Riva Ride Plate installation question

[Rob1124]

Attach trailer to tow vehicle and latch the coupler. This prevents the trailer from tipping backwards. Do not skip this step.

Set parking brake in tow vehicle. If you have wheel chocks, place them front and back of trailer wheels.

Loosen winch strap a few turns. Re-latch winch.

Check that winch ratchet catch is actually latched.

Slide hull rearwards on bunks until winch strap is tight. You may need some help if the bunks are not slippery.*

Check whether hull is far enough back to remove the ride plate. If not quite, loosen winch another turn or two. Relatch winch. Slide hull farther back.

Once the hull is far enough back, crank winch until all slack is removed from winch strap. Just snug. Latch winch.

* I use Liquid Rollers dry silicone spray product to reduce bunk friction. One person can slide a hull on the bunks.

Thanks for the detailed explanation I really appreciate it. It all makes sense now

[Impulse20098]

Attach trailer to tow vehicle and latch the coupler. This prevents the trailer from tipping backwards. Do not skip this step.

Set parking brake in tow vehicle. If you have wheel chocks, place them front and back of trailer wheels.

Loosen winch strap a few turns. Re-latch winch.

Check that winch ratchet catch is actually latched.

Slide hull rearwards on bunks until winch strap is tight. You may need some help if the bunks are not slippery.*

Check whether hull is far enough back to remove the ride plate. If not quite, loosen winch another turn or two. Relatch winch. Slide hull farther back.

Once the hull is far enough back, crank winch until all slack is removed from winch strap. Just snug. Latch winch.

* I use Liquid Rollers dry silicone spray product to reduce bunk friction. One person can slide a hull on the bunks.

I appreciate the explanation and the detail. I shall be doing this when I get back home.

[jguenther]

I just installed the R&D ride plate. I striped all 4 screws on the speedometer ,had to drill the heads off and replace the screws. On my test ride the speedometer went nuts. I have now found out that is normal with a new plate. Also I lost a lot of top end, Max speed was just 54mph. I pulled the ski out and noticed I had not gotten the 4 bolts as tight as possible. (kind of paranoid now, didn't want to strip these) I'm hoping this was why I lost so much speed. So be sure you get the 4 bolts as tight as possible. Going back out on the water tomorrow, Let me know how your ride goes. I also pushed my ski back on the trailer to get to the bolts to remove the plate. Having some wheel ramps to raise the trailer makes working underneath a lot easier.

[Impulse20098]

I just installed the R&D ride plate. I striped all 4 screws on the speedometer ,had to drill the heads off and replace the screws. On my test ride the speedometer went nuts. I have now found out that is normal with a new plate. Also I lost a lot of top end, Max speed was just 54mph. I pulled the ski out and noticed I had not gotten the 4 bolts as tight as possible. (kind of paranoid now, didn't want to strip these) I'm hoping this was why I lost so much speed. So be sure you get the 4 bolts as tight as possible. Going back out on the water tomorrow, Let me know how your ride goes. I also pushed my ski back on the trailer to get to the bolts to remove the plate. Having some wheel ramps to raise the trailer makes working underneath a lot easier.

Was the 54mph on gps or on the Speedo? Because you can never trust the Speedo. I'm replacing mine with candoo.

[jguenther]

I used my gps

[Rob1124]

I finally installed the ride plate today and installation was pretty easy thanks to all the suggestions on this thread. Did a 20 minutes test ride and I’m very impressed. It handles much better than the stock plate. Top speed was 67.5 so I gained 1.5mph but it was a little choppy so maybe I can hit 68 with calm water. Overall I am very happy with the Ride Plate.

[VegasKnights]

I finally installed the ride plate today and installation was pretty easy thanks to all the suggestions on this thread. Did a 20 minutes test ride and I’m very impressed. It handles much better than the stock plate. Top speed was 67.5 so I gained 1.5mph but it was a little choppy so maybe I can hit 68 with calm water. Overall I am very happy with the Ride Plate.

Did you use sealant and a torque wrench? How its holding up?

[gsxr1300]

I just installed the R&D ride plate. I striped all 4 screws on the speedometer ,had to drill the heads off and replace the screws. On my test ride the speedometer went nuts. I have now found out that is normal with a new plate. Also I lost a lot of top end, Max speed was just 54mph. I pulled the ski out and noticed I had not gotten the 4 bolts as tight as possible. (kind of paranoid now, didn't want to strip these) I'm hoping this was why I lost so much speed. So be sure you get the 4 bolts as tight as possible. Going back out on the water tomorrow, Let me know how your ride goes. I also pushed my ski back on the trailer to get to the bolts to remove the plate. Having some wheel ramps to raise the trailer makes working underneath a lot easier.

After you tightened them were you back to the normal top speed?>

[Luke1.8]

I just installed the R&D ride plate. I striped all 4 screws on the speedometer ,had to drill the heads off and replace the screws. On my test ride the speedometer went nuts. I have now found out that is normal with a new plate. Also I lost a lot of top end, Max speed was just 54mph. I pulled the ski out and noticed I had not gotten the 4 bolts as tight as possible. (kind of paranoid now, didn't want to strip these) I'm hoping this was why I lost so much speed. So be sure you get the 4 bolts as tight as possible. Going back out on the water tomorrow, Let me know how your ride goes. I also pushed my ski back on the trailer to get to the bolts to remove the plate. Having some wheel ramps to raise the trailer makes working underneath a lot easier.

Tip for Removing the speedo screws that will help prevent stripping the heads.
You will need a Impact driver and the correct fitting Philips head bit.

Push the impact driver up really hard into the screw head and slowly pull the trigger until the impact driver starts "clicking" click click click.. Pull the trigger on slowly until clicking increase making sure the bit doesn't start spinning in the head and destroying it. if you do this correctly you should get them lil bastards out every time. if you eat out the Philips head by sending it too hard, its at least a good starting point to drill the thread out.

[K447]

I often use a manual impact driver. Powered by a hand held hammer.

Quite effective at loosening small really stuck screws without stripping out the screw head.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_driver?wprov=sfti1