Three ways to improve the Hunter Cub side stand!

I've had my Hunter Cub for six months. It is a great bike that I enjoy riding in various situations, from long distances to forest roads, but the side stand bothers me a little. The stand on the JA55 in particular has a very small ground contact surface area and tends to sink in when used on unpaved terrain, making the bike fall over. I was able to remedy that by replacing it with a JA65 side stand, but the next thing that bothered me was the tilt. The angle of incline is too sharp so the bike feels like it's tilting too much. It's not a problem if nothing is loaded on the bike, but if I put a box on the rack or attach a seat bag, it leans too far and it feels like the bike might tip over any second. So, here, I'd like to introduce some helpful items for the side stand of the Hunter Cub.

Increase the ground contact surface area

First things first, we need a countermeasure to prevent the stand from sinking into the ground due to the small ground contact surface area. From personal experience, the day my Hunter Cub was delivered I went riding in the forest and it fell over when the stand got stuck in the ground.

There are two ways to solve this problem. One is to add a part to the side stand to increase the ground contact area, and the other is to replace it with a JA65 side stand that has already been designed to solve this problem. If you use the method of adding a part to increase the surface area, it should also help with the tilt.

Attach an extender

Parts that are attached to increase the ground contact surface area of a side stand tend to have different names depending on the manufacturer. Searching around, I found that "side stand plate" and "side stand board" are relatively common names. In the case of ZETA, it is called a "Side Stand Extender," and it is very effective for the JA55 side stand which has a small ground contact area.

Though the JA65 side stand has a larger ground contact area, this product is also available for the JA65, so if you're looking for more stability, why not try it out.

Use the JA65 stock side stand for the JA55

This is the method I chose. The JA65 stock side stand has a larger ground contact surface area than the one for the JA55.

So, the strategy is to buy a stock side stand for the JA65 and install it on your JA55 to expand the surface area. Unlike the installation of a side stand extender, the total length of the side stand does not change, which I feel is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Improve the tilt of the side stand

By increasing the ground contact area, you can solve the problem of the stand sinking into unpaved ground, but then you still have the issue of the tilt angle. I feel that the side stand on the Hunter Cub makes the bike lean too much. Especially when a box is mounted, this leaning is a cause for concern. It takes up a lot of space when parking, and it feels like it might tip over at any moment. That's where this Reinforced Side Stand Bracket from ENDURANCE comes in. It offsets the mounting position outward and to the rear. The lineup includes one for JA55 and one for JA65, so please be careful when purchasing.

To be honest, it was hard to justify spending about 10,000 JPY just to shift the position of the side stand, but I couldn't find any other way to do it, so I decided to go for it. In the end, it was a great decision. All my concerns have been resolved at once, so much so that 10,000 JPY doesn't seem expensive at all. The person who developed this really knows what they are doing. Since I've got one, I'll give some details about the installation process and how well it works.

Installing the side stand bracket

Installing the side stand bracket is a bit of a pain. It is quite difficult to remove and re-install the side stand itself, and the pivot plate and L rear cover (drive sprocket cover) must be removed in order to disconnect the side stand switch wire from the clip.

Let's remove the stock side stand first. You will need one 8mm tool and two 14mm tools. The 8mm tool is used to remove the side stand switch. You can use a socket or a wrench.

Next, the side stand itself. First, while holding down the bolt, remove the nut on the back. The bolt itself is also held in place by a screw, so it won't come off by just removing the nut. It is hard to get your hand in, the head of the bolt is low, and the tightening torque is very high, so it's a bit of work.

Once you remove the bolt you'll be able to remove the side stand. You can remove the spring without any particular tools. However, though I removed the spring at this stage, I think it might be better to use a spring hook to remove it before removing the 14mm nut & bolt.

Next is the pivot plate. It's not that hard to get the tools in here. You'll need both a 12mm and 14mm tool.

The upper side comes in contact with the shift pedal, so it might be easier to remove the shift pedal as well.

The drive sprocket cover can be easily removed using only a 12mm tool, but it is a bit deep, so a deep socket is good.

After removing the cover, disconnect the switch wire from the clip. If the wire is not removed here it will not be able to reach the side stand due to the offset distance. The wire is held by a black clip, so you can simply remove it. After removing it, fasten it to the hook on the step. This will give you more distance for the wiring.

Once you are able to extend the wiring, you can put the pivot plate and drive sprocket cover back on. Next, we need to remove the bolts from the step bar COMP, which is the base where the left and right steps are attached. It is held in place by four bolts, but only the rear two need to be removed. The tool is 12mm, and it is very important to visually check the bolts to be removed, even if it is troublesome, because it will be a big problem if you remove the wrong bolts.

Note that the removed stock bolts will not be used, but the washers will be.

Use the stock washers with the bolts that come with the bracket as in the photo below. I keep the bolts in a small zippered plastic bag with the part name written on it, because I don't want to lose them. It is convenient to make a "stock parts container" so that you don't lose the stock bolts that you removed.

Now we're ready to install the bracket. Insert the bar attached to the base of the stock side stand into the hole on the bracket, and lightly fasten the provided bolt and nut. Not too tight.

Next, put the supplied collars between the bracket and the step bar COMP and temporarily fasten it with the supplied bolts + stock washers that you just put together.

The bracket has some room to move, so push it up as much as possible and tighten the bolts. The tightening torque is 40N/m. The nut side is 17mm wide and the bolt side is 16mm.

While adjusting the position of the bracket, tighten the lower side as well. The stock bolts are 12mm wide, but the bolts that come with the bracket are 13mm. The specified torque is 27N/m.

Now that the bracket is mounted, we can attach the side stand to the bracket. Grease the bracket since it is a moving part. Fasten the step with nuts and bolts. The bolts themselves are threaded, so be careful to set the specified torque separately for the nuts and bolts. Oh, and don't forget to put the spring back on. A spring hook is a must.

Finally, the side stand switch is tightened to complete the process. The tightening torque is 10N/m.

The finished product looks like this. It is offset outward and backward, but it's so natural that it's hard to tell the difference once it's installed.

Let's compare the amount of tilt with the stock state. The red silhouette is the stock position. When you compare it like this, it looks like a small change, but this little change makes a huge difference in stability.

I was a little worried before installing it, wondering if it would interfere with any other parts since I was still using the JA65 side stand on this JA55, but there were no issues.

Add an extra stand

The last option is to stabilize the side stand by attaching an extra stand to the swingarm. In other words, a double side stand. With two side stands it is super stable. An extra stand is easy to install, and you only have to use it when necessary, making it a quite versatile option. This one from KITACO looks rigid enough to stand on its own.

There is also this substand from DRC. It is lightweight and smartly shaped in order to be used together with the stock side stand. Compared to the KITACO stand, it is slimmer, but it is sturdy enough to support loading your camping luggage.

Also, H2C has a substand that extends perpendicular to the ground. I have not seen this one in person, but it is a unique shape so it's sure to stand out quite a bit.

In conclusion

If I'm speaking honestly, I have a lot of concerns about the Hunter Cub side stand, but as expected of such a popular model, there are many parts out there to counteract these concerns. I hope this article will help you to choose the best improvement method for you. I highly recommend the ENDURANCE bracket. It's a bit expensive, but it works great.