the
mounting holes, loosely turn the nuts on the ends,
nix any spring action, and wham, I have a
'center lift'


Don't laugh, I think it could work.
----
I was asking someone why my new Delkevik
slip-on (right side) has a rubber bumper
attached to the underside, lol, that would
probably be a 'stop' for a center stand.
I was also asking why the oem arrangement
of the OEM pipes comes with midway pipe
anchor point on the right side, but does have
one on the left side, another LOL,
an issue that looks to be good insight on the
part of kawasaki, as in using a
typical full exhaust that ends in
just one 'muffler' or pipe end on
the right side of the bike, that
support is probably a 'key' support,
and also why the left side has no
midway support, not needed.
I stumbled on that issue, while looking
at full exhaust kits.

If I'm skidding in wet pavement or gravel
on the back tire, when I come to a stop
I hear this very quick little slap slap,
is that my kick stand slapping or the chain?
Is that normal?
(this is with clutch in of course, or disengaged)

I've had the centerstand on all 4 of my 14's for chain lubing and tire changing. I have a bike rack, back wheel is easy and then for the front, I strap the rear, lift the front so it just turns the front wheel, and change the front tire that way.

Need to remove a muffler to install the pivot bolts so you have to deal with that each time you temp the centerstand if going that route.

I tag a foot before I tag a scrapper pin at the foot pegs. Bike is way too heavy to dance the Marquez at 60°... LOL

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Need to remove a muffler to install the pivot bolts so you have to deal with that each time you temp the centerstand if going that route

Right, that's pretty tight right there,
I might look into cutting the 'socket' end
off of a shoulder bolt and see if I can slide it
in there, of course there's still my
permanent mount option.
----
60 degrees? I'm probably a good 20 to 30 degrees
off of ever getting there lol, but I'm looking
forward to a or some track days, maybe sometime
next year.

If I'm skidding in wet pavement or gravel
on the back tire, when I come to a stop
I hear this very quick little slap slap,
is that my kick stand slapping or the chain?
Is that normal?

Probably the chain lashing. Even with only the rear brake applied, the bike pitches forward and the front suspension dives. The rear does the opposite, it skims or floats the road. That's why the rear brake isn't something to count on for effective and safe braking. I know my Hayabusa has ticks in the paint on the swing arm and that looks like it was caused by the chain. I think my old 14 had it too. I definitely remember hearing a not too nice noise in emergency braking situations and it felt like the rear tire was off the ground. ...not a "slap,slap" more like a "rattle, clang, clunk." I don't remember ever coming to a complete stop in emergency braking so I don't know what noises might occur there. There can be noises just from braking hard and I'm pretty sure it's the chain whipping. I think it's normal.

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Thanks.
''paint chips'' Interesting.
I'll run a test one morning, I'll put
a strip of tape along the top and bottom of swingarm
and see which side is slapping, maybe both are.