The centerstand. An anomaly, a thing of the distant past. But not for those of us who came up in the business and experienced the powersports industry's most popular period during the late 1960s and early 1970s when all street motorcycles, even those considered sport, had them. With more than fifty years to observe it, I would say the centerstand used to be considered necessary, even vital. How better to lube your drive chain or air up your tires? These frequent maintenance tasks are bound to be overlooked on modern centerstand-less machines. In fact they are, in my experience.

Old timers like myself also prefer the security of a bike stationary on its centerstand. It's a lot less able to be upset. A sidestand is of course an advantage on gravel or soft earth, I'll give it that. But not only is it inherently unstable, it also lends to carburetor overflow and is a real danger when the rider forgets it and rides away.

On modern bikes, particularly sport models, manufacturers seem to have considered the centerstand's weight, its potential to affect cornering clearance, and the fact that riders have never been trained how to properly use it, and decided it is superfuous. In fact many of today's riders aren't even wearing the kinds of shoes required to use a centerstand--flip-flops won't cut it--even if they had one to begin with and even if they did know how to use it. And of course many young riders have removed the centerstands from bikes that had them. I am not sure what is gained by doing that, but between the two I would rather give up my sidestand.

The centerstand is today an anachronism, a thing out of place. Perhaps most of all, to this old-timer at least, it is a symbol of a bygone era. It speaks loudly of what used to be.