Careful with the bling

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

My son’s valk had a problem with the petcock when he first bought it. He bought it used and already blinged just weeks before leaving on a 15 day, probably 8000 mile trip. As he found out on the trip, his reserve was never consistent and sometimes it just didn’t seem to there.

When he got home we discovered the aftermarket chrome cover which goes around his petcock toggle was dragging on the toggle badly and preventing the rider from feeling it drop into the detents. We moved it around and tightened it back down and fixed the reserve problem. Fast forward a few years to this month and his petcock diaphragm got a hole in it so he bought a cover set and rebuilt it. In doing so, he discovered that the bolts holding that chrome cover were way too long. So long that they went on through what they threaded into and were jammed into the side of what appeared to be the coil. I mean jammed hard into it. I’m assuming the previous owner lost the correct mounting bolts or the correct spacers and caused this problem. I shortened the bolts 3/8” to get them to stop digging into the side of the coil and they were just barely short enough to miss it then.

Just in case this isn’t the only valk out there like that I thought I’d give everyone a heads-up about it.

[hubcapsc]

I won one of those rattlebars 6-bar (or whatever) radiator covers at Cheaha
a few years ago.

I fiddled with it some, and noticed that you'd better be careful installing one,
or the screws that hold it on will punch holes in your radiator!

-Mike

[Chrisj CMA]

I think it must be common for the mounting hardware for those engine covers to muck up the fuel valve switch knowb thing.  I frequently help a fellow Valk Rider with his bike and that dang cover is always a PITA and it has rubbed on the switch like you say

[whitestroke]

Had the exact same problem with those bolts from the PO.  They dug a hole in the coil at least an 1/8 of a inch.  Surprised that the coil wasn't ruined.I used 3 over-sized nuts as spacers behind that bling plate.

[N0tac0p]

yup.  as i was screwing on my "flat 6" chrome rad cover, i watched as one of the left screws would have punctured a tube.  backed it out, cut it down.

You're right can never assume what your buying has the right hardware.  keep a watchful eye