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Sink-No-Bob anti-sink device

Posted by Kenn Stamp
Friday, 16 November 2007
By Kenn Stamp When the folks over at Sink-No-Bob (S-N-B for future reference) told me that their product was designed to keep motorcycles of all kinds from falling over due to their sidestand sinking into the ground, I was a little skeptical of the claim. If you ride your bike to more places than just the corner store, at some point you are going to have to park on a surface that may not support the weight of your bike. Whether that surface is hot asphalt, loose rock, or dirt/sand, you want your bike to stay upright while you are away from it. Sometimes you can find a crushed soda can/plastic bottle, piece of wood, or a rock to use, but sometimes you can't. I actually started carrying a sidestand puck in my jacket pocket for just these occasions. Putting the S-N-B on my FJR1300 (I used the dirtbike/heavy duty model) was not as simple a procedure as I thought it would be. First, because of the sidestand's design, and second, because the rubber used to make the S-N-B is very thick and easily bendable. They include both a stainless steel hose clamp and a nylon zip strap in their packages for most motorcycles (Harleys only get 2 zip straps due to the stand design). After a few attempts I was able to get it semi-secured on to the stand. I say semi-secured because while it has never come off, it does move around a bit when you park the bike on secure surfaces. I did notice that when the stand was in the up position the side of the device rested on the exhaust pipe. Now S-N-B says on their website that it will not "melt, burn, or stink" if it lays against a pipe in the stowed position. I will absolutely agree with their statement. If you look at the pictures of the device on the bike, you will see that the right side (relative to the picture) of the S-N-B looks perfect and is not melted in the least. I parked my bike in soft dirt (see photo), loose rocks, soft asphalt, sugar sand, and every type of loose surface known to man. I did however take a pass on the quicksand. No matter what surface I parked on, the S-N-B did it's job and kept the bike from falling over. As a matter-of-fact, I never saw the bike get more than a 25-30 degree list to port on any surface. One thing I did notice about the S-N-B that I put on my bike was that one side of it was getting smaller and smaller. This was the side that faces away from the pipe and towards the ground so I knew it wasn't melting. Turns out that it was being abraded away due to aggressive cornering. (I took the photo with the stand sitting on a puck to better show you the abraded side) Because the S-N-B only sticks out about 1 - 1 1/2 inches from the edge of the sidestand I was quite surprised. I guess the people that have told me it looked like I was about to drag a saddlebag on the ground weren't exaggerating. Go figure. The "modification" due to abrasion has not had any ill effect on the S-N-B's ability to perform. I can say that if you ride dual-purpose bikes or just park on soft surfaces quite often, this little device might just be the answer you've been looking for. It's always on the bike so no fumbling around looking for something to use to prop your sidestand on. And, while it doesn't look all sexy and cool attached to the bike, it looks cooler and a heck of a lot sexier than your bike does laying on it's side. The Sink-No-Bob retails for $16.95 (US) and is available for most types of bikes. You can also purchase extra hardware as well. This would make a great stocking stuffer now that we are getting close to the holidays. You can order the Sink-No-Bob at www.sinknobob.net

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