I don't like mine much either, but I'm used to it after 1.5 years and 9200 miles.

The worst incident (late June or July 2019) was when I had to pull off the highway under an overpass north of Albany NY to put on my rain suit. There was a fairly severe slope downward to the right. When I put the jiffy stand down, the bike was still leaning too far to the right. I was afraid the bike would tip over to the right. I hopped back on and rode to the next exit, pulled into a gas station with a canopy and put the rain suit on. I was pretty wet, but the heavier rain hit after I had the rain suit on, so it worked out.

 

I hated mine at first, but after 20+K miles, it's just fine.

It used to grab a lot, but I guess the rough parts on the bottom have worn smooth and I have no worries about it at all any more.

Maybe take a file or a belt sander to the bottom of yours?

 

Yeah, you know what I'm talking about then.

 

That's a good idea, but I think it isn't just the bottom that's the problem. The damn thing is just weirdly designed. First time I've EVER had a problem with a kick stand.

 

Somebody posted a while back they got an improvement by grinding a bit of material to 'round' the leading edge of the foot a bit. I agree with your complaint, OP. I have an additional problem. I need to park fairly often on a bed of large diameter gravel. The small foot more or less 'pokes' through the gravel and the bike goes a long way to the left before it catches anything solid. I'm thinking about getting an extended foot welded on, but need to avoid making the lean to the right any worse than it is.
Looks like an aftermarket opportunity for someone.

 

I agree the lean to the right is excessive. Pulling over on the side of the road, there's often a notable slope to the shoulder and it's tough to get the bike leaned far enough over to the right to get the kickstand locked forward. I have several times had to re-orient the bike to be more perpendicular to the highway just to be able to get the kickstand down (of course, only when the shoulder is wide enough to support doing so).

So yeah, the kickstand could definitely be better.

As for parking on gravel, I don't have to do it frequently but for the times I do, I have one of those $5 kickstand pucks they sell at the dealership. It works well but would be tedious if I had to use it daily.

 

I wonder if you guys are compressing your suspension to the point of causing problems deploying the stand. Mine will deploy with the bike upright and my 210lb+ weight in the saddle . Maybe guys need to adjust the shock spring preload, it's easy to do.

 

I only weigh 165 and I have trouble deploying the stand even if I’m straddling the bike standing.

 

Is it time for an aftermarket company to offer an alternative? If so, I wonder who?

 

I have never noticed anything unusual or concerning about the kick stand. It's certainly not the worst I have owned. And has always worked. Don't know what I am not seeing that the rest of you are.