"Tink."

"Tink." Generally when you hear it, it is up at the higher edge of the hearing spectrum, as compared to, say, "Thud." being all low and bass and flat. Now we are all aware that "Thud." quite often has rather negative notations, usually ending in the coyote being squashed flat, or perhaps, the more thrilling version-

 "911 Dispatch. What is your emergency?"
"Oh dear, my foot slid off the brake, then "Thud," over on their sides went about about 30 Harleys.....

"Tink" is quite the opposite, yet often with the exact same results as "Thud." It can be an almost pleasant sound, like the delicate "Tap" of a spoon to a glass, or perhaps as melodic as a teeny tiny bell going "Ting".  I've dealt with a couple of  "Tinks" in the past, and have decided to base this part of the build on the "Tink" principle.
     Take, as an example, the time that big hunk of metal decided that it was no longer going to continue doing it's simple task of going round and round, and  also decided to part ways with the rest of the van. At some point, one certain spot on that axle made a little "Tink", and that was that. It was hilarious to see the right rear wheel go cruising on by me, and quite a rush getting to do the mid-air-rolling-about-in-the-van-in-realllllllll-slow-motion. I think I finally stopped enjoying this heavy metal trip after I got thrown out, picked myself up, then waited for the police to arrive, (all the while happily blocking two lanes of an interstate, "cuz how many times have you gotten the chance to block traffic on an Interstate for a couple of hours, and nobody CAN really blame ya ?) Things finally get towed,  then one of the cops decided to write me and my poor ex-van a ticket: ..........Driving A Defective Vehicle! (Really, Your Honour? Do you actually think I was gonna drive something THAT defective if I already knew about it?)

That's one "Tink" that can getcha', for the motorcycle, this is just as bad. This one comes from just behind the exhaust pipe and up near the front of the motor. Usually it is heard when one is about three paces away from the motorcycle, after just pulling to a stop and parking it on the sidestand. This little "Tink", often times results in wild screaming, throwing of inatimate objects, looking over at the dog and thinking of throwing it while you're wildly screaming, and other such unhappy behaiviour. To help avoid the "Tink" principle, (by the way. that's actually pretty easy in my case because some previous person with a saw cut off the sidestand lug, and now there just ain't nothing to go "Tink." anyway...), so I decided to make something that probably won't go "Tink" for quite some time. Yes, once again I had to hunt down my caveman garb so that I can use the firestick and get that really big hunk of metal bent. After being bent to the right angle, I went ahead and took it out of the vice, dropped it on the ground swearing at how I'd burnt my hand, then waited a day or two and fitted and drilled the hole for the sidestand pivot bolt.

Next was getting at least one set of U-bolt holes drilled in about the right spot, then doing the other side even closer to the right spot, meaning that I was a bit out and had to work a little file magic. The underside of one U-bolt hole was countersunk to provide both a flat surface and a spot for a "Tink' to develop in a lonnnnnnggggg time from now. I also drilled and tapped a 1/4 hole for an allen head for the return spring.

I'm still going to play with the return spring and a couple of dots of welding at certain points to ensure their stopping at the right point, because it's just as embarrasing to put bike on the sidestand (or so I thought), have it roll back a couple of inches,  then just fall over like a dead horse.... This one is going to have just a little more fine tuning.
      It also has several good advantages: Not prone to breaking, it supports the whole underside, and can also give a nice place to shove a jack to lift up the front end. If extra long U-bolts are used, it makes a great spot to mount a fairing lower, or, as I'm thinking of doing, an ACIMS from the early 70's. Finally, if one is truly forced to be in survivalist mode, The bike can be leaned up against a tree and with the deft removal of 4 little 1/2" nuts, it can rapidly leave them with a most excellent rabbit hunting device.