RV6 slider to roll bar gap?

[Davidman]

I'm fitting the canopy on my RV6 and have mounted the roll bar at 90 deg as directed, but when I close the canopy there is a much greater gap at the top where the canopy meets the roll bar, how do I fix this?

[wirejock]

Short answer. Shims. Long answer. Funish the slider first. Then shim the roll bar to match and fit the roll bar brace.

[JonJay]

Vertical adjustment of the canopy frame can be done by adding spacers where the rollers insert into the canopy frame tubing. The spacers are made from tubing that matches the canopy tubing OD and ID. I made mine from aluminum.
I can’t remember if this was per Vans instructions or? Mine are about 3/32 thick.
The only shimming that the roll bar needs is to allow it to sit flat on the deck but I suppose shimming it would accomplish the same thing for this purpose if you have already drilled your frame for the rollers.

Be aware that you don’t necessarily want the roll bar and canopy frame to match up. You want the windscreen and the canopy to be in alignment so your fairing works. The windscreen lays on top of the roll bar and extends beyond the roll bar center sloping up slightly.

I am not sure what sequence Vans may have in the instructions but I installed the roll bar flat on the deck, installed the windscreen, then made the canopy work.

It’s good you are looking at how all the parts meet together before just treading onward. The early kits make you think and there is usually more than one solution to any problem.

[John Tierney]

I set the roll bar on the fuse then adjusted the slider frame and then plexi as needed. Due to slight differences in the curvature of the roll bar and the front tube of the slider frame, I used nylon washers on the sides of the roll bar and on the top of the slider frame to make plexi match up better. If you use washers under the plexi on the slider front tube you will need to special order longer pull rivets.

[Davidman]

Thanks all for the help.

[NYTOM]

As I recall I had the exact same problem at the first test fitting. My slider was too high. In my case I had to cut off and trim the bottom of the front slider tube. Also I installed removable pins where the rollers attach for emergency canopy removal.

[Davidman]

Originally Posted by NYTOM

As I recall I had the exact same problem at the first test fitting. My slider was too high. In my case I had to cut off and trim the bottom of the front slider tube. Also I installed removable pins where the rollers attach for emergency canopy removal.

Thanks for the info.

[JonJay]

Originally Posted by NYTOM

Also I installed removable pins where the rollers attach for emergency canopy removal.

Not a bad idea but you can?t get the slider open in flight, it won?t budge. So removing the pins won?t help.