I am having trouble putting my bike on its centerstand

Put bike on sidestand
Stand to left of bike
Put left hand on left hand grip
Put right hand on handhold. Handhold is either the metal bar by the passenger peg/helmet lock (my choice), or the grab bar (Bend at the knees, not with your back!)
Push down on centrestand footpad until one of its "feet" touch down
Push the bike away from yourself until the the other centrestand "foot" touches down
Push down on the centrestand footpad with all your weight, and pull back and up (mostly back) with your right hand; it may help lean your right knee into the side of the bike
The bike should pop right up

Demonstration Video

Centerstand spring hint: Should your centerstand spring need replacing, here's how to get it back in place, without trying to use a pair of pliers, having said pliers slip off, and having the spring sail through the wall of the garage, or your foot.

It involves using pennies (and you thought they weren't good for anything...) Basically, you bend the spring sideways to open the coils, then stick pennies between them to keep them open. Sometimes you have to bend the spring back and forth, adding more than 1 penny to each slot. It takes some time, and can be a little fiddly, but it's pretty easy to do. Then, when you use the centerstand the first time, it'll stretch the spring longer than you have before, and all the pennies will fall out.