Centre stand

My CB's one of the high-milers - 145,000 so far.

The other day I realised my centre stand was slightly rubbing the rear tyre (!) because one of the holes in its mounting lugs on the frame had worn downwards so far that it meant the stand sat crookedly. Obviously this was a very gradual process but it's lucky I noticed when I did.

I have two options, as I see it. 1. Get the lug built back up by a welder and obtain a new centre stand, pin and springs (the old one was f***ed and had to be butchered). 2. Don't bother with a centre stand and get a paddock stand for maintenance.

I like my bike to be complete, and for chain lubing on the road a centre stand is good, but I'm increasingly thinking option two might be better. Apart from anything else it'd be cheaper.

Thoughts? Anything I've forgotten about that I'll really miss having the centre stand for?

Ad-hoc oil level checking. Roadside puncture repair. Parking on a dodgy surface.

Hmmm, can live without the last two but oil level checks - I've often wondered, if you check the level with the bike level but not on the centre stand (I do this sometimes if I can't find level ground, and am anyway so pedantic I use a spirit level on my phone to check the bike's level) is that accurate, or does the slight tip forward caused by being on the stand affect the reading?

Mine's sha**ed too. Not worth the time/effort/money for me to fix. I sit on the bike when filling up with petrol so I get the most fuel in.
When I check the oil, I sit on it for 5mins then check it while on the bike. Bit of a pain but I only check the oil every 2k it uses so little, even though its done 103K.
You're meant to check the chain with the bike on the centre stand but I haven't had any alignment probs. I've got a Scottoiler and the chain hardly ever needs adjusting.

I think you'll be fine with your oil-checking procedure. I'd like to take mine off to paint, but getting the bloody spring back on is a right ball-ache.

My bike is about to pass 100k. Perhaps we could start our own '100 Club' and we can document all the work we've had to do. So far mine's had a complete exhaust, front disc, caliper and master cylinder, radiator and fan, shocks, camchain tensioner and all its fasteners replaced with stainless. It looks shite, but runs sweet and uses no oil.

Thanks for the replies! I'm a bit sad to read of these >100k bikes that don't use oil...I have to top mine up by about 100-200ml every 500 miles. Still runs fine with no smoke, and tracking down where that oil's going is a sort of ongoing puzzle I have, even though I've got used to topping it up and don't begrudge it.

So I think I'll pick up a paddock stand today and leave the centre stand off. I can always change my mind at a later date. I need to put a new chain & sprockets on and replace the fork seals ASAP which obviously both need either a centre stand or paddock stand...

Like the idea of a plus-100k club. Maybe there should be a 'high mileage banter' section of the forum?

I've got a similar problem with the side stand; it's quite sloppy now and when I removed it the hole in the frame has elongated. More worrying the lug the spring hooks onto has worn about half way through!! It can be cured with a bit of welding (and a new side stand bolt; this has worn as well).
Mine is at 86K now, very proud to say I've had the bike since new!

That's very impressive, teamster. I've never owned a bike that long. I'm certain I'll always have a CB500, though. Wish I'd bought one years ago.

I couldn't justify replacing it (or afford to for that matter). It does everything I need and it's easy to fix and maintain.