I installed a seat post extension from Arigoni and had to cut it down a little. When I removed the seat from the existing post, the top surface of the post was rather rough which was gouging the plastic bushing that sits on top of it. Before installing the extension I filed and sanded the top to make it rounded and very smooth. I know I have replaced these bushings in the past and now know why they wear out.
Plastic seat post bushings
- Thread starter 1st grady
- Start date
How did you cut the extension posts?
I installed the Arigoni posts last year. I was thinking of taking them to a machine shop to take a couple of inches off. I'm afraid that I can't / won't get a straight cut.
I installed the Arigoni posts last year. I was thinking of taking them to a machine shop to take a couple of inches off. I'm afraid that I can't / won't get a straight cut.
The plastic bushing the covers the aluminum post on my previous boat would also wear through fairly easily. I fixed this by turning down (with a lathe) a piece of nylon that was approx. 2 1/2 inches long and went into the pipe /seat base about 2 1/4 inches . I'm sure 1 inch would be fine.Leave a shoulder on it about 1/4 inch tall that matches the o.d. of the aluminum seat pipe. This is a permanent solution to this problem. That pipe will NEVER wear out another plastic seat bushing . grease up your seats and hang on, they will swivel with ease. Any mom and pop machine shop should be able to make you a couple of "plugs" for a reasonable price. 
The seat post are ''rough" as they have been cutoff with a drop saw or the like. Now if they had been "parted" off on a lathe they would be soooth and this problem wouldn't exist. The drop saw or cold saw is much faster than truing up pipe in a lathe and then parting it off at the dimension you need. That's where you get into that whole cost of production / quality/ profit thing.
To cut the post, run a strip of tape around the post where you intend to cut. Clamp the tube in a vice or off the edge of a table. (a second person is very helpfull) Use a NEW hack saw blade and work along the tape all the way around just scoring the metal. Just keep working around untill you get a kerf deep enough to prevent the saw from jumping out of the groove. Keep cutting around the pipe repositioning (turning) after a few strokes of the saw. Take your time. I used a porta band (cheating) but used the same technique. It took me about 15 minutes even with the porta band. Then file, file and sand to smooth it out and round off the top.
I have a similar problem with my '98 GW Adventure: one of the helm seat's nylon sleeves keeps sliding down out of the post, and the nylon bushing-washer has split in two. Any suggestions for repairing/correcting this are appreciated. Thanks.