Yard Dog wrote:What grabbed me was that tank with the hex fitting for the feed line. Is that your 62 Dave ? I have heard that there was a running change in 62 from the early flat bottom to the sump feed tank. If that hex fitting is positioned lower , could that have been a transition tank ?
Jack - Yes, that's my 1962. It looks like the 62503-52 tank was used from 1958 to 1961, and the -52B tank was used about 1963 to 1965. The 1963 and 1965 Parts Catalog lists some fittings changes for "to early 1962" and "late 1962 to", so it looks like something changed in mid-1962. Both catalogs list the -52B tank as "used on" 1958 to * but that's just a "fits".
What happened to the -52A? What was it, and when was it used? My bike was almost totally stock. The previous owner removed the generator, regulator, horn and brake light switch because he was a weekend racer, and didn't drive it on the street. The shocks were replaced, but they look like ones on Gene Paynes 1961 XLR. It had the stock Dual Seat, and also had the solo and plunger/springs (I have the Dual Seat in the garage). Other than that, it appears bone stock. So I think my oil tank is a good candidate for being the -52A. The oddball feed outlet may have been an attempt to lower the feed, perhaps due to sloshing on hard turns or something. I suspect that this tank may have been used for the first half of 1962, but then the sump idea won out.
I do want to document the -52, -52A, and -52B, so people know what they are looking for at the swap meets. The KRs and XLRs had a variety of tanks (the KRs being responsible for the -52 part number), and like French Owl says, were often one-of-a-kind, and kinda beyond our scope.
P.S. I stumbled across the swiss cheese horn. I think the horn changed in early 1962. How early? Not sure, but there's a possibility that my bike originally had the older style horn on it. Hard to tell.
