softop ears + pic+ help

[puma2]

hi all, is there any 1 with good pics on how a softop should look like when down or is there any 1 in the cardiff or south wales area were i could meet and chat things over with as just had my 2 over a few weeks, thanks roger for your help to me ( great man)  s:D s:D    s:D s:D    s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:    s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:

[Anonymous]

When folding the hood there is a link strap that runs across from one side to the other, if this is missing or has become disconnected then you will get the dreaded "Ears" syndrome, this literally looks like a pair of ears sticking out when the hood is parked.
Below are some pictures that will give you an idea.

As you start folding the hood back you should see it lifting upwards at the joint, this is where you will see the ends of the bridging strap


This is the part attached to the hood and it has a popper fitting for the strap


Viewed from inside the hood, here is the end of the strap....this goes round the outside of the hood frame then threads through a tunnel stitched in the hood


[color="#0000FF"]A sequence of how it should work[/color]






How it should look parked





I run to Treforest & Rogerstone on a regular basis   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[benji89]

i had a look at trying to sort out my 'ears' problem before, but thought passing the strap behing the metal frame was really tricky and fiddly.
am i doing it wrong or is it a bit tight and fiddly to do?

[cclarke99]

Theres more stuff on "ears" and the strap here

 l viewtopic.php?f=47&t=12581&p=153686&hilit=ears#p153686 l

 m http://spyderchat.com/forums/showthread ... light=ears m

 l viewtopic.php?t=18439&highlight=ears l

 m http://www.spydermagazine.com/2001/April/straps.htm m

It is a bit fiddly, you need to have the hood about half way open - prop it up or get someone to hold it. Be careful of the hood mechanism and your fingers and make sure it's threaded through the narrowest one of the tubes stiched to the inside of the hood.

[benji89]

cheers mate, im sure with all these photos in the threads ill manage to do it somehow

Ben

[Gif]

or is there any 1 in the cardiff or south wales area were i could meet and chat things over with as just had my 2 over a few weeks

Got one without ears if you need to see it in the flesh   s:D s:D

[puma2]

thanks all for pics and advice, hope to have it sorted soon.

[spit]

A word of caution on older softops - if the hem on the folding edge of the top is starting to look tired, be careful. The strap can accelerate the wear.

[onion86]

A word of caution on older softops - if the hem on the folding edge of the top is starting to look tired, be careful. The strap can accelerate the wear.

Why I took mine off, have had to fold those ears in manually every time since I've owned it  s:( s:(

[Treboeth]

So thats why my top has never sat properly  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

Thanks very informative links and photos my loose strap is now reconnected ans looks good  s:D s:D

[puma2]

thanks all for all your helpfull coments and pics, got it all sorted today after a meet with GIF (good man)  s:D s:D    s:D s:D    s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:

[vatovey]

apologies for hi-jacking this thread...

I've been looking at my softop today, and I notice that I to have the dreaded softop ears problem, anyways.. after reading this thread I got the top-strap in the right hole etc... but it looks like one of my attachment points to the actual softop hood has been torn at some point in its life, and because of this - the tension produced by the topstrap is not enough for either side to tuck the ears in fully.... ahhhhh   s:x :x s:x  

See pic below - can anyone recommend a cheap/easy fix for this ??

[2003bluecat]

apologies for hi-jacking this thread...

I've been looking at my softop today, and I notice that I to have the dreaded softop ears problem, anyways.. after reading this thread I got the top-strap in the right hole etc... but it looks like one of my attachment points to the actual softop hood has been torn at some point in its life, and because of this - the tension produced by the topstrap is not enough for either side to tuck the ears in fully.... ahhhhh   s:x :x s:x  

See pic below - can anyone recommend a cheap/easy fix for this ??

Edit: PIC DELETED FROM QUOTE

Mine is sadly like this too, would like to get it fixed if possible   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:

[catkins]

Same problem here.  I've fitted the strap correctly but due to wear and tear, as shown in above pic, there isnt enough tension to pull the ears in properly.  

Any suggestions for a fix?

[muffdan]

I have the same issue (same side as the pic too). I've been tucking my ears in manually for years.

[vatovey]

Got this fixed.

I purchased a reel of high strength polyester thread, overlapped the torn sections and sewed them together.

I made the threads very close to each other to ensure it was stable, once completed I used some rubber glue to bind it all together (rubber glue - as it's flexible and moves with the softop) and to stop the threads coming undone.

Seems to have fixed it perfectly, both 'ears' tuck in fine now   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  

Cost to repair : £1 for thread in local market, £2.50 for bicycle repair kit (which had the rubber glue included in it) from Spares World, and £1 for the needles in Tesco's.

Total cost : £4.50

[Anonymous]

Were they special needles to go through the tough material? You should have done a "How To".  s:D s:D

[muffdan]

Some pics would be nice!

Mine's ripped at where it was originally stitched. I didn't think re-stitching was an option!

[vatovey]

nope, the needles were a standard pack which tesco sell, there's about 10 needles in the pack - all different lengths.

Needles were easy to get through the material, saying that, I did do it on a nice warm day - so the material was nice n plyable due to the temperature.

Pictures - next time I take the hard top off, I shall get some for you.

[2003bluecat]

Got this fixed.

I purchased a reel of high strength polyester thread, overlapped the torn sections and sewed them together.

I made the threads very close to each other to ensure it was stable, once completed I used some rubber glue to bind it all together (rubber glue - as it's flexible and moves with the softop) and to stop the threads coming undone.

Seems to have fixed it perfectly, both 'ears' tuck in fine now   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  

Cost to repair : £1 for thread in local market, £2.50 for bicycle repair kit (which had the rubber glue included in it) from Spares World, and £1 for the needles in Tesco's.

Total cost : £4.50

I will definitely be giving that a go, thanks for the update!

[JohnB]

Fixed the "ears" yesterday.....took all of 10 minutes....doddle...cheers for the info  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[vatovey]

Took hard-top off today, so as promised - a few pics of the repair job of the torn strapping.



Actually, I will get a few better one's of the repair tomorrow... the above seems a little blury/out of focus  s:( s:(

[Anonymous]

mine clips on but i think the strap is too long? should this meant to be?

[Gif]

Actually, I will get a few better one's of the repair tomorrow... the above seems a little blury/out of focus  s:( s:(

It was all that ice cream you ate in Joe's parlour that gave you the shakes   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[SimonC_Here]

mine clips on but i think the strap is too long? should this meant to be?

Make sure it is going through the small fabric tunnel attached to the roof. You should only be able to get 2 fingers in the tunnel. Any more and you've got the wrong hole (or very small fingers)...

Simon