side stand set aside

[Ntotot]

I want to post a decent question
Beside of having a center stand, most of bikes have a side stand that lean to the left side. why not on the right side? is it because of:

a. design ergonomics
b. centuries old - human usual behavior to lean to the left
c. practicalities
d. ... ...

if you have any solid facts/reasons...kindly post em here... enlighten me

[Armored_Pig]

I'm not sure if this counts as a reason, but in the USA--we drive and park on the right side of the street, so the street dips a little bit on the right. A side stand on the right would be more likely to topple over here..

Not a solid fact though..

[minuslars]

Originally Posted by Armored_Pig

I'm not sure if this counts as a reason, but in the USA--we drive and park on the right side of the street, so the street dips a little bit on the right. A side stand on the right would be more likely to topple over here..

Not a solid fact though..

Actually, parking with the side stand facing downhill is more stable. The more upright a bike is, the more likely it will topple to either side. A bike leaning to one side has only one place to go, and the kickstand is stopping it from going there.

As for kickstand on the left side, it's probably just a convention. The right hand dominant inventors of motorcycles just liked it better that way, perhaps.

[backinthesaddleagain]

anything to do with what side you get on or off a horse????

[Armored_Pig]

Originally Posted by minuslars

Actually, parking with the side stand facing downhill is more stable. The more upright a bike is, the more likely it will topple to either side. A bike leaning to one side has only one place to go, and the kickstand is stopping it from going there.

As for kickstand on the left side, it's probably just a convention. The right hand dominant inventors of motorcycles just liked it better that way, perhaps.

Oops--you're right! Disregard mine

[Nevrfastenuf]

I have looked around from time to time over the years and there are a couple of popular answers that seem to always come up, the first being that it is a carry over habit from mounting a horse from the left and the second is that the majority of people are right handed so it naturally seems easier for them to mount from the left. Even bicycles have their drive system on the right and kickstand on the left (when they have one at all). My guess is that It has probably stayed that way because of standardization more than anything.

[i916it]

you're supposed to park 90 degrees to the curb aren't you?
IIRC it's either 45 or 90, forgot.

[Ntotot]

I have looked around from time to time over the years and there are a couple of popular answers that seem to always come up, the first being that it is a carry over habit from mounting a horse from the left and the second is that the majority of people are right handed so it naturally seems easier for them to mount from the left. Even bicycles have their drive system on the right and kickstand on the left (when they have one at all). My guess is that It has probably stayed that way because of standardization more than anything.

Yeah, maybe habitual and became a standard.

About 99.9% motorbike & bicycle have left side stand. the other 0.01% is either a tricycle, a bike with center stand only, a hybrid car-bike.

The same question will pose also to a kick-start bike. Why is it on the right side not on the left? Technicalities? Or maybe the right leg is far stronger than the left? I don't know, maybe you know.

But if we talk about standardization, Aprillia chain drive is on the right; not like most Japanese bike is on the left. To distinguish it self from other manufacturer? maybe. And yet they still side stand to the left.

I'm not sure if this counts as a reason, but in the USA...

Doesn't matter where you are, the bike will still lean to the left. hehehe

Let's us assume that the bike will be park on a flat surface, tarmac or cement, on a parking lot.

[ScorpionNinja]

Left side kick stand, because the Steering LOCK turns to the LEFT. Make parking and locking steering more Stable? maybe heh

[revstriker]

Well, the bike manual says to put the stand down with the left foot. I guess it would be hard to do this if the stand was on the right side of the bike.

[Ntotot]

Originally Posted by backinthesaddleagain

anything to do with what side you get on or off a horse????

I would say that this side stand design came from a habitual response. Then it became a norm in our right-handed dominant people, then it come to a standard today.

Can I concluded that fact?. How interesting is that?.

quick call encyclopedia now!

[karlosdajackal]

I heard....
Stand is always on the left because exhaust is always on the right (excluding undertails of course) because this makes it harder for you to burn yourself on that right side mounted exhaust.

I can also confirm that my stand is on the left and I drive on the left side of the road, and we park wherever we like, facing whatever way we please. If it fits in the parking spot its all good

[backinthesaddleagain]

Originally Posted by revstriker

Well, the bike manual says to put the stand down with the left foot. I guess it would be hard to do this if the stand was on the right side of the bike.

+1

[backinthesaddleagain]

Originally Posted by Ntotot

Yeah, maybe habitual and became a standard.

About 99.9% motorbike & bicycle have left side stand. the other 0.01% is either a tricycle, a bike with center stand only, a hybrid car-bike.

The same question will pose also to a kick-start bike. Why is it on the right side not on the left? Technicalities? Or maybe the right leg is far stronger than the left? I don't know, maybe you know.

But if we talk about standardization, Aprillia chain drive is on the right; not like most Japanese bike is on the left. To distinguish it self from other manufacturer? maybe. And yet they still side stand to the left.


Doesn't matter where you are, the bike will still lean to the left. hehehe

Let's us assume that the bike will be park on a flat surface, tarmac or cement, on a parking lot.

Have ridden a few dirtbikes where kickstarter was on the left, mostly Euro, but even Honda put them on the left a couple years on their 250 and open MX bikes. Actually on a tall dirtbike, with most of us being right dominant, it was actually easier to stand on the left of the bike, lean it towards me, and fire it up with the right foot (of course you have to dismount to do it). Sometimes trying to sit on the seat and kick it over on the right can be a balancing act without a stand.

[Ntotot]

Let's say/imagine a (future) bike manufacturer built a bike that reverse of what we use today.

Everything's is on the right. The throttle is on the left. Steering lock is to the right, the side stand lean to right, the exhaust is on the left, brakes is on the left, gear shift on the right. Would you have difficulties to adjust your riding techniques?..i would say yes. (for a right handed).

[backinthesaddleagain]

I know British bikes had shift on right and brake pedal on left for a long time. Think HD did also.

Good point about exhaust on right, but i remember many bikes having pipes on both sides (Honda fours for example).

[noche_caliente]

Originally Posted by backinthesaddleagain

I know British bikes had shift on right and brake pedal on left for a long time. Think HD did also.

Good point about exhaust on right, but i remember many bikes having pipes on both sides (Honda fours for example).

or the pregen....

but I agree, I think it likely has to do with mounting the horse from the left....

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...-the-left-side

Why are horses traditionally mounted from the left side?
September 30, 2003

Dear Straight Dope:

Traditionally, people mount a horse from the left side (although today, we train them to accept someone getting on them from both sides). I was always told that this was because knights used to wear their swords on their right leg, which they then had to keep straight when mounting. Thus, they bent their left leg into the stirrup and were able to swing their right leg over straight. However, recently I have noticed that whenever I see knights depicted in paintings or movies, the sword is typically on the left side. Can you help me figure this one out? What is the straight dope on why people traditionally mount horses on the left side?

— Heather Hipp, Atlanta, GA

We'd better begin by acknowledging the obvious, Heather. The fact is that most people don't mount a horse from the left side. Most people call a cab. Those having some acquaintance with horsemanship, however, know that the left side is the horse's "near" side while the right side is the "off" side. This is often explained in terms of swords, but we're then obliged to acknowledge obvious fact #2: While a fair number of people still ride horses, you're living in one tough neighborhood if you need to do so while wearing a sword.

About those swords. I'm afraid you've gotten the explanation a little scrambled. As you've observed, swords are traditionally worn on the left, since that makes it easier for a right-handed swordsman to pull the sword from its scabbard. If you're wearing a sword on the left, you'll want to mount your horse on its left, since otherwise the sword will get in the way. The practice goes way back before the medieval heyday of knights. In fact, it most likely originated when sword-toting warriors first began riding horses into battle.

The ancient Greek general Xenophon (c.430-c.355 B.C.), in his treatise The Art of Horsemanship, gives a step-by-step description--literally--of mounting a horse. Since the stirrup hadn't been invented yet (and wouldn't be until around 400 A.D.), this involved grasping the horse's mane in two places--up by the ears with the left hand and at the base of the neck with the right. The rider would then jump up while swinging his right leg over the horse's back (horses tended to be shorter in ancient times). Alternatively, if he was carrying a spear, the rider could use it to vault onto his charger. Xenophon advocates learning to mount from the right or "off" side in case the exigencies of war required it. It's plain from his detailed description that the left or "near" side of the horse was the correct side for mounting in Xenophon's time, when horses were primarily used for war.

Even when the stirrup came into use, the sheathed sword would still be in the way in mounting from the right, and would be likely to jab the horse in the side or rump just as the rider was swinging his leg over its back. The startled horse would then be strongly inclined to bolt, leaving the rider (briefly) in midair.

So why do we still mount from the left? After all, except for the occasional ceremony, the cavalry has ridden off into the sunset. To answer the question, we need to delve into equine physiology and psychology.

Let's start with a fundamental fact, essential to understanding equines: The horse isn't a predator--it's prey. Even after millennia of domestication, the horse is physically and mentally hardwired to detect and elude attackers. Its eyes are set on the sides of its head, giving it almost 360 degrees of vision. It sees two monocular fields at once, one through each eye. The binocular vision we human predators take for granted, the horse has in only a small area directly ahead of it. So what it "knows" on one side, it doesn't "know" on the other, until it's been shown. The horse's instincts dispose it to be suspicious of anything new in its environment. The thing behind that rock that wasn't there yesterday could be a lion!

What does this have to do with mounting from the left? It means that a horse who's been taught to accept being mounted only from one side may be perfectly docile when the rider clambers aboard on that side, yet spook and refuse to stand still if approached from the unfamiliar direction. That's why authorities on horse training (including our old friend Xenophon) recommend teaching horses to be mounted from the off side, so that they'll stand still for it if circumstances demand that the rider get on from that side

But why prefer the left side when swords are no longer a problem? Partly it's the inertia of tradition--horses and humans are both creatures of habit. But it's also common sense to have a standard approach. If you didn't know which side a particular horse had learned to be mounted from, you could get a nasty surprise if you tried to get on from the "wrong" side.

References:

The Art of Horsemanship, Xenophon (translated by Morris H. Morgan, Ph.D.), first published 1894, repub. 1993 by J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd., London.

The Horseman's Encyclopedia, Margaret Cabell Self, 1963, A. S. Barnes & Co. Inc., New York.

The Body Language of Horses, Thomas Ainslie and Bonnie Ledbetter, 1980, Wm. Morrow & Co. Inc., New York.

Encyclopedia of the Horse, ed. by Elwyn Hartley Edwards, 1987, Crescent Books, New York.

Horse Facts, Susan McBane and Helen Douglas-Cooper, 1990, Dorset Press, New York.

— EddyTeddyFreddy

[Ntotot]

Good article! This habitual have led to a standardization of motorcycle ergonomics.


I hope my bike doesn't wheelie itself if i'm mounting from the other side...haha..

[Sailariel]

I remember that my Ariel had the shift lever on the right and that the pattern was up for first and down for second, third, and fourth. When I changed to a European bike, I immediately became a total novice. Thank God we are now standardized.

[backinthesaddleagain]

i thought something to do with a horse's heart location - though i truly have no idea. should ask my in laws as they had horses.