Proper kickstand for 1941 HD UL?

[Wade]

I have 37 HD UL engine on a 41 frame (civilian). Sitting on its kickstand (the one on the side, not the rear end one) it hardly leans at all, just a few degrees so I end up having to be extra cautious about the slightest slope when I park it.

Were those bikes designed that way, or is it more likely the wrong kickstand was put on it at some point? I want to heat it up and bend the stand a few more degrees but I thought I had better check first. Anyone know how many degrees the bike should lean over for 41? Were they designed as a bit tippy back then?
Thanks in advance. - Wade

[Rubone]

Wade,
If someone at one time changed the bracket holding the leg it may have one for a swingarm frame which holds the leg at a different angle. Does your bracket have holes in the outside face of it? Then it is for a swingarm frame. Make sure it is correct before you bend the leg!
Robbie

[Sargehere]

No, it wasn't designed that way, and the factory name for the thing you're describing is "Jiffy Stand," and, though about every non-sidecar bike had one, it was part of the basic accessory groups, an extra-cost option, like the ride control, that everyone got. If you have holes, it may well be a Swingarm frame bracket.
If there is no tapered spacer or something under your Jiffy Stand mounting bolts (have been known) I wouldn't be afraid to take it off and heat up the corner with a torch and give it a couple of more degrees of bend.
Check like bikes, at a meet like Oley or someplace, and compare what you have with what those bikes are wearing. I'd agree that it sounds "more likely the wrong kickstand was put on it at some point." You may have some later aftermarket park that someone shortened ineptly and blasted the chrome off of. They were made and sold in a variety of "overlengths" for choppers with long front ends in the '70s. Just one possibility. Check the shape against one you know to be a stock one. It should tuck quite closely against the underside of the l.r. footboard mount when it's retracted, have a flat on the underside almost three inches long, and a long gentle curve above the flat, and almost an inch turned up almost vertical. Like this, on my '37/41 hybrid ('37 chassis with a '41 motor, currently):

[Wade]

Thanks for great help!

Thanks for the help guys!
Excellent information and the picture helped.
It does appear that my jiffy stand is a poor reproduction for the arm itself that was cut, re-welded and is the incorrect length. It is also not flat on the underside or as long on the overal bent area that includes the flat side. -Wade

[Chris Haynes]

There is no flat on the bottom when they are new. That comes with age.