Honda patent unusual new side stand
Honda has filed patents that seem to show a new type of motorcycle side stand that extends telescopically
THE question of ‘how do I stop my motorcycle falling over while parked’ is not one that many manufactures have felt a need to revisit.
The tried and tested method of having a solid stand that pivots off the lower frame of the bike has for around 100 years been enough. For everyone apart from Honda, it seems…
They have just filed a patent that shows a new type of telescopic stand, that is made up of concentric tubes that slide out of one another to extend the stand. Each section locks into the next with a small peg that fits into a slot, locking the stand in place and in theory supporting the bike while not in use.
To extend the stand you push it down and rotate the stand backwards, engaging the pegs in the slots. To retract it you push the base of the stand forwards, releasing the peg from the slot and spring within the tube retracts the stand and the bike is ready to ride.
With most patent drawings it’s fairly easy to spot the advantage of a new method of doing something, but with this, we’re really scratching our heads. It doesn’t seem to offer any benefit over the universally used pivoting side stand. In fact, it’s a much more complex bit of kit, increasing the risk of a component within the stand failing and causing the bike to fall.
Honda is either trying to answer a question nobody asked or they simply have too much time on their hands.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
