Much time and energy during my summer break from school has been devoted to maintenance and cosmetic issues for both the R65s.
Blackie, the 1981, got the Bings overhauled, a relay-operated new horn, timing chain, stator brushes, a new AGM battery, and the
SueCanada mod.
the 1983
Mexico Bike received most of my attention with a new Dyna coil with plug wires and caps, seat cover, fuse box upgrade, and the hefty time-consuming job of body work repairs and paint job.
One item continued to disturb me and that was an issue where the seat edge, when opened, bumped the right rear shock and the right battery cover. Perhaps the slightly deeper seat edge created by the installation of the nylon U-channel upholstery guard contributed to the contact.
Anyway, I developed serious concerns about the potential of damage to the seat cover and the freshly rehabbed battery cover.
This morning, I spent not more than thirty minutes fabricating a tether to hold the seat in an over-center position but just short of contacting the shock and battery cover. Now, rather than trying to remember to
be cautious when opening the seat, the tether does it for me.
Monte
Approx 12 inches of 1/32" stainless steel cable, two 14-16 ga ring ends sized as required, and some shrink tubing were all on hand. Measure and build took maybe ten minutes max.
An existing hole in a frame gusset became an anchor point for one end of the tether. The seat pan was drilled and a stainless screw captures the other end of the cable.
Still need to touch up that rusty area near the front hinge. Ugly.
