Petcock Extender
A Biker’s Idea
www.abikersidea.com
805.927.1481
It was a direct challenge to my manhood. The tall guy with the ponytail who thinks he runs things around here tossed a little plastic bag onto my laptop and bellowed, “You ready to do your first install story?” The label on the bag—right out in the open where everybody could see it—read “Petcock Extender.”
I fought back the blush I felt rising to my cheeks. After all these years of editing shoulder to shoulder, sharing the Sisyphean task of pushing this fine publication out the door month after month, I thought Terry and I were long past the point where we needed to measure each other’s petcock. Damn! Can anybody refer me to a good attorney? I think my workplace just became a hostile environment.
Swallowing my humiliation, I tossed some lame reply at his retreating back and stashed the package in my computer bag, out of sight. Later, in the privacy of my living room, curiousity overcame me. I drew the curtains, opened up the package and discovered a small chunk of chromed, CNC-machined T6061 aluminum maybe two inches long, a couple of set screws and a small Allen wrench. Oh! It’s for the damn motorcycle!
Yes, the Petcock Extender is designed to strap on… er, screw… er, fit over the stock fuel petcock. The model I was holding is designed for H-Ds from ’02 on; there’s also one for earlier petcocks. Installation was a snap, even for someone of my legendarily limited mechanical prowess. Simply slip the extender into place with the beveled end towards the position indicator. Probably a good idea to check it at this point to make sure nothing’s interfering with its operation. Put a set screw on the long end of the Allen wrench, dip the end in a tiny drop of thread-locker, and screw the sucker in. Same procedure with the other screw, then tighten ’em both down good.
Like magic, your petcock will be larger, firmer, and easier to get a hand on. Women will want to be with you, and men will want to be like you. (Or vice versa, depending on your gender and preferences.) And you’ll never have trouble switching to reserve again.
