Original rear bar and Accessory Rear Rack

ryder1 · Post by **ryder1** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:44 pm

In the process of replacing the accessory rear rack (the little tab that broke off), but in the meantime I'm taking that off and putting on the little grab bar that comes on all Buddys.

On the grab bar is a black center that is a cover and has a phillip screw ontop to keep the cover on with bolts inside to reattach it to the Buddy. We got the bolts out by gently prying open the black cover enough to shake out the bolts; we could not get the cover off.

How do we attach this grab bar to the center bolt? There is a hole on the underside of the grab bar that it fits into but doesn't it need to be secured inside the cover?
Does the cover come off? If so, how does it come off?
There are two tabs on the inside of the cover, but I don't know how to release them so they don't break off.

It must reattach securely or if you take hold of the grab bar the center lifts up.

HELP, please.

ryder1 · Post by **ryder1** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:12 pm

I found the info in the Technical Library.

Thank you for having the photos!

I had to use the flat screw driver to gently push on the tab to release it.

Then it popped right off.

Thank you.

I was going to have dealer install the new accessory rear rack when it comes, but after doing this it is so simple that I won't need to drive an hour to the dealer to have him do it.

My concern when installing the new rear rack is cracking the plastic on the Buddy. I've read and saw posts where people have had that problem.
What do I do to avoid that happening to mine?

Is it over tightening the bolts or what causes the plastic to crack?

Thanks again.

This forum is such a super big help.

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:34 pm

Yep, don't overtighten the bolts or use any kind of loctite stuff on it. If your dealer will do it for free, you may still want to let them do the install. That way they're somewhat responsible for getting it right!

From what I could see, the instances where plastic cracked or broke were due to either overtightening or using the old-style rack, which put too much weight on that center bolt. The new rack should distribute the weight better.