2020 RTL Seat strut barely holds the seat open - ideas?

[bikerbillone]

Dealer replaced mine free, but it might be less of a hassle to buy one and install it. That's what I would do
if I did a do over. Sometimes it's a pain with dealers, and who knows if the dealer replacement is gonna last?

[WingmanRT]

I followed someone's (can't remember who) advice from this forum. We had two 2020 RTs with this problem.

1.) removed the panels,
2.) took out the strut,
3.) wound a compression spring (purchased beforehand - you want one heavy enough to put pressure on the strut fully extended, but not so heavy as to not allow the strut to compress almost all of the way down. Finding the right compression spring was more art than science. Try Ace hardware. ) around the extension arm of the strut and
4.) replaced the strut and panels.
Works like a champ. Cost about $4. (and and hour or two of my time).

Steve O. from Honda of Winston-Salem replaced one of ours (using an ice-pick-like tool with a 90 degree bend at the very end) in about 30 seconds. He removed the two outside panels, unscrewed the the top bolt of the strut, stuck the pick in one of the slots in the black plastic panel under the outer Tupperware (avoiding taking off the black plastic panel), used the pick to pull the clip holding the strut in, pulled out the strut, replaced it, replaced all the panels and did it in less time than it took me to type this.

[Davgill2002]

Thank you for this thread. I ordered the suggested shock & eye kit for my 2023 S2S.