RoadSmith trunk latch

[Big D]

Hi all, this is my first post after purchasing my Trike back in November. I have a problem that I have not read about in any other post. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I went for a Sunday ride on our Road Smith. After returning home I went to open the trunk only to find that the trunk latch assembly had pulled away from the fiberglass and was dangling. I contacted my installer KD and Kevin told me to bring it back in, but since they are 3.5 hours away I opted to take it to my body shop man. It is currently there and I have no idea what it's going to cost me to get it fixed.
My question is this, has anyone else had this to happen?
If so, does Road Smith know that they may have defects in their fiberglass.
Thanks in advance!

[Gold Rush]

Hi all, this is my first post after purchasing my Trike back in November. I have a problem that I have not read about in any other post. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I went for a Sunday ride on our Road Smith. After returning home I went to open the trunk only to find that the trunk latch assembly had pulled away from the fiberglass and was dangling. I contacted my installer KD and Kevin told me to bring it back in, but since they are 3.5 hours away I opted to take it to my body shop man. It is currently there and I have no idea what it's going to cost me to get it fixed.
My question is this, has anyone else had this to happen?
If so, does Road Smith know that they may have defects in their fiberglass.
Thanks in advance!

Mornin' Dave. Sorry to hear of your problem. I have never heard of anyone having that one before. You might give Taylor a call at Roadsmith. (1-800-331-0705 ) They are very helpful folks so just maybe there is something he can do for you still.

GOOD LUCK!!

[tfdeputydawg]

Do you push to close or slam it shut?
Mine is a Hannigan but, one thing I was warned about was do not slam the trunk door when closing it.

[mhgoldwing]

Mornin' Dave. Sorry to hear of your problem. I have never heard of anyone having that one before. You might give Taylor a call at Roadsmith. (1-800-331-0705 ) They are very helpful folks so just maybe there is something he can do for you still.

GOOD LUCK!!

Ditto - also, ask if they will pay for repair since you are 3 1/2 hr. away.

[mgwtrike]

After all this time enjoying our Roadsmith trike, I would like to add my minor problem with my trunk latch.

On the way home (83 miles) from the converter, my trunk kept pop'in open, and draw lots of attention from
passing motorist.
Not long after, I rode it back a couple days later and my converter guy needed to adjust it, now life is good.............

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Welcome to land land of posters ...

[tfdeputydawg]

Thanks everyone for your feedback!
I did shut the trunk hard as it is air tight, Kevin told me that should not have caused the fiberglass to fail. Kevin and the KD folks are top notch .

I'm sure they are great folks but, mine is "air tight" also. All of them are. A push and not repeated hard slams are required!
You are compressing the door seal gasket. If a push does not close the door, then it is to tight.
Also, if it is to tight you are over compressing the gasket and over time it will take a set and you will then have a leaking trunk door. A gasket should only be compressed a certain amount of it's free height. If over compressed it will eventually fail.
Talk to your body man. I'm sure he works with door seals on damaged vehicles and should be aware of this.
http://www.stockwell.com/compression-set-testing.php

[brianl]

Mine leaked when I first got it, they ended up installing a gasket on the door AND the body. 2 gaskets. It took care of the leak but whenever I close it I push it and then pull back a little to make sure it closed because it popped open a few times while riding until it broke in. Call Taylor. I've called him several times and he's been a great help. His email address is: info@trikeshop.com Good luck.

[tfdeputydawg]

Mine leaked when I first got it, they ended up installing a gasket on the door AND the body. 2 gaskets. It took care of the leak but whenever I close it I push it and then pull back a little to make sure it closed because it popped open a few times while riding until it broke in. Call Taylor. I've called him several times and he's been a great help. His email address is: info@trikeshop.com Good luck.

Interesting fix.
When the door(assuming it and the body are shaped correctly to match up) is set properly only one gasket(assuming it is the correct material and shape) is needed and it is usually mounted to the body!
My guess is now one or both are over compressed.
I speak to this subject based on my experienced as a one time GM exterior lamp designer. Had to be concerned with lamp to body seals and lamp lens to housing seals on many designs.
To much compression leads to early gasket failures and obviously water intrusion as does not enough compression!
The "broke in" you speak of is the beginning of the eventual seal failure I noted.
I have noted several had the gaskets mounted with the mating ends coming together at the top of the trunk opening rather than the bottom where it belongs! Rain water running off the top of the body down the back will enter the trunk through this area if the split is on the top!!!!
Most installers and manufactures know this!

[Gold Rush]

Hi all, I have an update on my latch problem.
I picked the Trike up from body shop on Thursday and they did a great job on re-attaching the trunk latch. Guy told me that the fiberglass had not been prepped (sanded)before the factory glued it on.
I made contact with Road Smith and was told that Taylor was no longer with the company. The lady on the phone transferred me to a guy named Mel but he never called back, so I am probably going to have to eat the cost. I am happy with my trike but have not experience the type of customer service that I expected from Road Smith.

Glad to hear you got the latch repaired and hope it stays that way. Strange problems like that are frustrating for sure.

I'm sorry to hear Taylor has left Roadsmith. Having someone like him in that position is a huge boost to customer satisfaction. I hope they get someone equally good to replace him.

[SMSgt]

The Roadsmith warranty states that if you are too from an installer, any installer, take your trike to a mechanic and they will cover the cost of repair. A body shop is just a mechanic for body work.
Good luck
Kent

[Big D]

Thanks Kent, so far I can't get anyone at RS to answer their phone or call me back. I sure do hate that Taylor left the company before I had my problem. I understand that he was good with taking care of the customers.

[Papa Zook]

Taylor told me he was offered a marketing position with Polaris working with Indian Motorcycles. He said it was a bittersweet descision and will miss working with the Roadsmith team. Jim, Doug and the RS crew are good people, but are really busy right now with Daytona and Taylor just having left, but you know they will get with you on your issue.

[bikerbillone]

Holy smokes, Taylor left RS, now that's big news, he was really the "go to" man for RS and did them proud. I know Polaris has the big bucks, but RS should have kept Taylor whatever it took.

[Papa Zook]

Holy smokes, Taylor left RS, now that's big news, he was really the "go to" man for RS and did them proud. I know Polaris has the big bucks, but RS should have kept Taylor whatever it took.

I dont think it was so much making the big bucks as it was landing a dream job with Indian Motorcycles. For a young man like Taylor, who is less than half the age of most of us here, I can see the attraction towards Indian and Victory motorcycles.

[bikerbillone]

That makes sense for sure.

[The Captain]

Thanks Kent, so far I can't get anyone at RS to answer their phone or call me back. I sure do hate that Taylor left the company before I had my problem. I understand that he was good with taking care of the customers.

One word can answer why the phones go unanswered: Daytona.

It's BS way to run a business but it's a fact.

[bikerbillone]

Yep, Daytona is the answer, that little RS space in Daytona is crammed with RS big wigs. Taylor will be sorely missed at RS. They get one unhappy customer, and the list grows, no good no matter how good the product, and no question, RS is a good product.