Not sure if the sidestand mount is welded to the frame in your Sporty, on my FX shovel and my current 89 Heritage all I do is loosen the mount (after chocking the bike upright ) and that gives enough slack to hook it on.
Cheers,
Cris

The last time I did a spring replacement it was for the 96 FLSTN. I bent the spring different ways and placed washers between the coils. This lengthened the spring enough to get it to slip in place with little effort. Not sure (it was a few years ago) but I think I used a long screwdriver as a lever to ease it into position.

Using a spring puller should make it EZ...