Does the side stand require lubrication?

[YosemiteVFR]

I’m in the middle of cleaning the rear swing arm, front sprocket & side stand of years worth of accumulated chain lube. The side stand pivot joint was covered and after cleaning it I’m wondering whether to install everything dry or with a light coat of grease. What have you guys done?

[Grum]

Generally just given the side stand piviot a wash down with kerosene and stiff brush to remove accumulated chain lube etc. then a squirt of wd40 keeps it swinging nicely.

[FromMaine]

Personally, if you are that far into it I would remove, clean and grease the side stand and reinstall. Then I would repeat on the center stand, probably no easier time to do it.

 

I used high pressure moly grease, but any quality bearing grease will suffice. I was having trouble getting the bike on the center stand, a good cleaning, a few minutes on a wire wheel and some grease where there was none any more made it a snap to get it on the stand.

 

I had the bike on the center stand to do the side stand, then the bike on the side stand to to do the center stand as the swing arm, muffler etc. was off the bike, I used a chain fall as a safety to the triple trees with a strop

 

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[YosemiteVFR]

1 hour ago, Grum said:

Generally just given the side stand piviot a wash down with kerosene and stiff brush to remove accumulated chain lube etc. then a squirt of wd40 keeps it swinging nicely.

Thanks! I happen to be using kerosene on this project which has been stellar (unsurprisingly). The stand and switch is all clean and ready to go back into service. 
 

6 minutes ago, FromMaine said:

Personally, if you are that far into it I would remove, clean and grease the side stand and reinstall. Then I would repeat on the center stand, probably no easier time to do it.

 

I used high pressure moly grease, but any quality bearing grease will suffice. I was having trouble getting the bike on the center stand, a good cleaning, a few minutes on a wire wheel and some grease where there was none any more made it a snap to get it on the stand.

 

I had the bike on the center stand to do the side stand, then the bike on the side stand to to do the center stand as the swing arm, muffler etc. was off the bike, I used a chain fall as a safety to the triple trees with a strop

 

.DSCF3412.thumb.JPG.e137a27a8b6b1b6b9ea47d1796a65855.jfif

 

Now you’ve got me thinking about removing the center stand to clean it all up as well! What started out as a brake bleed has turned into actually handling the unsightly accumulation of chain lube that’s bothered me for so long. It’s a good thing. Thanks for the input on the grease and suggestion on the center stand. 

[Grum]

21 minutes ago, YosemiteVFR said:

Now you’ve got me thinking about removing the center stand to clean it all up as well!

Absolutely no need to remove the center stand just for cleaning or lubing. Same approach to Sidestand just general clean and a spray of lubricant into the pivot areas and it will be fine for another 10,000 mile.!

[YosemiteVFR]

22 minutes ago, Grum said:

Absolutely no need to remove the center stand just for cleaning or lubing. Same approach to Sidestand just general clean and a spray of lubricant into the pivot areas and it will be fine for another 10,000 mile.!

Even better! Thanks for that. I’m looking forward to having it back together and being able to appreciate the sweat equity each time I walk up to it rather than the reminder that it needs to be done.

[MaxSwell]

23 hours ago, Grum said:

Absolutely no need to remove the center stand just for cleaning or lubing. Same approach to Sidestand just general clean and a spray of lubricant into the pivot areas and it will be fine for another 10,000 mile.!

I agree with Grum. That is all I've ever done across 4 fifth gens and over 200,000 miles of riding. That's over 400 chain lubings. Holy Socks!

[Cogswell]

If you follow Honda and the chain manufacturers' recommendations and use 90W gear oil on your chain, your side stand pivot will be lubricated - no problem.  

[Dangeruss]

3 hours ago, Cogswell said:

If you follow Honda and the chain manufacturers' recommendations and use 90W gear oil on your chain, your side stand pivot will be lubricated - no problem.  

🤣When I rode my VFR home for the first time I put it on the sidestand in the driveway and it dropped an oily turd the size of a mouse for that very reason. Hardest part of making the bike nice was removing the rest of that crap from everything anywhere near the chain.

[MaxSwell]

On 2/9/2021 at 8:21 PM, Cogswell said:

If you follow Honda and the chain manufacturers' recommendations and use 90W gear oil on your chain, your side stand pivot will be lubricated - no problem.  

When faced with needing to lube my chain while on a long-distance trip and having used up the lube I brought with me I have used 90W gear oil, found in hardware stores, on several occasions. Thanks for the reminder; it's cheaper than the alternatives.

When I lube the chain with spray I place a piece of cardboard between the chain and the rear wheel to collect the drippings. More than once I’ve stopped at a C store to do the lubing. I've always found they had cardboard from cases of soda or other products in their trash or recycling bins. When I'm finished the used cardboard goes into the trash. And if I'm going to be away from civilization for a few days I flatten some clean cardboard and stick it under a bungee cord on my pillion or wherever it fits. 

 

Occasionally, if I'm feeling OCD, I'll spend the time to clean the sprockets as well as I can w/o having to take anything apart.