Jiffy Stand versus Kick Stand
Club Member
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 387
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From: Ladner, B.C.
Jiffy stand locks into place as the bike sinks down. Kick stands do not lock and can be dislodged by pushing the bike forward. Jiffy stand is made so that a passenger and/or rider can get on the bike safely and will be stable with the added weight. Kick stands are iffy at this task.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 21,173
Likes: 12,740
From: South Carolina
It was called a Jiffy Stand long before the names kick stand and side stand were thought of, and long before all the old timers here were born...
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,122
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From: Niles Canyon Ca.
From the day I got my first bike in 1970 it was a kick or side stand on any brand, on the east coast at the time. Moved to the midwest, Harley ownership came into it around 75 but I'd been around the crowd for a while. Not one person nor the shops including the 2 dealers, one I worked at (40 hwy Harley in Kansas City) a spell before it closed ever called it anything but kick stand. Not once did I hear it called or referred to as a Jiffy stand till this forum.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2021
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From: backwoods
Its called jiffy on other forums, but not sure I have ever heard it called a jiffy off internet. But like all the terms that make people thump there chest, we all know what they mean. Call it what you want.
Club Member
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 11,578
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From: Inland NW
From the day I got my first bike in 1970 it was a kick or side stand on any brand, on the east coast at the time. Moved to the midwest, Harley ownership came into it around 75 but I'd been around the crowd for a while. Not one person nor the shops including the 2 dealers, one I worked at (40 hwy Harley in Kansas City) a spell before it closed ever called it anything but kick stand. Not once did I hear it called or referred to as a Jiffy stand till this forum.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,286
Likes: 3,429
From: Idaho Panhandle
Okay, I get it. It’s a nifty thrifty jiffy stand. It locks in place, just like the kick stand on my mountain bicycle.
To remove myself from this controversy and to not be attacked verbally at some remote tavern by experts, I shall say, I put the stand down, or it’s on its stand.
I grew up in Maine, my first motorcycle was a ‘47 knucklehead bought from a farmers barn in Standish. My second was a ‘61 XLH bought in Scarborough. Never saw a dealership nor a manual. We mistakenly called it a kick stand. It was a simpler time. It worked just like the fancy summah folks jiffy stands, but they never enlightened us as we were considered townies. My friends all rode whatever they could find by word of mouth or a classified ad in the back of the newspaper. That was our google, craigslist, eBay, marketplace all rolled into one.
But now I an enlightened. I know the difference. It’s too late for me, but you can save yourself huge embarrassment and being the butt of internet humor by toeing the line and using the correct Harley nomenclature. Or not, makes no difference to me. I’ll understand what you mean even if you just point to it.
Finished my coffee. Thanks for the controversy and setting me on the straight and narrow path to ……… not sure to where or what, but it’s narrow for sure.
To remove myself from this controversy and to not be attacked verbally at some remote tavern by experts, I shall say, I put the stand down, or it’s on its stand.
I grew up in Maine, my first motorcycle was a ‘47 knucklehead bought from a farmers barn in Standish. My second was a ‘61 XLH bought in Scarborough. Never saw a dealership nor a manual. We mistakenly called it a kick stand. It was a simpler time. It worked just like the fancy summah folks jiffy stands, but they never enlightened us as we were considered townies. My friends all rode whatever they could find by word of mouth or a classified ad in the back of the newspaper. That was our google, craigslist, eBay, marketplace all rolled into one.
But now I an enlightened. I know the difference. It’s too late for me, but you can save yourself huge embarrassment and being the butt of internet humor by toeing the line and using the correct Harley nomenclature. Or not, makes no difference to me. I’ll understand what you mean even if you just point to it.
Finished my coffee. Thanks for the controversy and setting me on the straight and narrow path to ……… not sure to where or what, but it’s narrow for sure.
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Joined: Jan 2009
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From: WACO
