With the holidays coming, you might be trying to think of gifts for that motorcycle rider in your life. If you know bikes, it might be easy for you to pick out the right stand for your rider friend or family member. That said, if you have no idea what bike they have it is going to be very difficult for you to pick out the right stand for them. One thing you can do is take a picture of their bike and show it to the salesperson who you intend to buy a stand from. If you’re shopping somewhere where the salesperson can’t identify what stand you need based on that photo, consider shopping elsewhere OR ask another rider friend to identify your friends bike.
Of course even when you buy a stand that seems like it would be the perfect stand for your rider, there’s things that might come into play like aftermarket accessories that change the type of stand that your friends bike will need. Sometimes these things are visible in that all-important picture that you took of your friends bike….Sometimes they are not. Aftermarket lower triple clamps may not be obvious in a photo, but they’d change which pin you would need with a front stand. An aftermarket swingarm may lead to questions like: how wide is it? does it have flat spots on both sides(take pics of both sides)? All in all, if you’re a non-rider and not familiar with the motorcycle components it is helpful to get a mutual friend involved to help you pick the right stand IF your rider has a lot of aftermarket components on their bike. Alternatively, you can purchase a gift card from most retailers and let your rider pick out their own stand after the fact(and save on shipping/return shipping costs that may come into play if you purchase the wrong stand).
Ultimately, remember that a motorcycle stand can be a long-lasting gift if you pick a good one. Go ahead and skip any stand that is 50% off, as nothing is ever worth double what they sell it for “on sale”. If they can sell it for 50% off, it’s worth less than that. Heck, if it costs less than $100, understand that someone was able to build it for a lot less than that. If you’re not sure which brands are junk and which brands are not, ask any rider to help you out with that. Most will have a couple good suggestions for you. Happy Holidays!