It seems to me that the sidestand takes an awful lot of wear and tear over the years. Every time I set my bike on its stand, I can see the metal flexing slightly. Metal fatigue will eventually take over and lead to failure, but how can anyone tellwhen that time has come? Should the sidestand be replaced periodically to avoid failure?

 

I have NEVER seen a factory stand break(have seen bikes made in the 70's and 80's with factory stands), unless modified. The bolt that holds the stand will take more abuse then anything. just my two cents. Anyone had one break????????

 

I just completed a Materials and Process class at my university and it was all about metals and their properties. I'm almost completely sure the kickstand is made out of some form of steel. Steel has one of the highest compression and tension strength. Depending on the carbon content of the steal the kickstand can hold up to 155,000psi. Its not going to break anytime soon.

Edit: You might want to check the bolt and socket wh.ere the kickstand connects. That would be the first place the kickstand could fail. It might be loose or something.

 

I've only heard of a few ever failing and ALL of those wh.ere riders who admitted they routinely spun their bikes on it. I think the tell-tale sign would be if the bike starts to lean further on the stand than usual.

 

my buddy had a ducati side stand break on him but again a case of side stand spinning

 

I wonder if the kickstand is made out of cast iron now that you guys are saying all these accounts of breaking from twisting. Cast Iron has higher compression strength than steel but has no flexa ability and is brittle.

 

^^I'm no engineer but 2 things to keep in mind: 1st, the bottom flat piece that most of the weight is supported on is thinner and probably doesn't have near the strength of the stand itself so the dudes spinning them routinely probably curl that piece up and/or break it, causing less stability (e.g. less foot print + rounding causing more sliding). 2nd, The cases I've read of it happening I don't remember if the thing actually broke, bent to a less than desirable angle or if the screw/socket that holds the stand is what actually broke or not .. all I remember is they all had their bikes fall over on stand and all had the admmiting spinning bikes on stand trait in common.

 

I noticed mine leaning further as well. I set it up on the race stand to find what I thought was a loose bolt that connects the kickstand to the mount. then, upon inspection, the through hole for the bolt is not round. Its oval. I think its from wear as I can't imagine the factory doing that. I will have to replace it soon.

Just something to look at.

oh yeah, I have periodically spun my bike on the kickstand. It would probably be fine other wise.