Early 450 Side Stand

[mrgem]

Was working on my 2003 and at some point apparently, the little "Mushroom Head" on the upper pin (portuding from a plate bolted to the frame) to which the spring attaches somehow broke off.

 

I can take it and get it repaired/welded, but I need to know what that upper spring mount looked like before it broke. It is not covered in the shop manual in the chassis section for some reason. 

 

Can someone provide me of a picture of one? The later (05 and up) models are made of aluminum and are completely different. 

 

Thanks.

[mrgem]

More information: Doing a search here and other places, and it looks as though the failure I experienced -- snapping off the "mushroom head" on the upper kickstand spring mount is somewhat-common -- especially when you stand on the bike (with the stand down) while kickstarting it. Well...I'm just a little frustrated about this limitation - since I am a shorter rider (31-inch inseam) and have to kickstart the bike on the sidestand quite often. Not sure what to do now, as people on this forum have told me that it is ALWAYS advisable to kickstart the bike (rather than electric start) when it is cold.

 

My neighbor has an 05 WR450 and kickstarts the bike on its sidestand all the time. Of course, the sidestand on his bike is a different design from my 03.

 

So... I am considering alternatives to the repairing the factory side stand if it is too weak to withstand kickstand-down kick starts. I see that Trail Tech and MSR (appears to be the same part from both) manufactures an aluminum replacement side stand -- but researching comments from owners say it tends to gouge the swingarm as it travels up and down and that it uses a plastic foot -- which doesn't sound very strong. Moose also makes a replacement stand, but it is clamp on --which strikes me as a bad way to mount a kickstand.

 

Prices for replacement stands run from about 90 bucks all the way up to 150+ for a Pro-Moto "billet" kickstand, so none of these alternatives are inexpensive. Whatever I do, I don't want this thing failing when I am 30 miles out.

 

Any recommendations for a repair/replacement of the kickstand?

 

Thanks.

[miweber929]

I've owned my 04 for, sheesh, 6 or 7 years now and have kick started it exactly 3 times: first time to see if it would start without a battery (it wouldn't), second time my dad did it when the OE battery failed on him in the woods in the middle of nowhere (30 inch inseam as well) and the third time was last fall when I realized I've personally only kicked it one time and was curious how hard it was to do it. So lots of people say lots of things about the electric leg on this (and other) forums, 90% of them are untrue as long as you maintain your charging system and carburetor and your bike is tuned. First start of the season is done from the electric starter, they work just fine.

As far as a kickstand goes, mine is OEM and aluminum, and it's very strong. I'd personally shop eBay for a used one from an 04-06 (or two) and keep an eye on it from time to time. Might be a better solution than aftermarket. And cheaper.

Mike

[mrgem]

Mike: Very useful information. 

 

Regarding when to kick and when to use the button: When I was trying to find out more about the dreaded crank woodruff problem on 03s, I saw several remarks -- both old and current, that said that WRs needed to be started using the kick when cold -- in order to avoid backfiring and damaging the starter clutch. So that is what I've been trying to do. 

 

The bike actually starts very easily using the kick -- usually on the 1st or 2nd kick. But for some reason, it took 6 or 7 kicks before it would light up. Generally, hot or cold, it starts easily with the kick.

 

As I said, my neighbor's 05  has a completely different side stand - that appears to be not only lighter -- but stronger to boot. His bike also starts better with the kick for some reason. I'm gonna take a closer look and see if I could use a later-model kickstand and then shop for one on ebay. 

 

Since I've done the starter clutch upgrade, I'll start using the button going forward.

[DeepPurplishBlue]

The 04-06 aluminum stand will fit the 03 without any problems.

 

I have an 03 with the stand from an 05 and it works fine.

[mrgem]

The 04-06 aluminum stand will fit the 03 without any problems.

 

I have an 03 with the stand from an 05 and it works fine.

Thanks, DPB....I'll go shopping for a used stand. Any idea if the same stand fits 250s as well? I've found that ebay ads sometimes list 250s as the application -- when the part fits both 250s and 450s.

 

Thanks again for the info! 

[DeepPurplishBlue]

Thanks, DPB....I'll go shopping for a used stand. Any idea if the same stand fits 250s as well? I've found that ebay ads sometimes list 250s as the application -- when the part fits both 250s and 450s.

 

Thanks again for the info! 

 

 

Yes, the stand from the WR250 is the same so that gives you some extra options when trying to find one.