Securing the BRP Mono Cowl…my rubber thingy’s broke doing 80 mph on the I-4 Freeway

[Cole369]

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?):banghead: 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

 

[BajaRon]

Those rubber holders for the cowl are a joke. I have no idea why BRP hasn't fixed that one. Ditched mine not too long after I got my Spyder. Hard to belive they are still putting out the same defective holders.

Love the cowl, hate the holders.

 

[Cole369]

Those rubber holders for the cowl are a joke. I have no idea why BRP hasn't fixed that one. Ditched mine not too long after I got my Spyder. Hard to belive they are still putting out the same defective holders.

Love the cowl, hate the holders.

It baffles me they build such a beautiful machine like nothing else out there, and simply can't get something like a bungee lock cord straight. I could run to the patent office and try and make a buck, I rather BRP just make something affordable that works...to include a Mono Cowl with storage.

 

[ARtraveler]

Had a cowl on the 2009 RS--the rubber bungees broke after about a month. At that time no replacements were available. This was one bad product in my opinion.

 

[NancysToy]

Many owners have learned this lesson. A number of them used Velcro straps to attach the cowl.

 

[DynamoBT]

Even with Velcro straps the cowl was a pain in the neck to put on and take off. It began to rub the paint on the tail piece as with Velcro it was very hard to get a tight fit that did not vibrate or move. I ended up selling mine. It came with my Spyder when I bought it used. I would never have bought the mono cowl on my own as a mod. Not worth the headache. As it turns out, hubby loves to ryde as a passenger. So, I don't miss the cowl one bit.

 

[Cole369]

Even with Velcro straps the cowl was a pain in the neck to put on and take off. It began to rub the paint on the tail piece as with Velcro it was very hard to get a tight fit that did not vibrate or move. I ended up selling mine. It came with my Spyder when I bought it used. I would never have bought the mono cowl on my own as a mod. Not worth the headache. As it turns out, hubby loves to ryde as a passenger. So, I don't miss the cowl one bit.

You are something else:bowdown: got the hubby riding with you. Spyders are fun be it your driving or the passenger. You noted you used the velcro which was one idea I saw and actually tried, but it was like you noted hard to take off and caused some marring of the paint. I took some rubber door trim pieces and put them in all the spots the mono cowl came in contact and that eliminated the marring. As for a quick release system, I used the mono cowl's hooks and built a tight loop and used that as the base of a strapping system. Once I got the hook size down, the length was just experimenting until I saw a snug mono cowl. The issue with using bungee is the cheap stuff will break, so your back to the same ole' problem. I used the 1/4 bungee for kayakers (since I do stand-up kayak fishing -Ocean Kayak Big Game Prowler and Freedom Hawk 14) and have had no problems. My design is not rocket science but it does require a little trail and error.

On another note...would you fall in love with a Mono Cowl if you had storage as an option with it?

Cheers,

Cole

 

[DynamoBT]

Cole, I'd say storage wouldn't make much difference for me. Literally 90% of my ryding is now with hubby as passenger. We are really enjoying this activity together. That's an interesting concept though. Kind of like a mini Suggler's trunk (Corbin). The method of attachment and ease of taking it off would be everything.

 

[ronv]

Hope you delt with whatever on the other side of the dorr in an appropriate manner.

Thanks for being on the point of the spear, and heal quickly and well.

Ron

 

[Cole369]

Hope you delt with whatever on the other side of the dorr in an appropriate manner.

Thanks for being on the point of the spear, and heal quickly and well.

Ron

Ron,

Thanks for the kind words...our team took 0 causulties, however the visting team took about 14. This search was for a cache of Toy RF Transmitters and components used to dentonate IED's. Found some...but it seems we can never find them all. As if there is no end point to reach for. Pray for our guy's to come home.

Thanks Again,

Cole

 

[MikeinGA]

Write DRP and ask them to replace replace your damaged parts and include copies of all the complants about there defective product. Maybe they will replace it. That's IMHO.

Mike