Seat Gas Cylinder

My gas spring on my seat got weak.  It won't hold the seat up when it's cold, but when it's warm from engine heat then it will hold the seat up.  So I cut a piece of aluminum channel that slips over the shaft on the cylinder to keep it up when I need it up.  I stow the "strut stop" in the tool tray when I'm not using it.

Seemed a little more elegant than using a stick like I've heard of some people doing.

I replaced my weak seat gas strut for $14 from ebay. Better than oem.

I wish Honda had installed a spring loaded telescoping rod instead of a gas strut. Those things always lose pressure. I had to replace the one under the seat of my first Silverwing. I'm wondering how long my BMW 650GT's under seat strut will hold up.

I put one of those "butt rest to back rest" conversions on my seat recently. Would the normal replacement strut work (mine is totally dead) or would I need one that is stronger?

DuggleBogey wrote:

I put one of those "butt rest to back rest" conversions on my seat recently. Would the normal replacement strut work (mine is totally dead) or would I need one that is stronger?

I have that same butt to back rest conversion, using the stock gas cylinder, and it works just fine.
However, that stronger eBay replacement is still a lot cheaper than the OEM cylinder, so why not go with the eBay unit?

I wouldn't go too much stronger with a replacement gas cylinder, it could cause something to bend. The OEM strut has plenty of push when it's in good condition.

Try-    11" gas strut.   Just checked its $12.03 with free shipping. 33lbs of lift. (Im pretty sure its a 11" strut required, i would check but my swing is sleeping under cover, obviously check your opened strut measure before ordering). I did a step by step post here somewhere with pics on replacing.

Here is a link to the one I got. It works sooo much better than then OEM strut and it only cost ~$15 with free shipping too. HTH

http://www.sourcingmap.com/20kg-force-gas-strut-shock-spring-lift-support-rod-114-p-158286.html

Tim

Thanks for the link Cosmic_Jumper. I just ordered one for $13.49 with free shipping. It said there's only 6 left which leaves 5 now that I got mine.

Update 12-25-14

I got my seat gas shock from NewSourcingMap yesterday and installed it last night. It worked great last night but seemed a bit strong. The seat was also hard to get latched.

My problem was "solved" today when I got back from my son's and dinner. I opened the seat to check the gas shock and opened the seat all the way open and let go of it. It came crashing down like there was no shock on it at all. Oh Well. Lesson learned. I just ordered an OEM shock from Bike Bandit and will install that one when it comes.

Just checked the link and only 3 left now...So if you need one better hurry!

I finally needed one of these! 4 years and mine is having problems. I clicked on the link above and it still worked! Price now was $14.66 USD with free shipping. We shall see!!! Ordered and it should arrive in 7-10 days.

Glenn,  Congratulations !

You must have gotten the last one.  LOL !!  They show a "Sold Out" notification now.  I keep meaning to look into the struts that Princess Auto have.  They look to be a good fit.

Mike

This is an old topic, with many different posts, and many great ideas for this problematic seat damper/cylinder/support. But before you go ahead with many of these good ideas, you might want to try this potential remedy first. I have a 2012 Swing whose seat support finally gave out with the oncoming colder weather this year. Realizing that piston air guns require frequent oiling to keep their pistons sealed, I tried this idea. I propped my seat up and first sprayed some silicone spray on the support, allowing it to drip down into the piston tube. Thinking that the silicone might not be thick enough, I also dripped (more like dribbled) some 3-in-one oil down the same shaft. I let the scoot sit for several days in the up position. Checking it out before a ride, I realized that after a few ups and downs of the seat, I found that the piston is working fine again.

I don't know how long this will last, but it has been about 3 months so far with the piston still working ok. Maybe that factory piston is just asking for a little oil refresher occasionally. No guarantees here, but maybe some others out there can add to this idea. Not sure whether the silicone or 3-in-1 worked, but I'm thinking the 3-in-1 with its thicker viscosity (about SAE 20) would work a little longer. If you don't have 3-in-1, I'm sure an SAE 10, 20, or 30 might work, or whatever will drip down into that piston. It's worth trying before ordering and installing a new support.

Just make sure when you prop open your seat, you remove the seat bulb or disconnect the battery until you are finished dripping.

I'll get back to this post if this idea doesn't work.

Good idea. Buy oiling, kept mine working thru 2 new SilverWings and over 90,000 miles.

Good solution for sure. My 14 dollar one from the site above is still working so if you don't want to try the oil trick:

http://www.sourcingmap.com/20kg-force-gas-strut-shock-spring-lift-support-114-inch-for-car-p-158286.html

It says there are 30 left now at $14.33 USD.

I've been using above seat strut for 3 years now and no problems. It's a bit strong and have a little problem latching seat also but better than seat falling. Added a backrest making OE strut weak. I needed to drill lower part to fit mount pin bushing correctly.

Oh... seat gas CYLINDER.

I misunderstood.