I think you will find that its function was to provide a 'soft' pick up of the stand if you left it down when you hit the first left hander? The aim, I believe, was that the soft rubber section would hit the ground first and flip the stand up rather than the hard metal part of the stand which could dig in and cause you to fall off?
I assume that the bike is not fitted with a side stand cut out switch, which I believe would have replace such devices on future bikes, so that you physically could not move off with the stand down?