Can anyone comment on the necessity of the strut or support that runs between the top of the engine ( just above the carb) to the frame where the rear tank bolt is located? The darn thing is right in the way and is making it next to impossible for me to run a fuel line between the petcock and the VM32. It’s also ugly. I’d love to ditch it, but if it plays some important role in damping vibes or preventing metal fatigue or rigidity or something like that then obviously it should stay.
Thanks!
That is the "head steady".
It is a required part that must be left in place unless you want to have a bad case of extreme engine vibration, bad enough to shake the whole motorcycle.
Not only will the engine shake the frame but the loads thru the lower engine mounts will be much higher than they are designed for which can lead to a cracked frame.
What it really does is, the engine has a tendency to rock back and forth in a forward/backward direction. The head steady at the top of the cylinder keeps this from happening.
This "head steady" is notoriously weak on the RE and because of the high stresses it has when the engine is running it will break. When it does the rider gets the idea his engine has developed a bad case if imbalance.
IMO, you will just need to figure out a way of working around it.