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So is it :

I put the bike on the side stand.

I put the bike off the side stand.

Do these sentences sound natural?

And my mom asked me:

Did I take the side stand off?

Do these sentences sound natural? If not then what sounds natural?

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    Actually, what your mom asked was probably Did you take the side stand off? But presumably she's not a native speaker anyway - if I were your mom I'd more likely ask Is it on the side stand? (or "your bike" rather than "it" if that wasn't contextually obvious).
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented May 11, 2019 at 13:24
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    Put [on] and take [off] are used for opposing actions. Put on a hat; take it off again. Put a bike on its stand; take a bike off its stand.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented May 11, 2019 at 13:35

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In the US, that component of a two-wheeled vehicle is called the kickstand (I suppose because you kick it into position). There are various mechanisms for this purpose, but all are generally called the same thing. You can take off or remove a kickstand, but that means physically separating it from the vehicle.

If you are parking the vehicle, then I suppose you can say something like:

Lean/Rest the bike on its kickstand.

or

Put down the kickstand and lean/rest the bike on that.

But both of these are really too much explanation. Normally you would just say:

Park your bike.

Yes, there are various ways to do this, but most of the time it doesn't matter. Most people know how to park their own bikes, or only care that it is parked and not how you parked it.

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  • And what about asking a person whether you had pulled it up? That is "opposite of put down".
    – It's about English
    Commented May 11, 2019 at 14:05
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    @It'saboutEnglish you would retract or perhaps raise the side stand (the BrE term for kick stand).
    – Weather Vane
    Commented May 11, 2019 at 14:17
  • And what about "put up"? "Did you put up the kickstand?"
    – It's about English
    Commented May 11, 2019 at 16:54
  • @It'saboutEnglish Sure, "raise", "lift", "put up", "kick up", "take [the bike] off", or perhaps whatever else makes sense. It's not something people mention, though, because it's such a trivial maneuver.
    – Andrew
    Commented May 11, 2019 at 16:54

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