How to park on a hill?

[vifferman]

There's not really a simple answer to the question, as it all depends on the steepness of the hill, which way you're going, how far over your bike leans on the sidestand, etc etc.
F'rinstance, my bike leans over further than it used to on the sidestand, as I've got a taller shock than the OEM Showa one, so I need to bear that in mind. Sometimes it makes it easier to park, sometimes not.
I try to park so that the bike's back tyre is against the curb and the bike is leaning enough on the sidestand that it won't fall either way. If that's not right, then I reposition it. On occasion, I've parked it with the front pointing downhill, by turning it off while in gear, then letting it roll forward with the clutch out until all the slack in the drivetrain is gone. There's no way it's going to roll forward against compression.
Sometimes I stick it on the centrestand. Sometimes I try to park it, give up, and look for another park. No point in deciding on a park and persisting with it if it's actually eminently unsuitable.

[Rhubarb]

Side stand or centre stand ??? (on the flat).
For quite a few years I sold bearings for a living. We were constantly selling steering head bearings for larger road bikes. The bearing manufacturers told us this was because the taper roller bearings in the steering head only rotate about a third of a turn so the full weight of the bike is not evenly distributed around the bearing. Therefore, the bearing wear is excessive on only one third of the bearing race and one third of the rollers.
Also, when parking on the side stand the full weight of the bike is loaded on one point of the bearing all the time which can cause bruising of the bearing race and rollers.
True or not. I always use the centre stand whenever possible.

I also agree with the 'back wheel in the gutter - point the bike up hill on the side stand' theory for parking on hills. The up hill angle of the bike depends on the steepness of the hill. Whatever puts the required weight on the side stand to make it stable.

I don't like the idea of using the centre stand on a hill. A centre stand raises the bikes centre of gravity. A lower centre of gravity ensures better stability.

[vifferman]

I don't like the idea of using the centre stand on a hill. A centre stand raises the bikes centre of gravity. A lower centre of gravity ensures better stability.

Yeah, there is that. Also the triangle between the wheels' contact patches and the sidestand is bigger than the distance between the legs of the centrestand. (Whatever wheel's on the ground doesn't usually have much weight on it). On a ferry it's better to have the bike on its sidestand than centrestand for this reason.
I think about this sometimes when parking near/between cars, as I reckon if the bike's nudged while on its centrestand, it's gonna fall a LOT harder than if it falls off the sidestand.

[madbikeboy]

A funny sight I saw once involved a very experienced rider with a very heavy bike. He was going down a gravel driveway, came to the gate at the bottom, and realised the gate was locked. He was stuck. He couldn't push his bike backwards up the hill to get away from the gate (too heavy, too steep, loose gravel). He couldn't turn as the driveway was very narrow and he hadn't left himself any room for manoeuvring. Couldn't even put his stand down with confidence (loose surface, pointing downhill).

He ended up sitting there straddling his bike until help arrived.

So yeah, even non-newbies need reminding sometimes - always leave yourself an escape route!

Stick the bike in gear, turn it off, roll it forward until the drivetrain / piston is stopped, then stick the stand down and walk away before someone sees you. Or, put your left foot down, put your right on the rear brake, and then your hands are free to call someone on your cell for help (or use the Team America secret signal).

If that's too complicated, you could always drive a car instead, they're so easy that even dumb people can do it.

[madbikeboy]

There's not really a simple answer to the question, as it all depends on the steepness of the hill, which way you're going, how far over your bike leans on the sidestand, etc etc.
F'rinstance, my bike leans over further than it used to on the sidestand, as I've got a taller shock than the OEM Showa one, so I need to bear that in mind. Sometimes it makes it easier to park, sometimes not.
I try to park so that the bike's back tyre is against the curb and the bike is leaning enough on the sidestand that it won't fall either way. If that's not right, then I reposition it. On occasion, I've parked it with the front pointing downhill, by turning it off while in gear, then letting it roll forward with the clutch out until all the slack in the drivetrain is gone. There's no way it's going to roll forward against compression.
Sometimes I stick it on the centrestand. Sometimes I try to park it, give up, and look for another park. No point in deciding on a park and persisting with it if it's actually eminently unsuitable.

Like what Viff said, except I haven't used a centrestand in, well, forever. My CBX has one, but I only use it when I need to oil the chain.