kickstand

[steampunk]

Hi Again,

Cleaning the bottom of my bike I noticed the kickstand bracket, welded to the frame, has a slight bulge in the casting where the stop on the kickstand is pulled against the thinner part of the bracket by the spring.  When the bike is settled onto the kickstand the top notch of the stand engages the thicker part of the welded mounting bracket which shows no distortion. 

Is this a common issue? Perhaps most people, not laying on their back on the floor looking up at the bike on a jack, would notice one way or other.  But getting to know a new toy . . .

I'm not trying to nitpick the X's.  I'm not in love yet but I am still infatuated.  HD has had decades to develop their bikes and work out the bugs.  I'm just learning the playing field.

[wytfut]

don't know what to tell you steam....
I went out into the shop. Blu is on the stand (4' up).... and took a good look.
I see no bulge on any casting that deals with the kickstand mounting bracket. Everything I saw was OEM by design... sleeve, cresent flange for spring, and the heavy cast "n" for the stop on the stand itself.

I can tell you that our kick stands are weak... and a lot of folks have beefed them up, via superXparts.com, or their own vendor. via gusset or what ever device.

[steampunk]

I'll attach a photo.  The bend is just above the kickstand return spring.

If it is a malleable metal, no  biggee.  But if cast, the kickstand swing stop, but not the rest, could pop anytime.

I don't really want to bang on it to find out . . .

[wytfut]

I don't even know how to ding that like that.
Mine doesnt look like that...
I'm hoping you are holding stand down for picture..

It's sustained a bit of sorts....  From what it appears

[steampunk]

No, I'm not holding the stand down, the top protrusion on the kickstand only rises into the notch in the thick part of the bracket when the bike is leaned onto the stand.  In the picture the bike is up on the jackstand so no pressure to push it up into the notch. 

Again, the question for me is malleable or cast?  Malleable iron will bend like that without sudden failure.  Cast will crack through and fall apart.

[wytfut]

To me the knurling appears to be steel.... And not cast. Maybe someone with metallurgy knowledge can be more, precise..

[2CoolWheels]

I doubt it's cast. The rest of the frame is rolled steel and steel tube. I would try to straighten it, because with out the stop, the kickstand could easily swing back and the bike fall. Worst case scenario, you would have to weld more metal to the area, but I doubt you will have to take measures that extreme.

[steampunk]

When I put the malleable or cast question to Jamie his response is that he doubts it is "forged" which would seem to be a vote for cast.