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Installing a Murph's Kits center stand

25K views 88 replies 42 participants last post by  dogmen 
#1 ·
Hey everyone - I just picked up and installed a center stand from Murph's Kits on my 2006 Wee. I was really impressed with the quality of the hardware and stand. The bike is very, very stable on the stand so it seems very strong. I think it's an exact copy of the OEM.

For $122 shipped, I don't think there is a better deal out there. I'm in Ottawa Canada, and had it shipped to the UPS store in Ogdensburg NY for pick up. Shipping was very quick.

Center Stand for Your V-Strom from Murphs'

The installation went well and took about 1 hour total - even the springs were pretty straight forward using the "boot lace" method discussed elsewhere.

I made a video of the complete install if anyone wants to check it out. Apologies in advance for the audio being slightly out of sync.

Vstrom DL650 Center Stand Install - YouTube


I'd be happy to answer any questions about the installation.
 
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#3 ·
That's a much easier installation than my SW-Motech. One mount can be installed easily enough but the second has to have the stand and spacers held in place before the bolts can be positioned. It's good to know Murph's stand has the mount holes spaced correctly as that was a problem with some OEM and Afrika Single stands.
 
#5 ·
Thanks - nice avatar btw...maybe I should have used Red Barchetta for the intro?
 
#8 ·
Not yet but soon. I just ordered 3/4" lowering links. I'll let you know if it affects anything wrt the center stand.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks alot for the video, you really helped to make the install on my Murphskits center stand easier. Even with my poor mechanic skills and general clumsiness, it was under an hour for the whole project. I was able to to hemp twine instead of the shoelace for the spring pull, BTW.

The stand itself seems and *excellent* value for $120 - very solid, easy install and well thought out.

EDIT: I have lowering links (Murphs), and I'm also short (5' 8") and was able to get the Wee up on the stand without too much drama (first time ever putting any motorcycle on a center stand, actually). If you've never put a bike on a centerstand, do yourself a favor and cruise YouTube for a howto - I never would have figured it out left to my own devices. I'll be on a ride in the twisties tommorow, so I'll try and post with any info on dragging (I've never scraped a peg on the Wee, so I'm curious how much clearance this will take away)
 
#12 ·
How's the centrestand doing as far as dragging in left turns?

BMW had a recall for the centrestand on the K100/K1100 bikes because they would break and the bikes fall over when you were putting them on the stand.

The problem was with the triangular reinforcing piece that goes between the foot and the lever being welded all around (just like in this stand). The beemer of course is a much heavier bike, but still; it's a potential design flaw where someone doesn't understand the "less is more" philosophy").
 
#13 ·
Does anyone know if this stand will fit with the SW Motech skid plate?

I don't have the plate yet, but I noticed TT says:
The SW-MOTECH skidplate can be used without a centerstand, or with the SW-MOTECH, Suzuki or Hepco-Becker* centerstand.
I know their not going to be able to list every centerstand, but I just don't want to run into problems later on if I decide to use this skid plate. Anyone know?
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
Murph's Kits center stand

Just got delivery of my Murph's center stand within a week of ordering it from the US of A to Wagga Wagga Australia.

Watched a You Tube instruction, cooked dinner for the family and then went our and fitted the stand. About 35 minutes work.

Fits great and is easy to get on bike the Stand.

Great product and cheap as chips.

Thanks Murph

PS: nice to be caller a Junior Trouper at 58 years of age. This is my 30th Bike since I was 17. I love it.
 
#17 ·
Me and my friend just installed one from Murph, I have been dealing with Murph since 04 when I got my Concours. I think the quality of the stand is not all that good, is it really a knock off of the OEM? It seems to flex, I'm not complaining, as long as it holds up, the quality compared to my friends, I think SW moto, just seems inferior. Also when coming off the stand it does not fo all the way up on it's own have to push it the rest of the way, any others have this problem. Yea did install the little feeler on the left foot peg.
 
#18 ·
Not coming all the way up is indicative of a failure to grease the pivots before assembly or a spacer being misplaced. The OEM stand and clones have a wider stance than the SW-M as well as a curved foot pedal arm. That curved arm has collapsed in a very few cases. The narrower stance of the SW-M is often blamed for a less solid feeling on the stand.
 
#20 ·
a very nice looking kit... and a killer price from Murph!!!

I had the pleasure to meet Murph in 2004 at a COG Rally up in PA, he usually attends all of the COG (Concours) rallies. Great guy and he is dedicated to making "things" better and a bit less expensive if possible.

he should add a link to your video... great job!
 
#22 · (Edited)
I just installed one also. I did grease it and it still took several times of use and now it pops all the way up. I can't remark on the quality, having never checked any other stands, but it seems sturdy and easy enough to use. I did install the longer feeler, but haven't been able to check the left turn clearance yet. The few roads I found here in anti twisty land that will give me that opportunity, have been damp and I'm a bit to conservative to push it (chicken). Thanks Greywolf, now I have this image in my head of it laying on it's side. Although the price was great, I hope it's not an expensive experiment.
 
#23 ·
Thanks Greywolf, now I have this image in my head of it laying on it's side.:yikes: Although the price was great, I hope it's not an expensive experiment.
Nothing about the stand will drop the bike. The part that has rarely broken is the part you put your foot on, not a part that holds the bike up. The warning feeler will warn you in time to slow down or move your body to the left side of the bike if you're getting frisky.
 
#24 ·
Thanks for the reply brother Wolf, at least now I'll get some sleep tonight. I'm looking forward to getting frisky with this fun little road I found. I just have to say it, this bike is a blast to ride, and I've always been happy with purchases from Murphs.
 
#25 ·
After reading these posts I popped for one of the center stands sold by Murphs'. While I know the price was good when I got the box there were three things that stood out: "Made in China".

Opening the box the contents verified the statement on the outside. Sorry, but I am a bit of a critic. Years ago as a teacher I taught my students basic welding. Had they turned in this piece for a grade I would have told them to go back and do it again. Next time clean the oil off the metal before welding so that the weld would actually hold the two pieces together.

The people who welded the stand I got need to go back and take that welding class over again. The bead stuck to each piece but it isn't attached to itself in the middle of the weld in many places. Common thing when you try to weld dirty metal. I would say that a good deal of the metal is not properly joined.

The other problem was noticed after I installed it. The first time I put it down the stand did not pivot far enough forward to hold the bike up correctly. Had I tried to put the bike on the stand it would have just fell forward off the stand. I looked under the bike and found the problem. When it was welded the hump from the bead is in an area that prevents the stand from going fully down and forward to its normal position. Luckily this problem can be fixed with a Dremel and some time.

SO, I wanted the rest of you to know that this center stand is Made in China and it shows. It will probably work. I foresee the chance I might have to take it back off and redo the welds in time. I will wait and see how it works. I don't have a lot of confidence in it, however.

Price: Less than a factory stand
Quality: Less than a factory stand
 
#31 ·
I would say that a good deal of the metal is not properly joined.

The other problem was noticed after I installed it.
Serious question here -- help me understand how these two sentences go together. What's the thought process? "Hey, this centerstand looks like a piece of crap (to paraphrase you). Let me install it on my bike and see if it is, in fact, a piece of crap."

Seriously, I know that $50 is a lot of money, but it's not *that* much more money to spring for, say, the SW Motech center stand if you had such serious concerns about the Murphs stand. I don't quite follow the reasoning on why you'd open yourself up to so much frustration when you had all the warning clues right there in your hand before you turned a wrench.

I'm not saying the Murphs is junk, or that I wouldn't recommend it, as I've never seen one in person, but I have to laugh at how biased you were against it before you even installed it... but you installed it anyway. (?!)
 
#26 · (Edited)
Next part of the story:

Got this center stand on and ready to go. Took some work! I wore out a Dremel grinding wheel getting the extra welds ground down so that the stand would go far enough forward to allow the stand to hold up the bike. It took some time. Once I finally got that done I was able to get the bike up on the stand. I have to tell you its shaky at best. It would seem that when they welded (loose use of the term) this thing together the same person who didn't supervise the welding also didn't teach them about why the parts have to be aligned properly. When the bike is up on the stand it does not sit quite right. It moves around as if the stand doesn't want to fit flatly on the floor.

I used my Triumph Tiger to compare to. When its up on its stand it is rock solid. With this stand on the Wee you feel like the bike might just fall over at any time if you bump the bike. Hard to believe that is possible with what is basically a tripod. All I can figure is that the legs are not quite aligned or they are flexible enough to allow movement. Either way, its a unsettling feeling to have the bike up like that to remove a wheel or do other work under the bike. I am figuring out how much it will cost to repair the damage if it falls over. With this in mind perhaps its time to sell this stand on Flea Bay and find something better. The bike , and me, are just too expensive to fix to risk this stand collapsing on me.

Typical Chinese parts. They have no quality control and just slap stuff together to make it appear like the better grade products. Well, its my own fault. I should remember the old saying "You get what you pay for". I am happy for those of you who got one that was made and fit properly. Chinese stuff is hit and miss and the one I got was definitely the one that missed.
 
#27 ·
Well.. I guess YMMV... While I am not a welder/metallurgist, or even close to being a mechanic, it installed for me in about 45 minutes with no grinding or modifications, and it does seem pretty solid so far ( the bike is sitting on it right now) for things like chain maint. Have you taken it up w/MurphsKits directly?
 
#28 ·
Got the stand to work a bit better. Took some time to "fit" it. The shaky problem was due to where the stand stops against the framework. As it was made the right side first was hitting a weld. I ground the weld bead back and got the stand to move up past that. But, the bike was not stable when up on the stand. On closer inspection what was happening was the right side was hitting the stop before the left side. So, when the bike was up the right leg would flex over until the left side hit its stop.

The best fix I could do was to keep grinding off the stop a little at a time until both sides would hit at about the same spot. This made both sides more rigid. I have it fairly close now so the wiggle is greatly reduced. I had to remove about 3/16" off the right stop to get both sides to hit at the same time. Also, with this material removed the stand goes far enough forward to go "over-center" enough to secure it on the stand.

My experience with Chinese copies remains the same. Their quality control is slim to non-existent. You may get an OK product or a dud, its all a roll of the dice. As with many Chinese products you may have to do some QC of your own and be prepared to do the finish work they didn't. There is a reason their stuff is cheap.

As for Murphs': They have always been good about their products. They don't make this stand, they just sell it. It comes from a distributor here in the US who imports it from China. I was able to salvage it with some work so it is at least usable. If I exchanged it I fear the next one would be no better or even worse. I have a couple of welders in the garage and can redo the welds if I need to. Its more trouble to take it off, box it up and send it back than just fix it. Again, a replacement may not be any better than this one.
 
#30 ·
Yea, my friend who installed it for me, yea I help some, but he's a navy Nuc, so I mostly hold his beer, anyway back on subject, he calls it a Piece of Crap, like I said I have bought a lot of stuff from Murph and do not blame him, I would not trust this stand, I will use it for chain maint and stuff but will not leave it on the stand unattended, it's really shakey when it's on the center stand, when funds become available I will probably upgrade and trash this.
 
#32 ·
So let me get this straight, so far there are two opinions that the stand is crap and they were installed anyway, o k, what am I missing. I not an expert on anything, but the stand has been functioning good and seems rock steady to me. So I'll ask again, what makes this stand crappier than the others ( OEM, hepco becker, etc.)? Is it the fact that it was made in China? I'm not trying to be a smartass, but, I do look to this forum for info., and try to learn as much about this bike as I can. I can't remember if I said this recently, but I'm having a friggin blast with this bike. Be safe everyone.
 
#35 ·
You are not missing anything...well...almost. You missed the basic thought at the center of it all. If you read the whole story you would recall that I never said it was CRAP. That was your words. What I said I was not happy with it but it was work, trouble, and time, exchanging it for one that might not be any better. Also, as I stated, I do have the tools, Dremel and welders and I could work on it and make it fit better. Also, if it does not seem strong enough I can pop it off and redo the welds. Doing the welds over again is not a big deal for me, I am retired and have time on my hands. Others who still work for a living or don't have a welder at home, may not have this option.

And, the "Made in China" thing was quite simple and explained. My experience (and many others) is that the quality of Chinese knock-off copies is hit or miss. You may get a good product or you may get less than that. I think I made that clear. The quality of these is not consistent.

Had I seen or read any negatives on these before I bought one I would have given it more thought. As it was what I was readings was glowing reports. When I got mine and it was less than that, I thought it was fair to all possible buyers to know that there are some less than perfect stands that get through to consumers.

I also made it very clear: Murphs did not make this stand. They are good people who are fair to deal with. They have a reputation that they have earned over time. Its not their problem that the supplier/producer turns out an inconsistent product.

Everyone should hear both sides. Then they can decide.

Oh, and as I pointed out eariler: The reason the bike is shaky when up on the stand is that the stops for the left and right legs of the stand are not hitting the stand at the same time. One hits before the other and then flexes allowing the bike to move around. I fixed mine by carefully grinding away material from the stand so that both legs now stop at the same time. I pointed out the distance was about 3/16" different as the unit was made.
 
#34 ·
Fair enough. Sounds like you got it working more or less properly in the end. Hopefully it doesn't fail on you. I do appreciate you and everyone else sharing their experiences here, even if they are not always pleasant ones for the poster. I've learned a TON by reading about other peoples' experiences - both good and bad - here. Thanks for sharing.
 
#37 ·
I got my Murph's stand a couple of weeks ago, went to install it that weekend and guess what? No bushings, so one email and a few days later they show up, finish the install, and the stands works great. Very solid, I just sat on the bike on the stand. Now the only reason I'm posting is to say that I may not have purchased this stand after reading the last review. Believe me, I'm the guy that gets all the junk made on Monday morning or Friday right before quiting time. This stand (at least the one I received) worked great. Thanks for all the input.
 
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