| Author | Message | ||
     Fltwistygirl |
Alright, maybe not "troubles" but challenges. Much mo bigger troubles in the world than my little triple tail (TT) woes. However... The triple tail on the XT is not being cooperative. It's down right ornery some times, yesterday being one of those days. Alternating between X and XT some days to enjoy them both, so using triple tail bag to stow my daily essentials from bike to bike between classes. Had everything packed up ready to go yesterday and the darned thing (TT) did not want to move to accomodate the TT bag. Wore it as a back pack for the first 10 miles, got grumpy due to heat/weight, pulled into c-store, shut bike off, dismounted, inserted key and started tugging on TT. Cussed a little (in Finnish with my faceshield mostly down) saw CC clerk near the hedges, either peeing or smoking or both. He looked over at me, and laughed. Finally, after more cussing and tugging, I got it to cooperate, snapped the tailbag on, and got on with my day. I did some searches here but was not able to find a solution. Anything we can do to get the TT to be more cooperative? Anti seize, graphite? Help! B. | ||
| 7873jake |
From back in January: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/606835.html Don't know why some things stick in my brain and others slide out like my brain pan is made of teflon. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Cable lube like you use on your clutch and throttle cables works. Aluminum in there is bare, unfinished, and likes to gall and stick. I disassembled mine, key-side, and if you remove the little offset cone thingy (you'll know it when you see it), you don't need a key anymore  | ||
| Andymnelson |
Disable the key lock. Remove the left grab rail, pull TT apart, remove pin and reassemble (some have also removed the "ramp" as shown here):  Your world will be a better place for it! | ||
| Panhead_dan |
^ +1 | ||
| Uly_dude |
Belinda, were you trying to fold the TT all the way down to the seat with the back pack attached? If so, it can be a bear to get it to lock in - even without the locking mechanism mentioned above(Though that is a great modification). I think the back pack was meant to be attached with the TT in the upright position. But if you lay the TT down on the seat, without locking it in, that back pack will be just fine, won't go anywhere. At least that's what I've found. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I hit mine with some dry teflon spray last year and it's still smooth and easy to pop up/down. I suppose dry graphite spray would work well also. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Good ideas, will start first with the wd 40 since it is on hand. Uly dude, interesting to think of attaching the TT bag with the TT flat. The problem started in the driveway when I tried to move the triple tail from flat to upright and it did not budge. Nothing, nada. Fought for a while, then tried to stuff the TT bag in the journeyman side case. Bag no fitt-ee so plan c, unzip and convert to backpack mode so I can get to gettin. Hated those ten miles with that on my back, thinking about how stupid it was that I had empty side cases and was carrying all this crap (lunch, gatorade, my ridercoach materials, glasses case, toll transponder) in a backpack. I let the love of my life, the city-x (ok maybe that's a bit dramatic, but I did love that bike), go, in exchange for having a bike that did not require me to carry backpack. But, I knew I had a challenging day ahead of me, and wanted to get there early and did not want to take the time to move stuff around. As a result of this and our new adventure of sharing bikes, three new rules have emerged: 1. Bike is gassed up the night before. 2. Triple tail in the upright position. If you put it down, snap that puppy up before it goes back in the garage. I love the TT bag, best piece of m/c luggage ever! It was great to still be able to take it, and use it, in another form (backpack) if needed. 3.Keys are left in proper place in house. Always the same place. I like having a quiet, predictable environment in the morning so I can enjoy my ride to work with a clear head. My buddy's crash on his Harley a few weeks back reminded me how important it was to be focused on the ride and getting there safely. People are nuts! Zac4mac-where do you find dry teflon spray? | ||
| Itileman |
Bag on flat TT:  I've done it that way since I ditched the rear rack & Journeys. | ||
| Ourdee |
I cut the head off of a Q-tip and used the stick to put anti-seize in the teeth. So far so good. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Cool and thanks for enlightening me, Itileman. That would have never even crossed my mind to use the bag like that. Soft bags have their advantages for sure. I hung on to the cortech soft bags from the city x in case I ever have another situation where I need to send my gear somewhere ahead of time. Real possibility when I work in different states. They pack real nice in a suitcase, and if you pack them up before hand, you can just slap them on your bike and go upon arrival. I did that last spring when I flew from sweaty Florida to Blustery MN to get my bike, also sent ahead. Temp drop of 50 degrees, so I sent my winter clothes ahead with the inlaws who were snow birds. Why did you ditch the journeymans? Ourdee, how long ago did you apply the anti-seize? | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Itileman, That's a RKA bag on the back in that picture isn't it? I've slid the buell backback down over the TT and layed it flat, but the top sticks out too far into my back. What I do instead is lower the TT put the backpack on it bottom toward me, and put a bungee net over it. Works great, and makes for a decent back rest too. | ||
| Itileman |
I got rid of the Journeys almost day one when I got the Uly. PIA to open, I don't like suitcase/clamshell luggage, and I found them highly unattractive on the bike, especially the top case. But that's just me. YMMV. Also don't need the key for the TT. The tank bag is an RKA mini. The tail bag is a Cargo Conti Tri-bag. It works as a tail bag, T-bag and as a tank bag (metal tank only) as it has an additional bottom layer that zips on that's magnetic. Expands upwards to about 12" tall. I really like them both and the RKA does not have to be moved to add fuel and does not interfere with the air intake. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
I usually need to "pop" the TT loose, before pivoting it up or down. Just a tug toward me, then I insert the key and move the Tail. I like the idea of removing the pin & ramp. I'll put that one on the schedule of future adjustments. It looks like I would have to remove the bag mounts to get in from underneath to remove the grab-rail screw. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Belinda - the stuff I have is called VDX and is made by Micro Care. http://www.microcare.com/showProduct.aspx?producti d=53 Zack <edit> here's a place you can order from online... http://www.qsource.com/p-1106-microcare-mcc-vdx-duraglide-dry-lubricant-spray-12-oz.aspx (Message edited by zac4mac on May 04, 2011) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My tail has always worked fine but I move it around often too. Just to be safe, I think I'll blast it with WD40 | ||
| Ourdee |
Less than a year ago. I had to break it loose once before that. Use the silver anti seize. | ||
| Blake |
Had mine get stuck a few times on a recent weekend getaway. Felt like something mechanical was out of whack. Good to know it's just sticky metal. A little lube is easy to do. | ||
| Schwara |
When I went to test drive mine (and check it out) the TT would not budge ... at all. The Harley guys didn't even know it could until I told them how it was supposed to work. I assume the original owner had never used it. I told them it needed to be in working order before I would buy it so after some lubrication and a bit of muscle they broke it loose. Never had a problem since. I might do the no key mod and do anti seize while I'm at it just to be safe. |
