Well, I broke down and put a new side stand on the steamer. So for those that have never seen how upright a steamer can be I attached a picture. Interestingly, the bend was not where I thought it would be. I expected the main kink in the stand would just be more bent than the new one, but in fact it is the upper straight piece that begins to bow. I wonder if you could reinforce it by welding another straight piece on?
Anyway, it's nice to have to use less force to pick it up from the side stand now.
Geof