I was pushing my Electraglide ahead a bit yesterday to check the air pressure in the front tire and accedentally unset the jiffy stand. Before I knew it the bke went down. That is the only time in 32 years of riding I have had the bike fall. If you study the design of the jiffy stand it is almost impossible for it to fail if set properly.

 

your right the design of the stand works well, but if you manufacture crappy springs it will not stay up.

 

"What's the issue Harley should know about? That riders will occasionally not set the jiffy stand correctly before walking away from their ride? Should they educate riders? My '08 owners manual has three separate warnings on the dangers/consequences of not properly setting or retracting the jiffy stand. You may have reason to be pissed, but you need to look in the mirrror to focus your anger at the responsible party."


Thank you for pointing out the truth. In 26 years my H-D has never had t problem with the stand and it still has the spring that was put on at the factory. The first year I owned the m/c I would always rock the m/c after extending the stand

 

I always make sure the stand is fully extended and that it settles down correctly with the weight of the bike. And I never ever leave the bike in neutral no matter how well it is sitting on the stand. I've had another bike roll off the stand three times while leaving it in neutral. And it weighed one hundred fifty pounds less than my Fatboy and was tough to get back up.

 

I'm going to say user error is a major factor in the failure.

Here is a tip. I always wedge my foot against the stand while I rock the bike over...I do this to make sure that the stand is as far forward as possible. Sometimes it may retract slightly on you when you just let it over if you dont have your foot up against it. With your foot there it cannot move backwards.

 

Give me a F****** break. 3 in 4 months? Yeah, right.

CN

 

I do the same.... Works for me!

 

that's what i was thinking. my 76 shovel has it's original spring and my 85 has the original too. put the stand down right and you won't have problems with it tipping over. it's not the bikes fault.

 

I rolled my Fat Boy froward a little, while I was standing next to it. The jiffy stand released and I just barely grabbed it in time. Since then I have been real careful that I have the stand pushed all the way forward and the tranny in first gear. I doubt if I will screw up again. Lesson learned. I forgot to put my kick stand up on a chopper I had. Managed to go 1/3 of a block and then pogo-ed around a left hand turn. Lesson learned there also. Now I always double check to see if the stand is up before I take off.
Both were pretty cheap lessons, since I didn't damage the bike either time.
Tom

 

if the spring does not hold up the stand in the up postion , and falls down i would say it need to be replaced. thats what has been happening. and yes they all have been purchased at HD. i am not the one who manufactures these crappy springs. no lie,its the truth !!! and no i have never dropped my bike !!!!!!!!!!!