Today as I parked my bike at work, I reached down with the heel of my foot to put the kickstand down. With the stock kickstand you can reach behind the foot peg or just in front. The little stud sticking out just in front of the peg is the most natural and what I typically use. Today my foot must have been out of practice because I accidentally tapped the shifter on my way to swing out the kickstand, the bike went into gear an lurched forward. Luckily it died but I could tell it almost went into gear. Had that happened I for sure would have fallen off/tipped over an who knows what would be damaged on the bike. I was already in neutral so I did not have my hand on the clutch.

Moral of the story is be careful and keep that clutch pulled in until you get the kickstand down.

Rubber side down !

Darkarcher

I always shut mine off before I put the kickstand down.

Yep I shut mine off before putting the kick stand down as well. It's a good habit to get into.

My routine is clutch in, nuetral, kick stand down, visually verify kick stand down all the way, set down, turn bike off, clutch out. I had it slip into gear once and it almost went over on me.

I do suppose the best thing to do is shut the bike off before putting the stand down. Damn, I'm almost afraid to change my routine though.

* Last updated by: VicThing on 4/30/2016 @ 4:34 AM *

Actually, since I always leave it in 1st anyway, I turn the bike off with the side stand; always, always squeezing both the brake and clutch levers. Another good tip; if your foot is on the side stand, your eyes are on your foot. It may save you one day when you assume the side stand went all the way down.

+1, I leave it in 1st also.... I kill engine before putting stand down.

My routine is clutch in, nuetral, kick stand down, visually verify kick stand down all the way, set down, turn bike off. I had it slip into gear once and it almost went over on me.

I visually verify the stand is down and all the way forward a couple times. Then I visually and physically verify its all the way forward a couple more times after I dismount.

It may save you one day when you assume the side stand went all the way down.

* Last updated by: Rook on 4/29/2016 @ 7:53 PM *

I also use the side stand to turn the bike off. As I roll to a stop with the engine running, I pull in the clutch and stop with the brakes as I put the side stand down. Engine shuts off. I let the clutch out, then set the bike on the side stand. It's very smooth and natural when you get used to it.Works well on all of my bikes, but not on my daughter's Savage... I just can't get used to the forward controls.

Just for clarification (edited the post) I let the clutch out after turning the engine off.

I generally don't park in neutral OR use the steering lock for a couple reasons. It's never happened to me but I have heard of it. Sometimes someone will move a bike. Since people are idiots, especially when it's OPP, if some idiot is determined to move my bike I would rather not hinder their stupidity. I know it seems counter intuitive to say that, but it may not even be a motorcyclist that realizes the bike has a gear or steering lock. Yes, people really are this stupid.

The second reason is related, if someone bumps into the bike in gear it will most likely damage the transmission. Granted, it'll only be less damage as most likely they'll knock it over however bodywork is one thing but case splitting (for us) transmission issues are another. Insurance may pay for it, or not, really don't know but still rather not have the hassle.

Exceptions occurs sometimes in gear is needed sometimes when not on level ground.

Since putting the sidestand down kills the motor anyway, I use the kill switch before deploying and then turn the kill back on and shut off the ignition switch. Most of the time I leave it in gear when it's parked, unless it has to be moved aound, so no chance of clicking it into gear with the engine running. If you park in neutral, a slight downhill slop can put it on it's side.

* Last updated by: Danno on 4/30/2016 @ 6:12 AM *

I usually try to come to a skidding stop as I put the stand down while leaping sprightly off the high side to walk casually away as the smoke clears.....

...then I go back and pick up the bike and all the pieces...

Mad

Good tip. I completely missed the kickstand once and let the bike lean thinking the stand was down and before I realized what happened, it was at the point of no return. I had to lean my back against the bike to right it back up.

I had to lean my back against the bike to right it back up.

After dismounting and before letting go of the bike , I pull it backwards to make sure stand is down and " locked".

Def going to make kill switch my first step now. I too leave it in gear, just makes me feel better.

I always shut the bike off first, in gear. Then kickstand down and dismount and pull bike backwards to ensure kickstand is fully pulled back and stable. Been doing this 27 yrs and never had a bike fall off the kickstand doing this.

Engine off while in gear, then I look to make sure the ground where kickstand pad touches is stable, preferably concrete. On blacktop or gravel I use a crushed can I carry in my pocket, I've seen more than one stand sink in asphalt!!! Took 3 people to pick up a loaded Goldwing that fell due to soft asphalt, broke a lot of expensive plastic!!!

Good point Rkt. On my old bike I carried a small round of sheet metal. It seems like I had that happen to my honda, buried a good inch I'd say. Probably much further it would've went over.

If you want to be a little more fancy about it, you can carry one of these in your pocket. I have one from Kurvygirl. It comes in pink or orange. What can I say about it? It never failed to fit under my kick stand and keep it from sinking in asphalt.

https://www.denniskirk.com/507261.sku?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&gclid=CjwKEAjwu6a5BRC53sW0w9677RcSJABoFn4sJDv0z4RnSYelub30uvGAaFLwgOQWwURf5egyKMSd8RoCvh3w_wcB&ad=45712965997

on ebay you can get them in blue and black too for $1-$2 shipped.

Last year I bought 6 of them for 5$ shipped (from seller in the below link), and gave most of them away to friends that didn't have one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-Dirtbike-MX-Foot-Pad-Base-Kickstand-Pad-Side-Stand-Plate-Free-ship-/151502998000?var=&hash=item23464849f0:m:m6b2upiaTHkSrJK05MSVRQQ

* Last updated by: rod442 on 5/4/2016 @ 11:59 PM *

I've got a few of these thing kicking around and always keep one in a jacket/trouser pocket. never actually bought one, they are given away free at bike shows etc....

While we are on the subject I used to carry a crushed pop can in my tank bag until one time I literally watched a bum downtown move my bike so he could get the can. Now I use a round cover plate from HD>

* Last updated by: darkarcher on 5/5/2016 @ 7:21 PM *

Wow, what do you you do with that? Probably NOT a good idea to yell at the bum.

I keep a parking puck on a lanyard in the tankbag. Used to get them free every year at the Indy MotoGP because they didn't want any sidestand divots in the blacktop on the backstraight where they parked the bikes.

Thanks for the lessons learned. I'm just glad Darkarcher brought it up.

Good Tips to save Big Buckets of Loot!