Hello All!

with the recent purchase of a '00 F4, I've been reading these boards whenever possible...and thanks for all your past inputs, they are ALL very beneficial.

now there are numerous posts about earlier side stands snapping in half for a # of reasons:

1) loose side stand brackets 2) too much of an incline for the bike stand 3) modification to the auto retract feature of the early models

now my questions are:

-does the modification of the auto retract actually cause more stress on the side stand?

-should I order a newer side stand off a '02+?

-I have a factory ducati side-stand which looks VERY similar to the MV's, has anyone tried to see if it would fit?

the last thing I want it to have my bike fall over as well.

thanks! Allen

-- Allen Wu (iwantwu@hotmail.com), August 05, 2004

Answers

The MV's share the same problem with the Ducati, in that they want these bikes leaning "way" over on the side stand. On the Duc I had, I added a 1/4" alloy shim on the bottom. Some say "tacky", I say it worked. Part of the problem on the MV has to do with how you have the ride height set up. Lowering the bike corrects the side stand problem, but may cause issues with your riding style. I don't reccomend playing with the set up unless you know what you are doing. Many of the parts on the MV appear the same as the Duc, but I have not found any yet that are the same, with the expecption of the zuse fasteners. I wish that I could offer more help, but my recommendation is to take the stand to a machine shop and have them put on 1/8- 3/16" extension on it. I used an aluminum plate and screwed it into the bottom of the stand. I doubt that the early F4 stand is different. I hope this helps.

-- Cali-Kane (mvagusta@sbcglobal.net), August 05, 2004.

Allen, i have the same bike as you. i modified my self retracting stand by replacing a small part which keeps the stand down. i copied the design from a Ducati, i made the part myself which is easy enough if your good with your hands. It does not weaken the stand at all, i did this mod about 10 months ago & it has been great since. I will email you a picture of the original part next to the part i made which will explain itself when you see it.

-- F. Galluzzo (fiorello@iinet.net.au), August 16, 2004.