My observations may be pretty Series 1 - specific, and if so I apologise.
My hood-cover was never a very good fit, and on numerous occasions my passenger catered for the 100mph + sections with their arm draped across a rather excitable portion of the bag.
When, then, I ended up with a new one, I set about trying to improve the way it functioned - so that it behaved as they probably did in the sixties.
The two outer straps are either used in conjunction with - and therefore on longer pop-studs on the rear bulkhead - the two straps that hold the hood-mechanism folded flat, or in place of those two straps, in which case the short studs are all that are needed.
Long ones seen below.
The centre strap, always used singly, requires that same short stud.
The claws (nicely leather-covered from BAS) that grasp the shell, just abaft of the doors, have to cope with bodies that are probably all sorts of different shapes in that area, in fact, so mine didn't fit very well.
I made a couple of plywood dummies, using a rasp, to mimic the shell sections, used a plastic hammer to mould the claws around those two shapes - different, left and right - and then put a "set" on them so that they became a tight-fit.
The friction procured by the leather, plus the grip they now exert on the shell, means that they stay put at all speeds.
The other issue I had was that the centre-rear of the hood-cover always looked slightly unkempt, as the centre strap is essentially pulling against something that is unsecured at the rear.
BAS now add a 5th hook at the back, in the middle, and in fact they no longer use a claw but a slotted plate, that is shown here.
They cover it in leather and rivet it into place in exactly the same way as the four side hooks.
Those rivets wouldn't have ended up quite where I would have wanted them to lie, so I made a brass plate, copying the BAS idea, but went for side-by-side rivets, seen here as temporary screws while I work out what dolly to use on the copper ones Jack has supplied me.
I'll cover it in the same black leather as the side claws.
This now means that the centre strap can be adjusted to put a more meaningful tension on the hood-cover, and the rear alignment is much better, and stable.
One query I'd offer up to Forum members is this.
What's the best way of folding the centre hook ?
Like this ?
Or like this ?
Oddly enough, the lower option actually blends in better with the shape of my hood-cover, even though it looks more prone to marking and wearing the fabric.
The picture below is actually taken with the hook in that more "open" stance.
