CENTER STAND

The side-stand is the one intended to be used for parking. It is considerably more stable laterally than a center stand. It takes much more effort to high side a bike (push over to the right) from the left side, side-stand than it is to tip it sideways off of the relatively narrow footing of a center-stand. And it is completely stable to the left against the stand’s wide leg, so long as the bike doesn’t roll forward. This is why when you take a ferry over rough water they always have you put the bike on the side stand – NEVER on the center-stand. They also sometimes take precautions to keep the bike from rolling forward (chocks) and high siding (strap bike against the side-stand to the left). With the bike in gear, a side-stand is also more stable in the forward direction of the wheels.
CENTER STAND