Good Morning All. Picking up my '23 T120 next weekend and already dreaming about life with the bike. I'm wondering about maintenance, especially chain clean/lube/adjustment. The bike has no center stand and trying to decide the benefits vs. drawbacks of adding one. Would love to hear from folks who added one to their bike and from folks who have removed a center stand.
Plenty of advantages with a centre stand, chain lube and adjusting, checking fluid levels, tyre pressures etc. I can't think of any disadvantages and I would ALWAYS have a centre stand if one is available, I currently have a Speed 400 and a centre stand is not available which I am finding is a complete pain!!
Thanks. That is exactly the kind of input I am looking for. Chain maintenance has to be the best reason for a center stand. A paddock stand will obviously work for maintenance at home, but thinking about travels and touring as well. Plus, loading a bike is always easier for me on a center stand.
@TelemarkTumalo: With an additional centre stand you have many positive advantages. Maintaining, cleaning, especially the spokes and the chain, etc. is much easier. It is not cheap, but worth the money! As an alternative you may use an moveable motorcycle lifter/stand in your garage, if available.
My T120 has a center stand and it's super. It makes cleaning and oiling the chain much easier. Without it, holding the bike still is hard, more so on rough land. I say get one; it makes taking care of things much simpler. Could cost a bit, but it pays off.
The only negative of a centre stand is the weight penalty, which hardly applies to the Triumph Classic range. I have a paddock stand for home maintenance but I'm thinking of adding a CS to my Scrambler.
Last two bikes have had one and when I get another, no center stand may be a deal breaker, definitely the way to go. I agree with @Pegscraper, only potential negative is weight savings, which might matter if you were racing on tracks with high end sport bikes or trying to lighten your load on single track trails... which I doubt is happening on a Bonneville
Great points Folks. I'm thinking along the same lines. I know adding the center stand will increase the weight, but I doubt that I'll really feel it. If I ever lost my mind and decided to track day this bike, I can always remove the stand. This advice is much appreciated.
I added the centerstand to my bonneville before I even picked it up. A must have for chain maintenance in my opinion. Also very helpful for oil changes if you do your own in your driveway like I do.
When head scratching over which new bike to get last year I marked the Tiger Sport 660 down because there was no centre stand option. My mk1 SV650 didn't have one and I found the padock stand and bobbins a right faff. Surprised I never dropped it to be honest.
Just to mix it up - I haven't had a centre stand since my Royal Enfield Bullet many years ago..... a universal paddock stand pops the bike up for maintenance and saves me carting about a big lump of iron everywhere. Then again, I have been buying lighter bikes as I get older, so I don't fit racks and crash bars and other stuff that adds weight.
No doubt the center stand and hardware add weight. Few spec sheets showing the weight adds up to 6.6 lbs. I don't think that would be noticeable at speed. I wonder about ground clearance???
I know centre stands are useful but personally I can't stand the sight of an appendage dangling beneath my undercarriage
All good stuff! I've looked at some T120's that had the center stand fitted and it seems to tuck out of the way nicely. So, I think would only minimally detract from the looks. A paddock stand in the garage is my plan if I decide not to fit the center stand and would be a less expensive option. My other bike is an R9T with side stand only. I have a Pit Bull paddock stand for that bike won't work on the T120. A garage paddock stand doesn't address chain lube and care when I am traveling and touring. And, if a flat tire..... I appreciate the input folks.
You used to be able to get a bar from TEC that slipped through the rear axle I think and you could then support this on a paddock stand. I've also seen a hinged something or other recently that fits under the swing arm and jacks the wheel up enough to lube the chain
