seat damper/lift...or lack thereof

[SteveP]

There's been previous discussions here about the Forza seat, that it won't stay up, which is irritating when try to load something. My seat will stay up IF it's warm outside (60f+), the scoots on the center stand and there's no wind trying to blow it closed. otherwise, it falls closed. Under warrantee Honda is apparently willing to replace the damper. Has anyone out there had the damper replaced and had the problem solved?

I disconnected the damper from the seat and removed the seat, in hopes of finding I could install a compression spring around the damper and give it more "umoof" to hold the seat up. Unfortunately it doesn't appear doable due to lack of room....the damper contacts the luggage box when seat is up and the frame when seat is down. And no place to add a spring somewhere else. Looks like a stick might be the best solution :-( . For what it's worth, my damper has a lot of strength...I can't depress it by hand...have to use a long screwdriver as a lever. Is this a gas cylinder/damper or is there a spring inside? It doesn't compress much when going from seat open to closed.

[Richard]

Mine is rubbish to...so far only real fault with bike.

[davenowherejones]

Mine is also useless. The seat hinge needs a spring? I keep stuff I hope I don't need in the very front of the seat. I have almost crushed my phone a few times putting it under the middle of the seat. Very poor design. Honda Thailand is crap. Poor quality control also it seems.

[glencoeman]

I've found that the damper is OK when the weather is warm but useless when it is cold.

[Vesper2112]

Mine's like that as well... I'm about to just find an appropriately sized stick.

[gn2]

If you put your head in the luggage box the seat will not close.

[JohnL]

If you put your head in the luggage box the seat will not close.

That's good you'll still be able to breathe

[beegmouse]

It's a design fault.

replacing the damper doesn't fix it.

Honda should do a recall with an up-rated damper/spring but It's not something anyone will return the bike for and it's not safety critical, so they won't.

[Road-Dog]

There's been previous discussions here about the Forza seat, that it won't stay up, which is irritating when try to load something. My seat will stay up IF it's warm outside (60f+), the scoots on the center stand and there's no wind trying to blow it closed. otherwise, it falls closed. Under warrantee Honda is apparently willing to replace the damper. Has anyone out there had the damper replaced and had the problem solved?

I disconnected the damper from the seat and removed the seat, in hopes of finding I could install a compression spring around the damper and give it more "umoof" to hold the seat up. Unfortunately it doesn't appear doable due to lack of room....the damper contacts the luggage box when seat is up and the frame when seat is down. And no place to add a spring somewhere else. Looks like a stick might be the best solution :-( . For what it's worth, my damper has a lot of strength...I can't depress it by hand...have to use a long screwdriver as a lever. Is this a gas cylinder/damper or is there a spring inside? It doesn't compress much when going from seat open to closed.

When I installed my drivers backrest (see pictures) the damper became totally useless so I fabricated an aluminum rod that now holds it open and is 100% reliable. Why bother Honda for a remedy that is easily fixed. My thoughts.

[davenowherejones]

The seat smacked me on the head. I should sue Honda for pain and suffering. Also for lost wages. I have to find a good but short stick.

[GeorgeSK]

I was thinking about adding something like this:

http://www.iboats.com/Seasense-Hatch-Li ... _id.485102

They are used to hold up desk lids at nav stations. You lift the lid and the spring snaps rigid. You push the middle of the spring sideways and it allows the lid to come down, collapsing out of the way.

OTOH, the stick approach is very cost effective, and is currently what I am using. Although now that the weather is warming up, the seat does occasionally stay open.

[waybar]

Mine used to work until I added the airhawk seat pad last year, damper is worthless now.

[MBMyer]

The local shop agreed that my 2014 Forza's seat shock / seat damper needed to be replaced under warranty several months ago, but the part was OOS all over the country. This, to me, was clear sign that Honda was at least changing the manufacture if not the design of the doohickee. Mine was replaced under warranty a couple of weeks ago. It works as expected now. I keep finding myself repeating old muscle-memory moves to keep the seat from dropping, then remind myself I don't have to, then am pleasantly surprised to find that I actually *don't* have to prop the seat up now.

We will see what time tells.


BTW, the Shop Manual calls it a "seat damper," but the warranty ticket from the OEM shop calls it a "seat shock." I don't know what to make of this, but the info may prove useful to other Forza riders in the US.

There's been previous discussions here about the Forza seat, that it won't stay up, which is irritating when try to load something. My seat will stay up IF it's warm outside (60f+), the scoots on the center stand and there's no wind trying to blow it closed. otherwise, it falls closed. Under warrantee Honda is apparently willing to replace the damper. Has anyone out there had the damper replaced and had the problem solved?

I disconnected the damper from the seat and removed the seat, in hopes of finding I could install a compression spring around the damper and give it more "umoof" to hold the seat up. Unfortunately it doesn't appear doable due to lack of room....the damper contacts the luggage box when seat is up and the frame when seat is down. And no place to add a spring somewhere else. Looks like a stick might be the best solution :-( . For what it's worth, my damper has a lot of strength...I can't depress it by hand...have to use a long screwdriver as a lever. Is this a gas cylinder/damper or is there a spring inside? It doesn't compress much when going from seat open to closed.

[mjoa68]

I was at my dealer yesterday and the service manager told me Honda does have an updated piston available now which apparently solves this problem for good. Only issue is that this also requires new mounts (his guess was they are probably bigger/beefier in order to hold what he assumes is a bigger/beefier piston) in order to install, and the mounts themselves are not not available yet (at least in Canada).

Once the new mounts are available he's promised to let me know so we can place the order. All will be covered under warranty he says. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see if they actually become available before the warranty runs out... Maybe they'll issue a rain cheque (yes, that's how we spell it heah).

Any who, I'll follow up once this all comes to fruition, in case anyone is interested.

[davenowherejones]

Thailand is warm so it stays up there. Here in Canada I risk my life every time I stick my head under the seat to get something.