Struggling to lift CMX1100 – I settled on the ConStands fix
My last post was about the ride to Arnside – this post takes quite a different slant and is ‘garage based’.
I have always kept paddock stands in the garage. They make chain cleaning simple. They make small jobs easier. Even the shaft‑drive bikes I owned, the BMW R nineT and the Moto Guzzi V7 Café, felt easier to handle with a stand nearby. The RnineT had a single sided swing arm whilst the Guzzi utilised rubber cups on the swing arm rather than hooks on bobbins.
Finding something that worked for the Honda CMX1100 proved far harder. Most paddock stands miss the mark. The frame sits low. The weight sits awkwardly. Only the Pitbull stand from America seemed truly safe. I saw plenty of advice about bending regular stands wider, but that never felt quite right. It looked like a workaround, not a solution.
Online research
I spent an extraordinary amount of time online looking for something suitable and it felt like I read every article on the internet about possible solutions. The Pittbull stand was a contender and the company were incredibly helpful. Import costs into the UK were around £187 ($248) with anther £82.00 ($108 in import duties). They pointed me to dealers in Sweden, Norway and Germany. Although Germany was better in terms of cost it was still a lot of money for a paddock stand.
It turned out for around the same price I could buy the ConStand from Motea.
Motea are a German based online company and specialise in motorbike parts and accessories. The ConStand wasn’t cheap but on balance seemed quite a product. I spent many hours reading and watching online reviews before making my decision.
Variable pricing
It’s worth noting that the price for many products on the Motea web site seems pretty variable. There are frequent discounts, I have just checked whilst writing this and today they have a Prime Day discount of 45%.
They also seem to shift the size of % discounts at weekends or public holidays. So I suppose it’s worth keeping your eye on that.
Picture set 1 – a disappointing start
The package arrived more or less at the time expected (it was a day late after I had received a message with a specific time delivery slot and saying it was ‘out for delivery’). When it did arrive the package looked like it had fallen apart and been taped back together … maybe that’s why it was delayed. Have a look at the picture sett below and you will see what I mean. My immediate concern was that the items would be damaged or parts may be missing and the prospect of dealing with this and an overseas firm did not appeal to me.
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Picture set 2 – missing part and assembly
As it turned out, nothing was actually damaged — just a single bolt missing.
Motea’s process for sorting missing parts is laid out well enough, but the pace was a little slow. Every message, whether through email or the web portal, seemed to trigger a 24‑hour pause before anything moved. Once things finally rolled, they offered either a full replacement or a 20% refund. I took the refund and picked up the missing bolt locally. Job done and no drama.
Assembly was straightforward and took maybe half an hour. A few photos from the assembly are in the set below.
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Picture set 3 – the shiny nuts issue
One small issue though was that the two main nuts that replace the OEM hardware on the CMX come in a bright steel finish. Against the blacked‑out engine they stand out straight away — you’ll see what I mean in the photos below.
One of them is a 34 mm lump, so it’s not exactly shy. And because these nuts are a structural part of how the ConStand mounts to the frame, you can’t just swap them for something smaller or prettier. Function wins over looks here.
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Picture set 4 – spraying
If you’re thinking about painting the hardware or blending it in, there are a couple of options. The best and most durable would probably be to have them powder coated but I just went for a simple spray job with some black engine paint.
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Finished and touch up
The painted bolts blend in well. They look almost OEM once they’re on the bike. The only minor drawback is the big bolt on the ConStand contact point — every time the stand is used it needs a quick touch‑up. Thirty seconds with a small brush and it’s sorted.
Powder coating would probably remove that tiny inconvenience, but honestly, it’s nothing more than that. A small trade‑off for a cleaner look.
Picture set 6 – the finished product
I’m really happy with the stand and it’s pretty easy to use, although it took me a couple of goes to lose my anxiety that it might fall off (it won’t). And of course cleaning the wheels and doing routine chain maintenance are now made easy. A bonus is that I can swivel my bike around in the garage ready for the next ride!
Click any image to open the picture gallery and scroll or click through the images.
