Loose trunk

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Stoogefan
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Loose trunk

Post by Stoogefan »

Evening all. Question for ya's ...
The trunk guides on my `88 are pretty beat up and worn. It's getting to the point where the trunk seems so loose that my Mrs. isn't as comfy riding .... "I might fall off" :gig:
I've called 4 or 5 dealers in my area looking for replacements to find out that they all say the same thing ... discontinued.
Has anyone come up with a good way of tightening things up ?

Thanks ....
"Stoogefan"
Jeff - SW Ontario, Canada
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Re: Loose trunk

Post by Lucasind »

Jeff,Since no one has responded to your question .... You may have to be the leader on this one !
Verify what is causing your "loose" condition and maybe snap a couple pics of what ya find ?
After all... having the Mrs. fall off the back of the bike would likely be the end of the bike :lol:
90% OF ANY JOB ...IS GETTING STARTED !
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Re: Loose trunk

Post by Stoogefan »

Lucasind wrote:maybe snap a couple pics of what ya find ?
Great idea. Once I figure out how to attach a photo to my post, I'll do that.
Thanks ....
"Stoogefan"
Jeff - SW Ontario, Canada
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Re: Loose trunk

Post by Mr Jensee »

When I got my 1200 it was a low mileage pristine bike, but I also noticed the trunk was loose. I took it off the bike and figured out it was missing the nylon pieces that isolated the bolts from the track that allows the trunk to slide back and forth. I can only assume at one point the original owner had to remove the trunk and never put the nylon pieces back on. No amount of tightening would have have fixed that. I ordered the missing pieces and now everything is fine 20,000 miles later.
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Re: Loose trunk

Post by Me Again »

The problem is there are a number of things that cause a loose trunk ,from loose screws to broken rails (which I find the most common )
On one of mine I had a jar of nails in the trunk and it bounced and blew the whole bottom out.
Yup. Pull the trunk and take a look ,then let us know.
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Re: Loose trunk

Post by ekap1200 »

If it works as the 1200 's and has plastic sliders in the front and trapped guide in the rear, I make those front plastic one's out of delrin. Check it out and see what you need , I may be able to fabricate something for you .

Gene Kap.
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Re: Loose trunk

Post by trikebldr »

The 1300's trunk guides on two steel-cored delrin slides. Even brand new bikes had broken delrin molded around the steel cores. Even broken, the delrin still stays in place to do it's job, so you will NEVER find a non-broken guide for these trunks. Being broken is not the issue. And, once in a while you can find these guides on eBay. I just bought a used set (see pics) last week for my project to make a kennel mount for my dog. Although these show broken plastic around the steel base, this is how they also looked new from the factory! Strange thing is, they may crack badly, but none of that plastic ever falls off, so they work just as well (still loose!) as if they didn't crack.

The tubes these guides locate around are .755" diameter, and the point inside the guide where the tube rests, it's .835" wide. The worst part is that they are spaced too far apart, so slotting their screw holes and moving them closer together is the best solution. That will take care of most of the side-to-side twist, but nothing will remove the fore/aft rocking completely. Of course, some all new, redesigned guides could be made to be adjustable in all directions, but how far are you willing to go for that? It's just one of the idiosyncracies these bikes were born with!

Even when new these bikes had what seemed like loose trunks. The bottom of the trunk has a stamped steel plate inside to reinforce everything. You CAN slightly tighten up the guides if you use a Dremel and a drill and carefully slot the screw holes for these slides to move them about 1/8"-3/16" closer together. Just be very careful to move them equally inward or they will cause the locking/positioning mechanism to bind.

These guides also locate the trunk so the locking mechanism works properly. If you make a replacement from a block of delrin, it has to be the same dimensions as original or the locking/positioning mechanism will bind.

I've had three of these 1300's, and even my brand new '83 had a trunk as loose as my current 84 and '85 Voyagers.

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Re: Loose trunk

Post by trikebldr »

BTW, I can assure you that your wife will not fall off the back! Even if all of the delrin fell off the steel bases, these guides would still hold the trunk in place safely. And, the whole bottom of the trunk would have to rip off before the rest would fall off. Not likely!
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Re: Loose trunk

Post by trikebldr »

Just wanted to post some detail pics of the mounting system for the 1300's trunk while I was working on mine.
First pic shows the steel reinforcing plate inside the trunk.
2nd, 3rd and 4th pics show the mounts (slides) and latching mechanism under the trunk.
5th and 6th pics show the latch details and the frame tongue that it works with to give two positions for the rider, then allowing it to be removed.
7th and 8th pics just show the slides clamped in place, plus the latch in place over the frame tongue.
If you look at the 5th and 7th pics you can see the 1/8" thick band that keeps the latch in place around the tongue, even if the two slides were to fall off. That latch will not let the trunk fall off!
BTW, these pics are of my bike. Notice, those slides are all cracked just like the earlier pics I posted of some used slides. The last two pics are of the used slides and latch that I am using on my kennel base mount.

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