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Rollastand Motorcycle Stand
wBW
Reviews Home
This is one of those
"must have" products for any bike without a
center stand. It's also something that you probably didn't know
that you needed, yet instantly becomes an indispensable part of your
motorcycling kit.
On top of all that, it's also one of those "why didn't
I think of that?" ideas, because the concept is simple, unique
and cool all at once.
The Triumph Thunderbird Sport is the
first bike I've owned in a long time that doesn't have a
center stand. I had forgotten what a pain it is to perform even
the most basic maintenance tasks, like checking tire pressure, without
one.
It's a good idea to check tire pressures before every ride,
but prior to the Rollastand, this usually meant rolling the bike back and forth
around the garage to get the valve stem lined up in just the right
spot to connect the tire pressure gauge and/or the air pump
head.
It's amazing how far you sometimes have to roll a bike to get the
valve where you want it, due to the length of the circumference
of the tire. I sometimes actually run out of room in my garage,
and end up having to jockey the bike back and forth and around to
arrange the valve at a point where I can get to it.
The Rollastand makes the job so much
quicker and easier. To use it, you place it on the ground in
front of the tire you want to rotate, either the front or rear.
Then roll the bike up and over one of the rollers so that the
tire is located between the two, and place the bike on its
side stand.
The bike does lean a bit more than normal when its
on the Rollastand, because
one of the tires will now be higher off the ground, so you may want to
lay a piece of 2x4 (wide side down) under the side stand to make up for
the difference.
Once the wheel is up on the Rollastand, it's a
simple matter of turning the wheel by hand to check tire pressure,
clean the rim or lube the chain. It works just as easily on
either the front or rear tire (see photos below).
The
powder-coated Rollastand has a nice heft to it and feels like a very substantial piece of equipment. The
friction-coated rollers and the frame feel strong and heavy enough to hold just about
any bike. The sealed bearings that are used in the rollers feel very smooth with no play
or unwanted movement.
The bottom of the Rollastand's base has
rubber pads which prevent it from sliding around as you push your bike
over the rollers. These help to give it a very secure feeling
while in
use. I haven't noticed any play or slippage as the bike's tires
roll up and over the device.
It's interesting to note that the
Rollastand can be broken down into its component pieces for storage;
some riders have taken it with them in a tank bag just in case.
Hardline Products recommends using the
Rollastand only on flat, level surfaces, so most any garage floor will
work fine. There are also several safety notes on the packaging,
warning against using the Rollastand with a running motorcycle.
The product is only designed to be used for maintenance on a
non-running motorcycle, which makes a lot of sense.

You
may have seen some of the advertisements for the Rollastand recently
in one of the various print magazines. It's a bit hard to tell the scale
of the device from looking at the photos. For some reason, I had
imagined it as a pretty big piece of equipment.
But I was surprised to see that it's a
nice and compact unit, making it easy to stow in a toolbox drawer or
hang on a hook in the garage. This photo illustrates the size of
the Rollastand in relation to a pocket-sized box of Altoids mints.
The Rollastand isn't a complete
replacement for something like a swingarm stand, which is useful for
more complex maintenance tasks. But this product is so useful
and makes life so much easier for anyone with a sportbike or other
motorcycle without a center stand, it really is a "must have"
for every garage. By the way, Hardline Products warranties the
Rollastand for 1 year.
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Here's
a photo of the Rollastand
under the front tire. |
This
photo shows the Rollastand under the rear tire of the Thunderbird
Sport. |
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page.
| Product
Review: Rollastand
Motorcycle Stand |
| Available
From: Hardline
Products |
Suggested
Retail Price: $49.95
Made
in: Viet Nam
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| Product
Comments: Very
handy device for bikes without center stands. Allows you to
rotate wheels for cleaning, checking tire pressures and chain
maintenance. Two models available; one for sportbikes and
one for cruisers. See Below for comments from
owners |
| More:
wBW Motorcycle
Tires Page | Maintenance
and Repair Articles |
Owner Comments
From wBW
Visitor "J.B.": "I
purchased the Rollastand and here is my short
review. I have a 2002 Triumph Bonneville
America. The Rollastand does appear to be well
crafted. It is easy to pop the bike wheel up
on it, but I found it very difficult to turn the
wheel by hand. I don't know if it's because of
the size of my rear tire (170) or because the fender
extends so far down the back, but I really can't get
a good grip on it. I don't suppose this would
be as big an issue on a sport bike, but it's
something for cruiser owners to think about. I
also noticed that by turning the wheel backwards,
the bike slowly started to slide sideways to the
right. I remounted the bike on the stand, used a 2x4
under the kickstand and turn the wheel forward and
the bike no longer moved side-to-side.
This doesn't
necessarily reflect on the Rollastand, but I went to
JC Whitney to save a few bucks, but it took FOREVER
and a day to get the thing." Thanks for the
feedback, J.B.; just to note that there is a
different model Rollastand for cruisers - it's different
than the one in this review and I'm not sure if it would
make a difference. The Thunderbird Sport shown here
has plenty of clearance under the rear fender, so there
wasn't a problem in grabbing the tire to rotate it.
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