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Hey look
! My YZ's standin' up by itself !
A few months ago I was
prepping my 426 for a California desert race, when I noticed in some reconnaissance
photos of the race area, that there were no trees. No place to rest my
scooter in the unlikely event of a rest stop...either scheduled or
not. So like it or not, it would be necessary, even if only as a
convenience item, to have a kickstand...as the Yamaha is not equipped
with one from the factory.
There are of course a few
different choices out there for those of us who don't use the YZ for
moto. Most are of a good quality, and would surely hold the bike up at
a rest stop. The problem with what I saw on the market was that they
are all swingarm mounted. Either clamp-on, or ( heaven forbid )
mounted in holes you drill in your swingarm.
The problem with that is
twofold. One is that, the swingarm moves up and down...fast. So
anything mounted to it would be more likely to flop around, bounce up
and down, get caught on stuff, and eventually fall off...well
maybe. Second is that swingarm
mounted devices are unsprung weight. Which is to say, that they not
only don't get the smooth ride that the rest of the frame gets, but
the suspension now has to carry that weight as it moves to try to
absorb bumps. So. Frame mounted is the best
way to go.
I checked with Yamaha,
knowing that the WR model has a kickstand, but found out that
the frame of the YZ would not accept it. That's when I
heard of 2 Dads Racing, on a thumper related internet
forum. It seems that the guy who runs the place has
decided to sell a package that includes a WR type kickstand,
aluminum mounting bracket, and hardware that will allow you to do a
pretty sanitary installation on your YZ.
So of course I called him up,
& had him ship one out to me. It came as, & when, it was
supposed to, & only took about fifteen minutes of actual wrenching
time to install it.
The only problems I had with
mounting this unit came from my extreme pickiness ( I'll tell ya about
it in a minute ). The hardware that comes with the
mounting bracket is good enough quality and the bracket went on in a
second, mounting to the lower subframe mount. All you do is pull the
stock lower subframe bolt, & use the supplied Allen head unit to
mount the aluminum bracket. It mounts up nice & easy, & fits
good on the frame. I would recommend leaving this one slightly loose
until you get the whole unit mounted, & aligned the way you want
it before the final tightening. Next, you are supposed to
remove the lower chain roller bolt, & again using the supplied
hardware, ( a longer bolt ) mount up the lower kickstand mount. Then
just use the remaining supplied Allen head bolt to attach the upper
kickstand mount to the aluminum bracket that you installed to the
subframe. Locktite, & torque everything, & you're
finished.
The unit has been on the YZ
for a couple of months now, & the very fact that I've forgotten
about it, speaks for itself. As far as I know, it dosent rattle or
hum. It has stayed up when I put it up, and stayed down when I put it
down. It dosent hang low enough to get cought in or on anything, &
it hasn't shown any signs of weakness, though I have once or twice
found myself leaning against it while benchracing. ( probably a no-no
) But still no signs of difficulties. As the pictures show, it
is positioned up well out of harms way, tucks in fairly well, and is
of course, painted to match the YZ swingarm.
As you get an actual WR
kickstand & spring, & mount assembly, and the machine work on
the special bracket is good, you can be sure it won't look cobby on
your scoot.
I did have an issue or two
with the unit, but they are all easyly fixed.
1) The pivot bolt in the kickstand
has a smaller shank than the hole that it goes through. This allows
for a slight wobble in the stand leg itself, when it is in the up
& locked position. I simply went to the local Hardware store,
& found a metric bolt that fit the supplied nut, but one that had
a bigger ( fatter ) shank...fixed. Seventy nine cents.
2) While mounting the lower mount
of the kickstand to the chain roller mount, I found that the kickstand
mount bracket ( dark colored steel ) didn't quite sit flush against
the chain roller mount. So off to the hardware store for two washers
to put between the dark colored steel kickstand mount, & the chain
roller mount. I also had to get a bolt that was...two washers wider
that the supplied bolt. I think it would've worked just fine, as it
came, but I feared that it might place undue stress on the components
if I just tightened it till it sat properly against the frame.
3) I also felt that the unit could
sit just a little closer to the numberplate. I mean, higher & more
tucked in. So I got out the grinder, & took about an eighth
of an inch off of the face of the upper stop point. This only took a
minute, & allows the stand to retract a little higher, & as it
swings in an upward, & inward arc, it allowed it to tuck in better
as well.
As I said before I've been very
pleased with this unit, and have a number of times, stood sneering at
my friends while they look for a place to lean their bikes while they
take a whiz.
If you're interested in this
device, which is sold as a kit for about $150, Contact Mark at 2
Dads Racing. His number is ( toll free ) 866.782.4600
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