| Author | Message | ||
     Portero72 |
...in the UP position. Can't get it to budge. Feels a bit 'looser' when I slide the key in the slot. Anyone have this happen? | ||
| Ourdee |
Yep. You left it up and rode in the rain and left it up for a while. Aluminum rust  I just kept trying pushing the key button and wiggling the tail and trying to move it sideways. It finally broke loose and moved sideways out of the locked up position. | ||
| Hughlysses |
A shot of WD-40 or equivalent in the locking mechanism would probably help too. | ||
| Portero72 |
Sounds like its time for some lube and maybe a good whack or two...... What???? | ||
| Tq_freak |
Just relax, take a few deeps breaths, think about baseball,betty white, doing your taxes, etc... it will go down. oh wait, .. my bad  (Message edited by tq_freak on December 03, 2010) | ||
| Itileman |
Take the collar/hoop thingy out of the lock position. Or, remove the shifter side of the grab handle rails and see what's stuck. Or, line it up where it should be and give it a mongo whack - you will hear something give way (break) and you won't need to use a key to press the button in anymore to move it. Works fine with just the collar. DAMHIK | ||
| Cpilot |
Had the same thing happen to me. WD40 did the trick for me. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
See if you can get the tail to wiggle a bit before trying the latch. Popping it free, especially getting some lateral movement, before pushing the latch will probably do the trick. Mark SEAZ | ||
| Ratbuell |
As above - spray it with WD40 and let it soak in. Shoot some in the keyhole with the little red straw, too. After a couple hours (overnight?), pop the locking clip, put a key in the slot, and give it a good whack from the brake side. Should pop right over for ya. I dri-slide mine every time I do clutch and throttle cables, and immediately after riding in heavy rain. Keeps the aluminum from corroding and sticking too badly. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Mine got stuck a couple of times but it wasn't from corrosion. Some of the internal parts got turned crossways. I took it all apart and eliminated a couple of parts which resulted in me not having to use a key to release it any more. That and it can't get screwed up again. This was over a year ago and I really like it better this way. No issues no more. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Panhead, Maybe Froggy can show a schematic and you can identify what parts you removed. | ||
| Portero72 |
I like Panhead's idea. But I'm lazy, so I'll try wd40 first. Thanks guys. | ||
| Wbrisett |
Mine was stuck, after jiggling it a bit it came loose and then the locking mechanism was also broke. This turned out to be a great thing. It locks into place, but I no longer have to stick the key into the side to move it from position to position. I like that part. Wayne | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
How many of you with a non-locking triple tail have a top case? Call me paranoid, but I wouldn't want a passenger resting on an unlocked triple tail unless the top case and brackets were behind them as well. | ||
| Wbrisett |
I do have a top case, but to answer your question, it's not that the triple tail doesn't lock, it locks into position, it's just that you no longer have to put the key into the tail section to move it. My guess is that either the detent (N0018.1AK) or pin (C0075.1AK) is "stuck" in the "in" position. I'm sure that if I took it apart, I would find that I could get things back into position and with a bit of lube, make it work as it did out of the factory, but I like not having to stick a key into the tail section to get the triple tail to move. | ||
| Ratbuell |
PK - the key only pushes a release, so you can slide the tail OUT of the lock position and rotate it around. Once it's in one of the three positions (forward, vertical, or rearward), the springs inside the pivot push it back to the locked side, engaging the teeth, and locking it in position. Once you snap the black plastic C-clip down (on the keyhole side)...it won't go anywhere. I did have to file down the C-clip just a hair to get it to snap into the gap correctly, but now it works perfectly and as long as that clip is in place...the backrest isn't going anywhere! I undid my key requirement years ago, and filled the hole with RTV silicone to try and help keep water out of the mechanism. One of the best, cheapest mods I ever did  | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Would anybody care to do a write up on getting rid of the key release? Maybe list steps / pictures? Knowing me, I would break the whole thing, if not given instructions. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Is the problem 'water' or is the problem too many usages, or what? After seeing this thread, and having my bike, an XT, for only 14 months, I went out to the garage to see if mine was frozen. It was not. It works, to me, like new. I rarely move the tail though, maybe 3-5 times since I've owned it, and then only to show it off! The thing is cool! In addition to not moving it, it has not been in a heavy rain. I have a Buell Triple Tail bag on the tail at all times and always ride solo. Now that I know of potential problems what can I do to avoid issues? Thanks. | ||
| Wbrisett |
Would anybody care to do a write up on getting rid of the key release? Wish I could tell you. Mine did it by itself. | ||
| Motorbike |
Whisperstealth, I did the key release mod on my 08 XT. The hardest part was getting the Allen head bolts out of the grab handle on the left side. I swear every single bolt on my bike was Loctited during assembly at the (former) factory! I had to heat the area up with a heat gun while being careful not to burn or melt anything . Once I got the thing apart, the rest was easy. Just remove the little black plastic ramp piece and the pin then reassemble. I also siliconed a small plastic disk inside the grab handle to keep water from entering the key slot. This mod makes moving the triple tail very handy but I would not recommend it on any bike that does not have the rear trunk rack as a backup, just in case the tail were to flip back during hard acceleration/wheelies with a passenger on board. But, as we all know, it is probably not a good idea to do that anyway, right? Sorry, this is the only picture I took of this mod:  | ||
| Ratbuell |
I did similar to Motorbike, but think I only ground off the ramp part of the ramp piece, keeping the plate side to block that keyhole (and again, I filled the hole with RTV as an extra precaution). I highly doubt, as long as you keep the big C-clip on the outside as a safety, that you don't have to worry about it "unlocking" on a passenger. The big C-clip keeps the tail locked into the teeth on the right side; until the tail can slide to the left and disengage the teeth, it's NOT going anywhere. BuellerXT - the "problem" is condensation and uncoated aluminum in the teeth / locking mechanism. Aluminum corrodes, and it sticks. Dri-slide, WD40, or even plain ol' olive oil out of the kitchen will coat that aluminum for a while and keep it from corroding. | ||
| Wbrisett |
Motorbike's photo confirms what I was thinking about my Triple Tail. One of those (probably the detent) is either stuck or broken. As an FYI, the actual position locking on the triple tail is on the opposite side of the mechanism shown, so I don't think there would ever be a danger in it accidentally moving. I suspect Buell did the key simply as a precaution (AKA CYA) for the legal beagles. Wayne | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Thanks Motor and Rat, This gives my a good idea what to do. doesn't seem to hard. I have an XT, so there is a back up, just in case. | ||
| Motorbike |
Ratbuell, I agree that the T-tail would not unlock if the big C-clip was in place. I am just being extra cautious as I know I sometimes forget to flip the C-clip back down after moving the T-tail. Thanks. And, your idea of grinding the ramp off the black plastic piece would have been easier than what I did. Good idea! Even in the rare event that you would decide to re-enable the key lock, you could always order a new plastic ramp from H-D, for 7 years anyway!  | ||
| Andymnelson |
My triple tail never locked while in the up position, only in the down.  But yes, disabling the key is as simple as removing the left grab rail, removing the pin, and reassembling. (Message edited by andymnelson on December 16, 2010) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Leave the spring in!! That's what pushes the tail to the right, engaging the teeth that hold it in place! | ||
| Motorbike |
Right Ratbuell, I only removed the ramp piece and the pin on mine, NOT the spring! I assume that's what you meant Andymnelson? | ||
| Andymnelson |
Correct, thanks for catching that! |
