Forgive me if this has been raised before, but the side stand on my ST3, is without doubt the worse design on my bike. Some have called it a suicide stand, because the metal is so soft that it bends too easily. The top yolk where it mates up with a lug on the frame, should be a ‘U’ shape. But when the bike is on it’s stand it opens up to take a ‘Y’ shape. Hence the machine leans over at a crazy and unsafe angle. I keep taking it off and bending it back, but it’s only a temporary measure, before it’s back to the ‘Y’ again.
Has any member a constructive suggestion on how to improve this problem?
Dave Hughes
Liverpool
Dave,
The so called Ducati “Suicide Stands” were named because of the auto retraction and not because they bent easily. 
You could try fitting a side stand assembly from another model, I’m 99% sure that the tapped holes in the crankcases are all the same distance apart.
The 851/888/900 Monster stands are quite sturdy and once modified don’t auto retract, they can also be lengthened* to stand the bike more upright.
IIRC? Possibly the Paso or 907ie stands fit in the same way and are a bit longer.
*Some owners lengthen them by welding in an extension and others add a “foot”/pad on the bottom of the stand.
Steve R
Thanks Steve and yes I got it wrong. The lug, I mentioned is not on the chassis, but on the part that fastens to the Crankcase. That is not the problem however. You can weld as much as you like to the foot of the stand [I have] but the metal the stand is made off has a week point, because of the way it is made. The yolk at the top is not strong enough to support the weight of the bike. Mine expands, as I said, into a ‘Y’ shape and no amount of extra metal on the foot will stop it doing so. If the metal was tough enough it would keep it’s ‘U’ shape. But you have given me an idea, so I will investigate other Ducati models to see if their side stands are compatible to my St’s.
Thanks for you input.
Dave Hughes
Dave,
My suggestion to lengthen a stand was so that you could fit a stronger one from another model, ( the 851/900 Monster etc ones don’t have a “U” shape at the fitting end)
then alter it’s length if need be to suit your own bike.
Up to '92 the side stand brackets/pivots were usually steel these are very strong but a tad heavy, after '92 they’re usually made from alloy but can be prone to breaking.
Steve R
Cheers Steve, I get your point and will look out for a bracket that will fit my crankcase. The other alternative, I suppose, would be to see if the top yolk could be re-tempered, but I’d need to take advice on that. Re-heating the metal, may make it softer.
Dave