BMW Surefoot side stand

Work on tarting the R100RS continues at a relaxed pace. One of the first jobs was to get a Surefoot side stand from Motobins. Airhead Beemers are great bikes but one thing that BMW never got right is the side stand. The o/e sprung self returning stand is a liability for moving the bike around the workshop. The stand springs up at the slightest righting movement of the bike and is in a pig of a position to reach to put back down. I was beginning to feel that it was only a matter of time before I dropped the bike and damaged the fairing.

I had a Surefoot stand on my first BMW, an R65 fitted with RS fairing, so I know from experience what fine devices they are. The support for the bike is rock solid and ergonomically they are in exactly the right place.

The stand bracket is integrated with the left hand riders footrest. They are offered as an exchange for your existing footrest so on ordering you need to pay a deposit for a new footrest which is returned once you send your old one in. Fitting the Surefoot is very straightforward. Removing the o/e stand less so as you need to push through one of the lower engine mount bolts to release it; I found that I had to remove the lower right hand section of the fairing to knock the bolt back home. Overall though, well worth the effort and expense, certainly a lot cheaper and easier than ending up fixing the fairing after dropping the bike.

1976 BMW R100RS fitted with Surefoot sidestand.

Close up of the BMW Surefoot side stand.