side stand, (kick stand)

[tmikeyb]

My XS2 came to me with 5 inch extended fork tubes on it. It had a non Yamaha kick stand on it to compensate for the extra height. I now have standard fork tubes on it and that kick stand is not going to work. It stands the bike straight up. So, I removed the original style kickstand from my 1972 parts bike. I was surprised to find that the original kick stand had a weld repair at the bottom of the leg where it makes the sharp angle to the area that contacts the pavement. I'm curious now to know: Is this a common issue? Were these early stands too weak, and prone to break or bend at this point?

 

[Jim]

Not that I've ever heard tell of.

 

[sleddog83]

I think modifying the kickstand happens with all the models for a variety of reasons. I replaced the "modified" kickstand on my 83 bike last month with a new one from Mike's. There was so much play with old one, that the previous owner had welded on a large chunk of metal to compensate for the extra tilt. The tabs on the locking plate had broken off, so the kickstand bolt was constantly loosening up, making it worse. I noticed that with the Mike's kickstand that the foot does not sit flat on the garage floor, but at least the bike is sitting at a good angle and the play is much less. I think with bikes this old, modifications are the norm.