1931 harley vl rear stand

[xofrevlis]

I just brought home a rear stand for my 1931 VL. I have the mounting hardware kit made by Colony p/n 8840-10. I followed the assembly order shown in Steve Slocombe's book, which seems to be the only way that makes sense. When I tighten the nut down to the point where the shoulder bolt gets tight, the spring is completely compressed. It is compressed to the point that there is no movement left in the spring. This doesn't make any sense to me. Anyone who wishes to chime in on this would be appreciated. Steve Slocombe thanks for writing your book. I couldn't have made it this far without it.

Thanks Wayne 20210722_172427.jpg

[Steve Slocombe]

Praise for the VL book is always welcome, thank you. Looking at my bikes, the spring coils are all close to being fully compressed. The Colony kits should be good, and the springs have just under three full turns in them. Looking at your picture, the front of the stand may be a tad turned out, so judicious application of force may do the trick, otherwise very light grinding on the spring ends should give a trace of free play.

[xofrevlis]

Steve,
Thanks for the reply. I'll try the suggestions you gave and see what happens. At least now I know there should be a small amount of spring free play.

Thanks Wayne

[exeric]

Also, there are high strength thread lockers (Locktite) that allow you to freeze a nut where it will do the most good for your application. They didn't have that stuff back in 1931.

[xofrevlis]

Exeric,

Thanks for the idea. After studying this for some time, there was only one true solution. I'll parkerize the new ones this afternoon.

Thanks Wayne 20210725_094302.jpg