Side stand question

[Snakeoil]

Hi,

I'm a new 439 owner and although I have a number of vintage bikes, this is my first Indian of any type. So, I'm in the learning process as much as the enjoyment process.

The sidestand on my bike appears to be correct. Looking at the dwgs in Greer Engineerings book, it seems to be the right stand. But the bike sits at a very steep angle when on that stand. I was thinking that perhaps the foot is wrong and only the bracket is correct, or the foot is for a different year four. I did see a photo of a four that had a pad welded to the bottom of the foot. I'm not ready to do that just yet. To give you an idea of the angle, If I place a piece of 2x4 under the sidestand, the bike rests at an angle that I would think is more correct.

I started to adjust the stand, but see that the small lug for the return spring will hit the bottom crankcase pan. So, I'm maintain a safe distance.

I'd appreciate any input on this. Bike was restore by the PO who is deceased. So, I've got nobody to ask why things are like they are on the bike.

Thanks and regards,
Rob

[hairynob24]

G,day Rob ,my 44 Chief side stand can be made to stand more upright by tighten the main bolt that holds the stand on the frame or you can back it off to make it lean over ,but if you need a 4 x 2 to make it stand up more it could be the stand itself my 44 has a flat pad on it . Be sure not to have it stand upright to much i have seen they get blown over by a semi before ,cheers Rob

[D.A.Bagin]

My 440 has a different stand than you I think, however, I carry a small piece of 2x4 in my pocket to put under when I park. It is a pain but you do what you have to do.

[Snakeoil]

Thanks guys. I need to winterize my bikes tomorrow. So, weather permitting, I'll drag out the 439 and take a picture of the stand and the angle at which the bike rests to see if you think it is okay or agree with me that it's too far over.

In the the meatime, I'll try not to park my bike where semi's roam. I do remembert when I was a kid, a guy was changing a tire on a BMW Isestta (little car with the door in the front) on the side of the NYS Thruway and a tractor-trailer went by and blew it over while it was on the jack. It made the news.

regards,
Rob

[c.o.]

I've seen folks use rubber type pucks on the bottom of their stands and have even seen teflon used as well. I unfortunatley didn't inquire as to why???? Maybe these bikes had the wrong sidestand as I've seen many an Indian without additonal material added to keep their bike at an acceptable angle.

[Snakeoil]

Finally got around to winterizing the herd and taking a pic of the 439 on the side stand.

Here are a couple shots of the bike on the side stand. I'm starting to think it is not that bad after comparing it to my other bikes.







So, whatchya think?

regards,
Rob

[c.o.]

It doesn't look like it's leaning too bad ... but that could be my eyes..... It does look about normal to me though....

[Tom Lovejoy]

That's an awesome four! lean angle looks good to me. Sweet four !

[D.A.Bagin]

Very pretty bike. Love the color scheme. Hope you ride the heck out of it. I sure love mine. Enjoy. Where in N.Y. are you??

[Snakeoil]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the kind words and feedback.

D.A., No offense or disrespect intended here, but on the Internet, Upstate NY his as accurate as I get. Not because of folks here, but because of others fishing for victims.

regards,
Rob

[D.A.Bagin]

I certainly understand. PM me if you care to.

[Snakeoil]

Finally got back to the Indian this week. Pulled off the side stand with the intention of fabricating a shoe that would slip over the foot of the side stand and lock into place with a lock bolt. That is when I noticed that the leg is bent both upward and forward. Looking at Jerry Greer's parts diagrams, since there is zilch in the Indian parts book, I see that he shows the leg as dead straight. Now it just may be straight because it is easier to draw that way, but given the accuracy of his drawings on other parts, I tend to think that if the leg was curved, his diagram would be curved.

So, here are two pics of my stand with a straight edge next to it and aligned with the straight portion which runs from the pivot point to about half way down the leg. The bend to the front starts at about the same area.

If it is bent, I'd like to straighten it. I've had good luck cold straigtening these cast steel items on Brit bikes. I've had bad luck using heat as a cast stand snapped like a piece of glass after and I did not quench it. So, needless to say, I'm gunshy of using heat on this. But I'm open to suggestions from those who have already been down the road.

More importantly however is the question, is it bent or is that the way it came from Springfield?




regards,
Rob

[ChiefTwoKicks]

side stand...

Here's my disclaimer... Im a Chief owner. With that said, here's my 2 cents worth. I had a badly worn shoe on my '36 Chief, and was lucky enough to find a NOS leg for the correct side stand for my application. Then I took then worn out leg and (like you have done), put them side-by-side with the new (NOS) side stand to see really how much metal actually had been worn off the bad leg. I was surprised to see the foot was nearly a half inch thick !! So, I went to the metal supply and found a piece of chrome-moly round stock which was the same diameter (2") as the correct shoe on NOS piece. Sliced a piece half an inch thick, then the hard part was matching the angle on the old leg to the correct angle desired. Im not a welder, so I took the pieces to my friend and he BRAZED the parts together (I didn't think welding was a good idea). Then I bead-blasted the entire leg and new shoe, painted it with black wrinkle-paint. Looks just like the NOS one now !! and now Ive got a spare. I was surprised that the foot on the NOS was actually a half inch thick. And Im pretty sure that the chrome-moly foot won't wear as quickly as the cast piece. Hope this helps, as an Indian that falls over on the side stand is NOT a good thing. Good Luck.

[Snakeoil]

Thanks for that info, Chief. I thought I had replied to you, but now see that it is not hear. This happened to me once before. Not sure if it is me or the site.

Spoke with Todd at Greer's he said they are straight. I still have not found an expert that has ever straightened these and I'm not doing anything to this stand until I do. Making a shoe would be a good therapy project anyway.

regards,
Rob

[Snakeoil]

Thought I'd provide follow-up info on what I learned and ended up doing.

A gent with 5 30's vintage Fours tells me the original stands were soft. Said they all bend and many will break. Said if my plan it to ride the bike, to go buy a modern repop as it will be better material. So that's what I did. I found a nice NOS repop, mounted it to my bracket and it works fine.

The pivot hole on my stand is worn compared to the repop. The repop is also straight. Lean angle of the bike is much better now. So, I've hung the original on a nail in the shop.

regards,
Rob