How much wind to push over a C14?

[Conrad]

Interesting that 3 people seemed to lean against this (no pun intended -  ), so I'm curious to know why.

My reasoning is that CS is more stable than the sidestand, at least on my C10 - perhaps this is why the difference of opinion.

If I bump the C10 while on the SS, it off loads some of the weight off the suspension, which rises up and moves the bike closer to the center, often to the point that it wouldn't take a whole lot more force to get it past dead center and over on its side. 

Depending where I park and the wind, it doesn't seem as stable to me as the centerstand which doesn't have that 'flex' building into the scenario.

Interested to hear the reasoning for the dissenting opinions.

Take a look at the triangles that the SS and CS makes with the bike's tire(s). The larger area made by the triangle of the SS and the two tires is way more stable than the smaller area made by the CS and the front tire. Add to that the fact that the bike sits higher when on the CS. I don't know about the C10 but my C14 is WAY easier to rock sideways when it's on the CS than it is when it's on the SS.

[stevewfl]

I guess I got lucky then- the right-side saddle bag barely got touched.  I suppose your bike has not been lowered, and it still blew over? That sucks!  At least it wasn't your '09.  I put mine on the centerstand every day now.

[Stasch]

I don't know about the C10 but my C14 is WAY easier to rock sideways when it's on the CS than it is when it's on the SS.

Your scenario with the C14 is the exact opposite of the C10 which may explain our different approaches.  C10 suspension is springy and soft and the bike top heavy compared to most.

[Conrad]

Your scenario with the C14 is the exact opposite of the C10 which may explain our different approaches.  C10 suspension is springy and soft and the bike top heavy compared to most.

That still seems to defy logic to me. A triangle with widely spaced points is inherently more stable than one that isn't as widely spaced. Picture a photographic tripod. Bring the legs together to form a small triangle and the tripod is very easy to push over. Now spread the legs out a bit and it's more stable, even if the points aren't equidistance from each other.

[Rawman]

I am in North Carolina where the tornados were a few weeks ago.  My bike is usually garaged at home, but at the hotel, no such luck.  I do NOT have a cover and with 60-70mph straight line winds ($3500.00 in damage to the hotel's roof!) during those thunderstorms, the bike was on its sidestand for 2 storm filled days with a funnel cloud about 3/4 mile away, 2 tornados within 5 miles and no issues (knock on wood).  Until this thread, I really did not even think about the bike blowing over.  I was more worried about the golf ball size hail in the area (none fell here).

[mcclaskeyj]

I am in North Carolina where the tornados were a few weeks ago.  My bike is usually garaged at home, but at the hotel, no such luck.  I do NOT have a cover and with 60-70mph straight line winds ($3500.00 in damage to the hotel's roof!) during those thunderstorms, the bike was on its sidestand for 2 storm filled days with a funnel cloud about 3/4 mile away, 2 tornados within 5 miles and no issues (knock on wood).  Until this thread, I really did not even think about the bike blowing over.  I was more worried about the golf ball size hail in the area (none fell here).

It's a darn good thing you didn't have the parachute cover! I'm convinced that's the reason mine went in much less wind.

[Tom J.]

I'm sure the cover was a major contributing factor to mine tipping as well (along with the bike being lowered).

[seanmcva]

+1

I saw a guy at work drill/tap the steel plate in the parking lot .When he parks he screws an eye bolt in and straps his KLR down with a tie down

Good idea - a KLR could fall over if you shout at it... then again, it probably wouldn't get a scratch.

[alexx45]

Well now I feel fortunate. I've been parking my C14 outside my house with a cover on it for the last year. Quite a few wind storms have come through. It's never seemed to budge. This may be due to the fact that I park it with the left side towards the house with just enough room to open the left saddle bag. I also parked my Bandit in the same spot with a cover on it for 3 years prior to that. Also no toppling over issues. I did stash it in a friends garage when hurricane Ike came through. Oh well I'm moving soon & I'll actually have a garage in the new place.  I'm sure my C14 will be glad for that.

[dvitous]

Yeah... cover acts like big ol' sail.


When I was an apartment dweller, I kept my old 550LTD under a cover and it went over a few times.  Once on a BRAND NEW cover... and the battery leaked 


Between that, and having covers stolen (even with a lock through the grommets).... I'd taken to looping a cable around the bike, then locking to the grommets.


It was just long enough to reach all the way around, so it not only provided a visible deterrent to a quick-grab of the cover, but it also took a lot of the "sail" properties out of the cover by keeping it tight around the bike.


It also provided me with a nice long cable for looping through jacket sleeves and helmets to secure to the bike 

[maxtog]

I don't understand why anyone would park the bike on the CS when it's outside? (unless you're working on it or washing it) The bike on the CS is WAY more unstable than the side stand.

+3 on that

[ZG]

I saw a guy at work drill/tap the steel plate in the parking lot .When he parks he screws an eye bolt in and straps his KLR down with a tie down

That's awesome!!

[mkorn]

rather ironic i spotted this thread, seeing how we just had 40mph gust and i rode into work.
no tip over thankfully!   

[Conrad]

rather ironic i spotted this thread, seeing how we just had 40mph gust and i rode into work.
no tip over thankfully!   

Same here, 35 - 40 mph. Where I park the bike here is out of the wind so I'm not worried.

[Tom J.]

Might not hurt (in windy conditions) to find a surface with a slight slope so the point of contact for the kickstand is a tad lower than the tires.  Again, I bought the bike and later realized it was lowered.  Therefore there is not much weight on the kickstand as it sits there.
Pulling into the designated motorcycle parking spots (which I like to affectionately call "Rock Star Parking) at work, the parking spot to furthest to the right begins to slope up- I guess for drainage.  This is perfect for me, as it gives my bike the proper lean to the left when I put it on the kickstand.  It's much more stable and I don't have to worry about normal wind.