both tires sit on ground when on center stand

[86 goldwing]

ok so put the old girl away for winter
put her up on center stand and both tires are on the ground
now my question is is this normal or do i have a problem
im hoping that a new set of rear shocks will correct this
as they are toast but i am not sure how the shocks are supposed to work do the push the rear wheel up or down
when weight is lifted of the rear end when on center stand
and if the shocks are not the reason my next concern is the possibility that my frame has rusted out around the center stand mount area
not the reason that i want to have to deal with cause that mean the bike is toast and not safe to ride
any info would be a great help
thanks in advance
sorry she is a 86 gl 1200 aspencade

[joecoolsuncle]

sometimes, on uneven ground, my 84 touches both tires. on even cement,the rear is about 1.5 to 2 inches off the ground. this is with ZERO air in front forks and original springs. maybe this helps? i hope you dont have frame rot, but you sure need to find out if it is okay or not.

[86 goldwing]

thanks for the reply Joe bike is on even plate form in shed i still have air in front fork forgot to let it out before i removed battery
will do that next time im in shed
maybe that will help
will look at center stand at that point as well
not in a big rush though have about six months before she will hit pavement again lol

[julimike54]

You may have aftermarket shocks on the bike....
Mine has aftermarket shocks and I place a 1/2" plywood piece below the centerstand to get the rear wheel off the ground.

[Bike...and Dennis]

That can happen if your stand is damaged, like from being hauled on a trailer sitting on the stand. Or from the frame collapsing or bending from lot of hours sitting on the stand. Or, maybe the most common would be internal rust of the frame.
I've advised a few folks, and they all have said it worked, to wrap (reinforce) the frame member with a sheet of tin and hold it in place with a couple of hose clamps. Quick and easy to do but, by no means a permanent fix.

[WingAdmin]

A common cause of this is corrosion in the center stand mounts, where they weaken and bend. Have a look at where the center stand pivot mounts to the bike and see if you can see corrosion or bending.

[86 goldwing]

thanks for the info all of you will look at the stand mounting area for damage
i hope not
i have original rear shocks but they are not in great shape bottom out a lot
also front forks still have air in them thinking that might be pushing rear tire down
if frame is damaged can it be repaired or is it time to retire old girl and upgrade to a 1500

[Rambozo]

Bad shocks make it harder to get on the center stand, but don't make the wheels lower to the ground unless the shafts are broken. Weak forks will actually make the rear wheel higher when on the center stand.

[86 goldwing]

thanks for the info Rambozo
went out today and looked at center stand everything looks good around the mount area
no rust that i can see but being old and blind may not be helping
front forks still have air in them forgot to drain before i took out battery
rear shocks are not broken as far as i know just bottom out all the time even with only me on it
and i only weigh 155 so going to need to replace would like to keep air but may go with just spring if i can find the right ones
that wont brake the bank
anyone out there that has gone a different route on shocks please feel free to let me know what you used thanks
as for the ground clearance still hoping that it will be an easy fix sort of

[joecoolsuncle]

thanks for the reply Joe bike is on even plate form in shed i still have air in front fork forgot to let it out before i removed battery
will do that next time im in shed
maybe that will help
will look at center stand at that point as well
not in a big rush though have about six months before she will hit pavement again lol

rule! no matter the year, make , model. NO air in forks. you actually keep air bled OUT OF forks. correct the spring, dampening, preload mechainically.
yeah, hear come the arguments. bring em!

[86 goldwing]

hey Joe not going to argue about air in front forks cause i dont know
but if what you say is true then why do i have a button to fill front forks with my on board compressor
and i believe my manuel says no more than 2 lbs

[joecoolsuncle]

air is ingested through the seals, and will expand/contract with heat /cool. this variable will change the tune of he forks. so the rule is to set up the tune with no air and to bleed ingested air on occasion to keep variables as low as possible. the air in the top of the tubes is a way to manipulate preload. so, honda and others created the onboard air system to change preload.
so, always start with zero air. if you need to add air to get preload correct, you need different spring rate/height. once correct, you do not want or need adjustments that are made by more air.