Such a little thing — whoa, what a project.
On my ride to Big Bend National Park I had the right leg zipper pull on my Aerostich 2 piece Roadcrafter suit self destruct on the way to Granbury, TX. I went to the hardware store in Alpine, north of Big Bend, and got a ring to thread throw what was left of the pull, but it was extremely difficult to use. I initially thought I’d have to send the suit back to Aerostich (at great expense) but was able to order zipper repair parts for $10 instead. So today I needed to install the replacement parts to repair it.
I speak as someone who unhesitatingly tackles motorcycle maintenance (okay, so I’m a girl) and have sewn pretty much every thing and anything I’ve wanted since I was five years old and, without saying, this had involved a lot of zippers. So I thought no big deal. I’ll replace the blown out zipper pull. Good lord.
It starts with the instructions to use a needle nose plier to get the zipper stops off. Okay — needle nose pliers are a pinching instrument — how does this get the stops loose? This is the first call to Aerostich. I don’t know Aerostich’s experience with needle nose removal technique, but after discussing this with them I was able to insert a very small screw driver blade under each side of the zipper stop and loosen it enough for it to pop off the zipper tape without tearing up the zipper tape.
Next comes the zipper pull itself. Which of course will not come off because the zipper tape is turned under so abruptly after the zipper teeth. Second call to Aerostich. Their suggestion is to pry open the zipper pull without damaging the zipper teeth. How does one do this when the metal zipper pull is firmly lodged over the fragile zipper teeth. No explanation.
I look at the replacement zipper pull and see that one end is open so I work on opening that end of the existing pull. About 30 minutes later the broken pull comes off. Hallelueah.
Now to get the new pull on. The recommendation is to also pry open the new pull and then close it after it is on the zipper. After a lot of struggle I am able to get the new pull started on the zipper tape — only to find out I’ve picked the wrong pull. Groan… Their instructions don’t mention that the zipper size is clearly noted on the back of the zipper pull, which would of course tell you which one needs to go back on. I get the 1o zipper pull off and start working on the 8.
About 30 minutes later I have the zipper pull on but when I get it all the way to the top, the teeth don’t quite match and it leaves a little gap for air and rain to get into. If you think I’m starting over, you’re out of your mind. I’ll live with it and if it ends up leaking too much I’ll.\try this again.
I attach the zipper stops and after 2 hours of stuggle the zipper pull is working.
I should mention that I’m a scuba diver and know the wisdom of zipper maintenance, so I wax the zippers regularly to keep them in good shape and also to hopefully seal out moisture. A good dry suit zipper wax would be good for all motorcycle gear since the zippers take so much abuse.
The next time I need this done I think I’d adjust my valve clearances (a horrible job on the F650) and let someone else fix the zipper.
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