| Hi David, there is an art to it and it just takes a little practice. I always had centre stands on the ST2 and ST4s, but when I got the 749 it was a different matter. I got the Harris stainless universal stands which to be honest don't fit that well. Anyway, I've helped a mate with his 916 in the past so I know what the single sided ones are like even if not used one on my own. When I first started using the stands it was a case of "oh god I'm gonna drop it" . Now, I don't give it a second thought and put it on and off the stands regularly.
The first thing to note is - you should only use a front stand if it is already on a rear stand. Don't (unless an emergency, or you have help) use the front one on it's own.
You have the advantage that you have a sidestand. The way I do it is leave it on the sidestand, locate the rear stand (I generally use a rod through the rear spindle because the universal cups are not that good, so it's much like your single sided one then), then with one hand on the seat to steady it push the stand down so it forces the rear wheel up vertical. That lifts it off the sidestand, but it can't go anyway (even though it makes your heart thump a bit) because the stand is only going to take it up to the vertical and no further.
First few times I did it I was messing about going around the other side so it would fall towards me etc, but really it's not going to happen if you located the stand properly and lift it gently.
To get some confidence, get someone standing on the opposite side (just in case) and then push it up to the verical. Then before you lift it up on to the stand you can wobble it about a bit to convince yourself that it's really quite safe.  |