I have to be pouring gas wrong...

Rufus said:
I think we all have to give it some forethought TBH. The R18 is a very low bike with big lean when on its stand. I prefer the pump on the LHS because the bike is presented more easily and I don’t have to fight with a pump hose and lean over the bike. I’m right handed too. No doubt it goes on but in my area (of England) it’s frowned upon to sit on your bike and fuel up. They don’t like it and sometimes even wearing a helmet too. It’s because of riders stealing petrol and just riding off.

No doubt bikes with centre stands make filling up a much easier affair but it is what it is 🤷‍♂️
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I’m right handed, but agnostic as to which side I fill up on, I use whichever pump is free. It is marginally easier if the pump is on my right as the bike can be closer when it leans away from the pump while I get my credit card out. I do straddle the bike while filling so it is vertical to get a consistent fill while still wearing my helmet. I put the cap on top of the gas pump and retrieve it when I replace the hose. Here in the US, we mostly pay for gas at the pump via credit card that you put in before it turns the pump on, so stealing fuel isn’t a practical issue.

The only one of my bikes I don’t straddle while pumping gas is my Vespa & that’s because the filler is under the seat. It goes on the center stand & then I lift the seat to expose filler. I have center stands on 3 of my 5 bikes, but other than the Vespa never use them when filling gas. But I do use them often when parking, especially in my own garage. The R18 is on a front wheel chock so it can sit vertical in the garage.

In practical terms though, I have to imagine a center stand would be hard to use on the R18. My GSA at 560lbs is the hardest to put on the center stand, followed by the R75/5 at 450lbs and the Vespa at 350lbs. My R18 Classic is 805lbs, so it’d seem near impossible to lever it onto the center stand compared to my other bikes. Certainly not something I’d care to do at a fuel stop where oil and gas could create a slippery surface to try to leverage the bike onto the stand.
 
I use the X-518 Kern-Stabi center stand for storing my R18 B during the off season in my garage, and when doing a detailed cleaning; it lifts the bike via a lever, which takes a bit of strength to roll through the fulcrum.

My older K75S had a lifting handle to help assist with the center stand.

I agree, my GS Adventure was always an effort to get it on the center stand, but worth it; I once witnessed a lady who backed her car into my GS Adventure and pushed it back almost a foot or so, without it falling over.

In short.. I don't have any issues with filling up my bike with fuel; some pumps require manually pulling back the collar in order to activate the pump, especially when cheating the nozzle depth within the tank.
 
nielsm said:
In practical terms though, I have to imagine a center stand would be hard to use on the R18. My GSA at 560lbs is the hardest to put on the center stand, followed by the R75/5 at 450lbs and the Vespa at 350lbs. My R18 Classic is 805lbs, so it’d seem near impossible to lever it onto the center stand compared to my other bikes.
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I can see your point, but besides weight there are factors like ground clearance, leverage, design of the center stand and lifting technique. My R1200RT was a tad heavier than your GSA but I put it on the center stand without much effort - perhaps they were different designs. I imagine I would use a center stand on the R18 if there was one, albeit heavier to use (unless electrically aided as the one in the link above).

On the RT I always used the center stand whilst filling up. In fact I rarely used the side stand because parking upright was both slimmer and more practical e.g. better access to the panniers.

Like you I had a Vespa, loved it! It was a '04 Vespa Granturismo 200 - the first model of the present design/look. The side stand was so unstable that I dismantled it - so I wouldn't be tempted to use it...
 
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insomnia said:
Like you I had a Vespa, loved it! It was a '04 Vespa Granturismo 200 - the first model of the present design/look. The side stand was so unstable that I dismantled it - so I wouldn't be tempted to use it...
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Even the modern retro Vespa is actually retro by now ;). The side stand on my Vespa is only for holding the bike for me to get off to put it on the center stand if I don’t feel like holding the bike vertical while I dismount.

On the GSA, Vespa and the /5 there are grab rails for your right hand to help you lever the bike to vertical and then onto the center stand. That’s missing on the R18, so combined with the weight, that’s why I’d imagine it‘d be tough to fit a center stand.
 
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