Yes doing 80mph down I-4 in Tampa Florida, I saw my Mono Cowl take to the wind like a Star Wars Death Glider and get smashed by a Ford Pick-Up truck behind me. The bungees must have been worn and broke when I scooted back on the seat, next thing I felt something funny and saw it sail away. To say the least, I was pissed. I knew my bands had a few cracks in them when I stretched them to take my Mono Cowl off, but never thought they would just give way all at once. I have read a few post and some fixes to the rubber band bungees BRP develop to keep the Mono Cowl on for us RS and GS riders out there looking for the single seat look. Well I can say that those rubber band things cost me a $180 when I had to replace my Mono Cowl plus another $11 for the things that caused me the problem in the first place. I have searched all over to find a fix without going to some extreme of drilling, gluing or cutting. I saw the one post to use Velcro, but it did not give me confidence in how it attached at the hook/catch point on the Mono Cowl (Mono Seat Cowl Owners?) I have seen no issues written that it does not work, but I would feel better with a small locking loop instead which would lock on the Mono Cowl hook/catch system underneath.

Because the Mono Cowl has well designed hook/catch system underneath, this makes an excellent attachment point. So I tried various small rope, bungees and rubber bands and finally came up with something I think will keep that Mono Cowl lock in place. I took a high strength 1/8 inch bungee used for kayaking and crimped a circle loop end. The bungee hooked directly to the Mono Cowl which snugged the Mono Cowl down to the seat and was easy to get on and off (literally seconds). Now this is not a hard thing to make, but I suggest using a high strength bungee cord because it must be taut enough to bring the Mono Cowl down to conform to the seat contour, and maintain it durability of taking the cowl on and off. If the bungee does not keep the cowl snug, just tie a knot in the middle and that will shorten the bungee.

Attached are pictures of what I developed as a replacement for the rubber bungees from BRP. I have been using them for 6 months and have had no problems. The other issue I also noticed was how the Mono Cowl would scratch paint at the tail point and dig into the seat at the end corners. I fixed this problem using 3 pieces of automotive door trim strip (You have to buy the whole trim set, so make sure you can use it on your other autos as well). Well I added a few pictures of what they look like and you can get most of this stuff at an automotive store or Home Depot (I buy my bungee cord from Amazon (the Bungee Shop)…but you have to order a lot of it). I did put a rubber protector around the crimp to protect the seat and heat shrink to cover it to further prevent any scratching.

Well I am recouping from ankle reconstruction surgery from kicking down a door during one of my nice desert vacations on the other side of the world, so for the next 3 months I have time to make a few of this bungees if anyone needs them and does not want to make them. I actually made a name for them…kinda corny but fit their purpose…Cowl Keepers. Well these little fixes helped me, there easy to make and I hope this tip can keep you from ever seeing Mono Cowl sailing away.

Maybe BRP will copy these and sell them for $12.99 who knows.

Take Care,

Cole

Cowl Keeper Figure 2.jpgCowl Keeper Figure 3.jpgMore Spyder Pics 009.jpgCan Am right View Closeup 2.jpg