Hey All,

Making good progress on my WM20. It's funny how looking at a bike over and over, you can miss the obvious. I believe my WM20's sidestand is bent. I notice how it leans over waaay too far when deployed, and it doesn't fit into the clip properly.

So, what do you think?



If it is bent, I guess I'll try to bend it back in an arbor press.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

It shouldn't be bend. You can rotate the clamp a little on the frame to change the angle of the field stand. Mine is just leaning against the far end of the footrest when in use.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Hi Henk,

I'm not sure, there is a bend in my stand of about 5 to 10 degrees about 3 inches from the end where it pivots under the seat. I don't know if that's normal.

My bike did have some damage that is consistent with going down on the left side. The stand does cause the bike to lean over very far to the left, which would also be consistent with the bend causing the problem.

I looked through the archives and couldn't get a good picture of the stand near that end. If someone can post a picture of their stand, it would be appreciated.

Kevin

Hi Kevin...All the field stand legs were straight originally...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Thanks for the confirmation, Ian. I'll be putting this thing in a press at work on Tuesday.

Photo as requested. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Much appreciated, Ron. Yep... confirms that mine has a bend up near the attachment lug. I bet it'll sit a lot more upright on the stand after I bend it back.

Much appreciated!

Kevin

The thing I find daft about these field stands, is you have to leave the bike in gear or it will roll off the stand. I always like to start my bike on the rear stand! One day in France, I put my bike on the rear stand to start it up after parking it over night on the side stand. I rolled it off the rear stand once the engine was running, only to let the bike take off up the campsite without me ....... One bent brake lever and a chipped front mudguard.......These things seem to happen when you have an audience of Dutch holiday makers. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Was it the Dutch audience, or the 'Dutch courage'?


Great story, Ron!



Kevin

I remember that well... ..For some reason when I said 'Look at the acceleration on that!' Ron didn't laugh.... ...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Its a good job you don't have a 16H field stand, they have to be wedged against the kerb to stop the bike falling!

Actually I prefer using the field stand to the rear stand, only using the rear stand for maintenance tasks...Though that was before the frame broke at the rear stand pivot and I had to remove the rear stand anyway....Now I don't have a choice until I repair the frame and the bent rear stand... ....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

So that's how the stand gets bent, when the frame breaks!

The layout of the rear stand pivot is a real weak point in the design of the WD M20 and very subject to wear and, sometimes, failure if overloaded.
Wear of the stand and 'stops' on the frame allows the stand to move progressively more off the correct position when the bike is on the stand, which should be not far off vertical. As this gets worse the load which should be taken along, or very close to, the axis of the stand leg is increasingly applied to the pivot bolts and frame. This greatly overloads both these components and the failure occurs...It is also exacerbated in the case of the WD models when used with the carrier and bags fully loaded as all this additional weight is rearward of the rear stand and directly increases the loads in that area making the situation even worse..Rons bike has some wear here, as can be seen from the angle of the rear stand. It is quite clear in that photo to see in which direction the load is being applied and the 'bending' effect at the pivot. The rear stand should be only a few degrees off vertical..Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Just fit a Matchless one instead!

the only trouble of using the field stand is the gearbox oil leaks out

email (option): roger.beck@node6.com

email (option): robmiller11@yahoo.co.uk

I think my statement is correct..the design is weak. If you repair the stand stops/stand/frame holes and pivot bolts you will find that they start to exhibit signs of wear fairly rapidly...There is no lubrication to the pivot holes or bolts and no way of introducing any effectively without stripping the assembly...a design weakness in itself for a heavily loaded part.. The bolts also pivot directly in the frame castings without the use of any bushes..This makes the inevitable repairs awkward and inaccurate...another fault. Also there is no maintenance schedule for these parts..So they are expected to function under load, with no lubrication and no regular maintenance year after year... Further,in the case of the WD models, the rear carrier and bags, which are capable of carrying a substantial extra weight that acts directly on the stand mountings when the stand is used, were additions made after the initial design was produced...So the load parameters have been changed as well without any alteration to the stands capacity to bear it....That compromises the original poor design further.
I agree that we are using the bikes way past their intended lifespan but repairs to the stand assembly to maintain its effectiveness should be just as important as repairing the engine...which we still expect to do the job intended for it even after 70 years...However, whereas the engine is capable of long service by virtue of it design and build quality...50,000 miles is entirely possible from a rebuilt engine..more in fact. The same cannot be said of the rear stand assembly which wears rapidly and can suffer a major failure as a consequence if neglected...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com