How to sabotage a ride
October 17, 2026Oil pressure on OHC Velo’s
May 3, 2026Fitting the side stand bracket
The bracket is made in three pieces of HE30 aluminium, some of the holes err towards the small because it’s simple to remove metal but difficult to add it. The unit will be fitted to a 90 year old motorcycle and slight variations are to be expected, with a possibility of the stand requiring alteration. If the bike doesn’t lean safely, the steel stand can be safely bent cold or it could be shortened.
The left hand part is the rear plate and has an 8.5 mm hole for tapping ⅜” BSCy for the pivot pin. The centre part fits between and provides limit stops for the stand. The right hand part is the outer plate and has a 7/16” hole for the pivot pin. A 6.5 mm hole is common to them all and is for the spring anchor bolt.
A longer version of the standard stepped pivot pin used on rigid framed models is required, nominally 7/16” diameter to fit the stand and threaded ⅜” BSCy to screw into the back plate. The hole in the bracket has not been tapped. Side stands frequently have worn pivot holes. An over-sized pin can be made, provided that the hole in the outer plate is increased to suit
I recommend fitting a ¼” BSF bolt through the brackets, aligning the pieces exactly and clamping them tight. The square holes might need relieving with a three cornered file to ensure that the footrest bar slides through nicely. It is a good idea to leave a short piece of square bar in the holes while other jobs progress.
The spring is the standard one for rigid frame side stands, readily available. For a spring anchor at the bracket, I used a rear stand spigot nut and reduced the diameter of the spigot to match the loop on the spring.
Before fitting, the spacer tube behind the footrest should be shortened by 1 3/16” and put back in place. If the footrest mounting bar has sharp corners, it will be useful to radius them slightly with a file.
Assemble the bracket, stand and spring with the square bar in place. Remove the square bar, slide the unit onto the footrest mounting bar, re-fit the footrest, ensuring that when the outer nut is fitted, everything is pulled up tight together.
The stand in the ‘up’ position on the 1931 Mki KSS
Post script : when I fitted the bracket to the 1927 Model K, I noticed that the ‘ear’ on the brake pedal was slightly different, so had to remove metal from the stop ramp on the bracket.
