X9 250sl Stand Issues

[leonp69]

Hi people, long time no speak....

Had a terrible fortnight with the x9, firstly my speedo packed up but managed to sort it out with looking at the connections and giving them some WD40.

Then another major issue occured. My stand at some point lost the rubber bush which prevents the stand causing damage to the drive belt casing. It came off and led to some loud noises and a resultant hole in the casing, not fun.

Went to a dealer nearby and ordered a new centre stand, the guy at the dealership said it is an issue with the old honda engined x9s due to the lack of a rubber block on the actual casing. I was told i may be ok if the new stands rubber bush rested on the casing away from the hole. Fitted and all seemed well....rode a weeks hard commuting on it and then while turning into my road on the way home there was a loud noise and the bike was staying at high revs. Went to put the bike on the stand and realised it was stuck into the drive belt casing...it had obviously knocked against a weak part of aluminium metal and caused the rubber bush to catch inside against the drive belt.

I now have an issue where i need to somehow cover up the hole. I have tried bonding a metal plate across the hole but the bonding putty was not sufficient.

Im now deciding what i can do, when i was at the dealer they said that replacing the casing is uneconomically practical as will cost a large amount of money, with it being a 2001 sl with 19,000 miles.

One option i have considered is removing the centre stand, does anyone show faith in their side stand, ive oftened believed the bike leans over to far on this stand and would not be sound in the wind.

Anybody know of the ease in removing the casing in order to nut and bolt a piece of metal across the hole?

Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Leon..................

[joyce]

I always use the side stand as I have difficulty getting the bike off the centre stand.

The further over the bike leans onto its side stand the safer it is - the problem arises with some of the Evos, when the bike is almost upright when on the sidestand as they can easily be knocked over.

[Derek]

Not just the Evo the SL is the same but's a simple matter to have the side stand shortened by 1".

[rockyracoon]

I had problems replacing the rubber roller on the centre stand on my 250SL   , I removed the stand altogether whilst working on it and found that the bike was very stable on level ground even with the streering lock applied when just using the side stand.  The only major problem without the centre stand is when it comes to servicing or maintenance.  Remove it and cope without I reckon is a good start.

With regard to your 'patching' of the drive casing, I would try one of the new 'aroldite' type adhesives which are suitable for metal and will withstand temperature, you may be surprised at the results?

Either way - good luck and perhaps we 250SL'ers should be thankful that the 250SL stand does not enter the engine casing which is a totally different ballgame having read threads on such topics.    

Cheers, Andy

[Dave Milnes]

I would try a steel plate of 1/8" thick either pop riveted or bolted over the hole on the inside of the case. Shape the hole nicely into a square with chamfered edges so when the plate is fitted the roller seats deeper through the case onto the steel plate.
If you remove the outer belt cover you can get to the inside to fit the plate.

[Silver Sofa]

The bike I bought has the very same problem!
There is a gaping hole in the casing and the stand is stuck in it.

Dave - could you (or anyone else) explain in simpleton terms what I would have to do to cover the hole?
I have a garage and the time to do it, but am not 100% sure of the equipment needed.

Many thanks,
Garret

[Dave Milnes]

This is a serious problem as the casing is integral with the whole engine crankcase, and if it gets too weakened it will (should anyway) fail an MOT and require a complete new engine.
The annoying thing is that it all stems from lack of a 10 minute lubrication a couple of times a year. Any dealer failing to do this at services should be castrated.
The best option is to do something along the lines of the post I made above, remove the outer cover and the inner pulleys and belt then fit a plate over the inside. You could make up the thickness by adding layers to the outside until flush with the outer surface of the casing then use a filler paste to blend it all in or simply fill it flush.
A plate on the outside could be done too but it would always be visible or you could get it TIG welded and build it up then grind off flush. The engine would need taking out to do this easily though.
Whatever you do, a new roller is needed, well greased so it spins freely on the pin on the stand leg.

[Silver Sofa]

Thanks for the reply.

Wow, on second thoughts, that doesn't sound like something I could do myself.

Hmm...

[reg]

I had the same problem on my 250 pre sl,I used the alloy version of chemical metal and a thin plate on the inside and shaped the ridge for the rubber with a dremel tool.I took the stand off and just bolt it on loose to do servicing without the spring. as a courier I have done lots of miles with it like this and it has held up ok.