how do you all close the front and rear clam shells?

The front I just slowly lower it till it stops then gently push on the upper corners in a strong if possible flat area of the hood to engage the latches on each side, the rear needs some help raising so I grab it by the wing to prevent the fenders from bending lowering the same grab by the wing and push on the wing edges to latch each side

After seeing how much filler is used on the ft and rear clamshells and how thin and fragile it is I would never drop the hoods to latch them

 

Front clam: Drop from about 8" out, then gently push -- with both palms to spread the force -- on each side about 6" from the edge at the corner to engage the latches. I tried various ways to get the clam to engage on a single first drop but it started to get too violent so I"m sticking with the gentle-push approach for now. I open and close the front clam a lot because I disconnect the battery in between rides.

Rear clam: Drop from about 12-14" out. The main latches engage fine; resecuing the safety latch can be tough sometimes. In general, the harder and straighter the clam comes down, the easier the safety latch will be. The tradeoff is damaging something.

 

And keep your fingers out of the way. Afriend almost lost the tip of one on the rear lid.


Also I give the rear a good yank upwards on each side before latching the middle. It comes from seeing what happens if that thing comes open at speed.

 

After the short drop to latch the rear lid I give the spoiler a lift to check and 50% of the time the drivers one didnt catch although the lid looks fully closed. Then I close the safey latch.

The front one I see no point in dropping any distance if you still push down on both corners to latch it. I push it closed once it touches the seals.

 

Mine must be sloppy loose or something!
The front always latches solidly from about a 6 inch drop.
The rear only needs to be dropped from about 4 inches, and latches completely as well.
I do keep the four latching pins greased up well though. No rattles or squeaks when driving either. But no matter how solidly they seemed to have closed, I always give a tug on the wheelwells to be sure!