The Sink-No-Bob Review

by Hondo
July 7, 2008

Official Sink-No-Bob information is available HERE

The price from Sink-No-Bob for both models is $16.95 + shipping & handling.

Introduction

Today I'll be looking at 2 products from Sink-No-Bob-

• The Sink-No-Bob for Sportbike/Smaller Lighter Bikes and Scooters
• The Sink-No-Bob for Dirtbikes/Heavy Duty Models

My 2001 KLR650 is no different. It's base will support the bike's 400+ pounds on a hard, stable surface, but setting the bike onto the kickstand on hot asphalt or loose dirt/mud and the bike is likely to end up on it's side.

I have carried small metal plates in the past, dropping them into the mud/dirt before I set the bike's kickstand onto it. This is a hassle, as I had to pick it up while seated or before I got on the bike, and then stow the dirty plate. 

The Sink-No-Bob was designed to help prevent the small footprint issue on the KLR650 and all bikes with a small kickstand foot.

Packaging

Both kits came packaged in a plastic bag.

The Sink-No-Bob for the smaller bikes-

The Sink-No-Bob for Large bikes-

Each kit has these instructions-

Let's look at the kits in detail.

Inspection

The Sink-No-Bob kit for sport/small bikes include the Sink-No-Bob pad, a hose clamp and a large plastic zip tie-

A closeup of the Sink-No-Bob pad shows that it is approximately 1/4 - 5/16 inches thick. The pad is made of a fiber impregnated rubber mat material-

The Sink-No-Bob kit for Large/Dirt bikes includes the same 3 items, but with a larger & thicker pad-

The large Sink-No-Bob pad is beefy, approximately 7/16 thick-

Installation

Installing the Sink-No-Bob is very easy.

1. Put the hoseclamp over the kickstand foot and slide it up the kickstand
2. Rest the kickstand foot onto the Sink-No-Bob pad (center the foot on the pad)
3. Slide the hose clamp down over the upturned "securing wings" of the pad
4. Tighten the hose clamp
5. install the zip tie above the hose clamp to further secure the "wings"

The large Sink-No-Bob pad is much stiffer than the small pad, and I found that clamping the pad's wings together at the base with a pair of channel lock pliers made installing the hose clamp much easier.

Testing

Both Sink-No-Bobs were evaluated on the street and off road on my 2001 KLR650.

This consisted of resting the bike down into the loosest, softest conditions I could find. I found the small Sink-No-Bob pad to be a bit small for the weight of the KLR650 in mud & sand, but fine for hard packed dirt or hot/soft asphalt.

Here is a the small Sink-No-Bob in some wet, muddy soil-

I rode with the small Sink-No-Bob on my KLR650 for 8 months. Only in the muddiest soil was it's footprint an issue for the bike's weight. For a lighter bike it would have been fine.

I installed the large Sink-No-Bob while riding the White Rim Trail near Moab, Utah in May of 2008. During installation I broke the plastic zip tie by pulling it a bit too tight. No big deal though, as the hose clamp held the pad just fine on it's own.

The White Rim Trail had hard packed dirt, loose dirt, loose rock and very deep sand. The large Sink-No-Bob allowed me to rest my KLR650 anywhere that I wanted with confidence-

In town I found that the hot asphalt was no problem for the large Sink-No-Bob. The large pad spread out the weight enough so that my KLR650 didn't sink into the pavement at all. The campground that we stayed at was covered in loose gravel, and this also was no problem for the large Sink-No-Bob.

Conclusions

Both sizes of the Sink-No-Bob are would be fine for a KLR650 (or any bike), depending on how you use your bike.

I would recommend either one for a bike that sees street use only, and the large Sink-No-Bob if you ride off road at all. The smaller Sink-No-Bob would also be a great upgrade for any street bike with a small kickstand foot, preventing the bike from toppling over if parked on hot asphalt.

So I'm giving the Sink-No-Bob a strong 9 out of 10 KLRWorlds and fully recommend it to anyone interested in an effective, inexpensive and easy to use solution!