TEAM Arizona Riding Tip July 2013: Stop That Sinking Feeling. Side Stand Puck To the Rescue!
Last Updated: April 1st, 2024
While the heat wave hitting Arizona is nothing new to natives, the record temperatures present several problems to motorcyclists. One interesting challenge comes from parking motorcycles on asphalt. We’d hate to have anything happen to our motorcycle when it sits outside while we’re cooling off in an air conditioned room. This article explores how to successfully avoid that sinking feeling of seeing your bike in distress!
THE CHALLENGE
Asphalt is an interesting viscoelastic material. It contracts and expands as temperatures slide from the cold end of the Fahrenheit scale to the hotter end. As asphalt heats up, it becomes more liquid like and may permit a typical motorcycle side stand to sink into the surface. In extreme instances, and where the asphalt layer is thin, the side stand may penetrate all the way past the surface layer and down to the underlayment. Sadly, a motorcyclist may walk out to find their motorcycle laying on its side or may find their side stand trapped beneath the asphalt layer. To avoid this horrible situation, we have some simple suggestions.
THE CURE
So how do we avoid that uneasy feeling of seeing our motorcycle sinking into the ground? The obvious answer may be avoid asphalt and eliminate the issue entirely. This may not be a possibility. In that case, we provide some outstanding solutions:
- Use a side stand puck (jiffy stand coaster) There are many puck styles (including ones with leashes!), but you may want to consider one of the following ranging from expensive to least expensive:
- Manufacturer Side Stand Puck or Jiffy Stand Coaster
- Aftermarket Side Stand Puck or Jiffy Stand Coaster
- Alternative Purpose Puck – (electrical junction box plate cover, piece of diamond plate – let your imagination run wild)
- Found Object Puck – (crushed soda can, piece of wood, flat rock, etc)
- Modify your side stand to have added surface area (be very careful not to reduce your side stand’s ability to hold the bike’s weight or to fit out of the way in the up position)
- Use your centerstand (may not entirely eliminate the sinking into asphalt, but does help to spread the weight amongst two contact points)
We’re interested in hearing about what you use to avoid having the asphalt monster gobble up your motorcycle’s side stand. Visit the TEAM Arizona Facebook page to tell us what you use and provide a pic if you can!
