PianoMan:
You are in my thought process. Rusty has a nice, "fit in the lug hole" lift that he won't expunge as to where he got it. I believe that the lugs are probably there for assembly line work at the factory but it's interesting that they are the same inside diameter as the lugs which mount the center stand on a T100. The lug holes are also the balance point for the bike give or take a smidgen of weight at either end. Theoretically, you should be able to lift the bike with both wheels off the ground, using the lugs which leads me to believe that at some point Triumph will offer a center stand, but I expect the tariff will be high. The center stand for the T100 is around $150.00 US. The R3 outweighs it by at least 250 pounds so the stand will have to be heavier and of course (more costly). Then there is the problem of clearance and leverage and lever spacing but, I'm sure the engineers at Hinkley or in Taiwan have that all worked out.
The drawback to a "lug hole stand" if you will, is the matter of how you put it on and take it off. I'd like nothing better than to take my really nice Baleigh tube bender and bend up a center stand for the R3 using the center stand for the T100 as a model (remember the lug holes are the same size and the same width spacing (how coincidental)). There is a liability problem with that, especially here in this country. I could do it quite easily and I could loose my farm easily too. Getting back to attachment and removal. The stand that Rusty has requires it to be "bolted" to the lug holes and then the lift has to be "levered" under the bike, lifting the bike off the ground. Looking at the stand, it looks to me that the surface has to be smooth concrete and level in relationship to the bike for the lift to function properly which isn't a problem in as much as you'd not want to lift the bike on an not level surface and have 700+ pounds of bike fall over, maybe on top of you.
Then, there is the question of how much lift is enough? I presume that enough is both wheels off the ground and drain plugs readily accessible and the lift must allow for the placement of a drain pan and not allow oil to drip on the garage floor.
The straddle lifts will lift the wheels off the floor and if you don't watch where you put the rails, crumple the cat box. The straddle lifts will not allow you to drain the oil without a mess or plenty of oil dry.
The ideal scenario would be a portable, high leverage fulcrum type lift that locates on the lug holes automatically and isn't in the way. A lift if you will, that could be left under the bike to store it with the wheels off the ground. Stability and convenience as well as low cost would be a plus.
So, these are the parameters:
1. Reasonable price, price is the main consideration....I'm cheap
2. Easliy attached and removed
3. Large amount of leverage to lift bike by old farts like us with little effort.
4. Easily stored either on the garage wall or under the bike and takes little space either way
5. Access to drain plugs and underpinnings
6. Able to be used properly and with little liability by even a monkey.
Nice wintertime project for me.
Like I said, you are in my thoughts.