With the help of my brother at Alec's Mechanical, we pulled Rosie's stand apart to see what could be done in the meantime. Yes, it was worn, especially the clevis pin that the stand pivots on while also attaching it to the frame. For $10 we replaced the pin and now her stands sits up where it belongs!
Long overdue, Rosie finally got her King Tank on! It was a process begun in 2010 while anticipating my IBA National Parks Tour. It was sent to me by Blue's Custom & Body Shop in 2013. Rosie's reserve had been a bit unpredictable, so a new petcock was ordered for the new tank. The next issue turned out to be her risers, she needed taller pullbacks to keep her bars from hitting the tank! A little leary of how I would like the taller bars (4" rise, 1" back), I decided to ride with them a while before installing the tank. I love them! |
Alec is a retired Navy mechanic and works on just about whatever in his spare time. I hang out and assist as much as I can. One of his recent projects has been to get a 1986 Yamaha Virago 700 running again. I've heard nasty things about what ethanol does to engines, and have used StarTron Fuel Treatment in Rosie for a couple of years now. I missed the carb replacement on the Virago, but was there for the petcock rebuild and saw first hand how the ethanol eats away at the seals. Right now, we're waiting on a replacement because the fuel flow filter that goes inside the tank (and isn't otherwise available) was so eaten away it rendered the petcock unusable. It makes me glad I got a new one for Rosie's King Tank!