Two Man Top Operating Instructions

[John Heaman]

Is there a video or written description of how to properly put a two man top up and down?

[RajoRacer]

My wife regularly assists in putting our '14 Touring top up & down - it's named 2 man for a reason. Quite easy with one person on each side - we start by unclipping the w.s. strap, folding the farthest front iron back to the rear, lower receptacle insert & clip then begin folding the top down until it rests on the saddles. After going through the exercise a couple times, it becomes quite routine.

P.S. - your front retaining strap attaching points are incorrect - they should come off the front bow a bit farther up.

[John Heaman]

P.S. - your front retaining strap attaching points are incorrect - they should come off the front bow a bit farther up.

My top straps are correctly placed, unique and of a style not known by many. A footman loop holds the strap in place. They are a leather wrapped cable rather than the normal leather strap. Please see pictures below. Thank you for the method you use for lowering the top.

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SIA-2010-1136-000003.jpeg (121.4 KiB) Viewed 1213 times

[RajoRacer]

My apologies for "assuming" ! That is an interesting arrangement - what year is your Touring ?

[John Heaman]

1912, same as the two in the pictures.

[Ed Fuller]

I can easily raise and lower the 2 man top on my late ‘13 Touring by myself.

First, I unhook the straps that connect to the windshield. Then I get into the backseat and move the most forward bow down to the lower hole on the second bow. Next I move the second bow back to the extra hole on the third bow and lower the hole top onto the top saddles.

I found it easy to do all by myself from sitting/standing in the backseat area.

[TWrenn]

Ditto to Ed.
While I usually have the wife help, several times I've put the top up and down alone on my '13 also. Not that hard, just take your time so you don't "droop" the bows and scratch the paint on the sides of the body. It works. However if my top goes up more than twice a year it's rare. I prefer the top down the most.

[Susanne]

And ditto to both of the above, not difficult to do once you know, and easily achievable by a 14-17 year old kid... the only harm is when you miss the socket and put a gouge right down the side of the passenger side back door of the touring... Something I learned on a national tour once... right after dad had the car painted. Oops.

BTW, if YOUR kid does this, tell them it's OK and spend the $250 (or let them pay for it) to have the panel reshot, don't leave it scratched and point it out for a decade or 2. Promise me this.

[NealW]

I can easily raise and lower the 2 man top on my late ‘13 Touring by myself.

First, I unhook the straps that connect to the windshield. Then I get into the backseat and move the most forward bow down to the lower hole on the second bow. Next I move the second bow back to the extra hole on the third bow and lower the hole top onto the top saddles.

I found it easy to do all by myself from sitting/standing in the backseat area.

I agree that it is easy to do by yourself when standing in the backseat area. I almost never have anyone help lower/raise the top on our 1911 touring car. My procedure is the same as the quoted text, but I usually do the step that I underlined last when lowering the top and first when raising it. I think it's easier to reposition the most forward bow when it's laying flat, and there's less risk of it slipping out and scratching the car. Your mileage may vary.