Worst kickstand in history!
 

The M8 Heritage. If I'm even on a SLIGHT incline, I have to lean my 750-pound Heritage 114 WAY over to get the kickstand to act right. One of these days I'm going to drop it.

The kickstand and the cheapo saddlebag locks are the only things I don't like about this bike. Everything else is great.

Anybody know of a kickstand fix?

Ive found that the M8 softail is much more stable feeling on the side stand than my numerous twin cam softails were. Not only more stable but more upright. Even still though I, whenever possible, seek out parking spots that will allow me to park with the front of the bike facing uphill. In my garage the bike gets ridden into a wheel chock. You mention how you need to lean your scoot way over on its side when on its stand. Its possible that the wrong side stand was grabbed from the parts bin and installed at the factory. Go to a dealership with a tape measure and measure the side stand on another Heritage to see how long it is compared to yours. Im sure that my 2019 Slim would be equipped with a bit shorter stand to accommodate its lower stance. Maybe you've got a Slim stand on your Heritage???

I'm headed to Daytona tomorrow. I'm sure there will be some M8 Heritages there to compare stands. Thanks for the tip...

I agree that Harley-Davidson took the best side stand in the industry and ruined it with the new Softail. Even on the smooth concrete garage floor, the point of the side stand foot tries to dig into the floor before the bike will settle into the stand.

Ditto my '18 Fat Boy.

I don't like the way it feels way too "loose", like a minor bump and it could just swing right back with no tension holding it. I personally like to have to push my kickstand out with a little bit of effort, not just flick it and let it flop out like it's got no spring. I dunno, I guess it's fine, it just feels a little weak and flimsy. My bike feels rock solid, but it's like it's resting on this weak twig than bends too much if you jostle it and will fold in at the slightest bump forward.

My stand would not "lock" into place without significant pulling/force. When I went in for my 1,000 mile service last weekend, the Service Tech said this is a common problem on the new M8 Softails. They replaced the stand's bushings under warranty. The Service Receipt stated the original ones were worn out (really, on a 2 month old bike?). It works great now.

A tip that has been posted before is to turn the handlebars fully to the left before leaning the bike onto the stand. That way the bike can more easily roll back when the stand contacts the ground.

I've done this with every bike I've ever owned. The problem with this one comes before that. In order to push the stand out and extend it to where it is supposed to be, you have to lean the bike way over to the right.

Otherwise, the kickstand will hit the ground. Some people have complained that this is what makes them think the stand is extended all the way out - but it's not and in some cases has caused them to drop the bike.

It's a minor, but persistent, pain.

I don't know if this matters or not, but I found this on HarleyTechTalk. It looks like it only applies to '18 models. I just thought I'd pass it along, but it probably has nothing to do with stand still being a crappy design.


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