Guest PMCallahan Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Yeh, I know they're ugly -- but they're supposed to be very comfortable for the long haul. Apparently the Russell Day-Long saddle folks have just started making seats for "sport" bikes: Russell Day-Long Just curious if anyone here has contacted them and gone thru the process? Over the years I've spent more money on trying to find the right seat to make riding comfortable and I have always avoided going to these cats because their product just looks less than appealing to me. (well, that and I am a tad vertically challenged) However, everyone I've talked to and every review I've read says they are the freakin' bomb for long distance riding. anyone tasted the kool-aid yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 got a funny message after posting... think I may have put this in the wrong spot. Mods, if this post needs to be moved -- please accept a noob apology and do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bryan217 Posted October 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2009 I can see why the looks would turn you off. They have the same effect on me. But I've heard of them and also heard they are the best for looooong rides. I'd also be interested to hear if anybody has used them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted October 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2009 Yep..."UGLY", but I sat on one (didn't ride it) in Murfreesboro that a guy had on a 919 Honda.....really felt great. Adds a lota' height though if You're in "My Club"......... :biggrin: :beer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Yep..."UGLY", but I sat on one (didn't ride it) in Murfreesboro that a guy had on a 919 Honda.....really felt great. Adds a lota' height though if You're in "My Club"......... :biggrin: :beer: yeh, that is the one concern with a Russell. I understand they do add some height and I can't afford to lose any more proximity to the ground. :blink: still, I also wonder if that problem might be something that can be addressed and overcome. I gave up flat-footing as an option a long time ago. but buying multiple seats to find the right one seems like a bad approach -- one I've done before. I've had several Corbins and have determined they're not for me. I had one Sargent on an RT -- it was certainly better than stock but it wasn't a "paradigm shift" improvement over stock. heck, I'd like someone from here to go buy one of these Russells, review it, takes lots of photos, and take the risk for me. Thats not asking too much is it? slainte!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rice Posted October 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2009 heck, I'd like someone from here to go buy one of these Russells, review it, takes lots of photos, and take the risk for me. Thats not asking too much is it? OK. I'll volunteer for ya. Just send me the $ to buy the seat. :ohmy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer rhenter Posted October 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2009 I can see why the looks would turn you off. They have the same effect on me. But I've heard of them and also heard they are the best for looooong rides. I'd also be interested to hear if anybody has used them. I have one on my BMW K1100LT. I love it. It is kind of old now (like 15 years) and needs to be redone but it is still pretty comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer keithbob Posted October 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2009 I've posted this before many times, but.... I'll say it again. For a high-quality custom seat, go straight to BillMayerSaddles.com. It will be built for you, for not much more than a Sargent or Corbin. The seat will be custom shaped to your body, weight, and riding style. One important item asked for is inseam length, and you can specify that you want the seat to be as thick or thin as you like. We had a couple of long conversations by phone to pin down exactly what I wanted. I shipped the seat down to have my section done, but Jalene's was custom fitted during a trip to the factory in Ojai, CA. We did 500 and 600 mile days on the Colorado trip this summer. In fact, it was her that suggested we continue on another 200+ miles to Lakeview after already having done 400 on the slab to Winnemucca. Here's the seat before we had Jalene's portion re-done. The "bucket" is not as pronounced as it appears in this photo. You can see how he rolled the egdes down so I can still slide side-to-side very easily. And remember, attention to bar position is just as important for long-range comfort (love my Heli-bars). The longer the reach to the bars, the more your weight is concentrated on your butt-bones. Saddle by BillMayerSaddles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 OK. I'll volunteer for ya. Just send me the $ to buy the seat. :laugh: nice Rice, nice!! the checks in the mail... :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I have one on my BMW K1100LT. I love it. It is kind of old now (like 15 years) and needs to be redone but it is still pretty comfortable. thanks rhenter... thats exactly the kind of comment I was referring to. I've never heard anyone actually complain about a Russell. quite the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I've posted this before many times, but.... I'll say it again.For a high-quality custom seat, go straight to BillMayerSaddles.com. Saddle by BillMayerSaddles.com Thanks for the photo keithbob... that really helps. Your Mayer looks great, a definite improvement. I'd forgotten about them so I appreciate the input. Jan had a Mayer seat on a beemer Rockster she owned once and loved it. As you explained -- she had to send photos of her sitting on the bike, measurements, and spent time on the phone with them to nail it down. The result was a seat she really felt was comfortable. And the fact that they will consider height is a big plus. +1 on the Heli-Bars. Added those about two weeks ago and you're right -- great mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BonusVFR Posted October 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2009 I recently attended a ST event in the ........would you believe the Sierras. The Russell seat is probably the #1 choice for LD guys who ride the ST1100 & ST1300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted October 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2009 Yeh, I know they're ugly -- but they're supposed to be very comfortable for the long haul. Apparently the Russell Day-Long saddle folks have just started making seats for "sport" bikes:Russell Day-Long Just curious if anyone here has contacted them and gone thru the process? Over the years I've spent more money on trying to find the right seat to make riding comfortable and I have always avoided going to these cats because their product just looks less than appealing to me. (well, that and I am a tad vertically challenged) However, everyone I've talked to and every review I've read says they are the freakin' bomb for long distance riding. anyone tasted the kool-aid yet? Wow they are ugly - but bet thier comfortable...... MD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer elizilla Posted October 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted October 1, 2009 Looks like the sport seats are the same pattern as the seats they have always made. They have always been willing to make seats for any bike you send them the seat pan for, and they have always made them to fit the rider. If you have a wide arse, you get a wide seat. None of the ones pictured look as wide as some of the touring bike seats I have seen, though. Maybe the sport seats change the formula a little, and go slightly less wide than the regular Day-long would? Or maybe they're only showing seats they made for skinny people. I've owned two different Russell seats, both on my V65 Sabres. Neither was made for me, and in fact they were obviously made for very different original owners. I was the third or fourth owner of both, never met the first owners, but I suspect the original owner of the bigger seat was about 6'3" and 300+lbs, while the original owner of the smaller seat was about 5'10" and 160lbs. Despite neither seat being made for me, and the extreme variation between them, they were both incredibly comfortable. I happily put in tens of thousands of miles on the larger one, before I acquired the smaller one, which I mainly only liked better because it sat me closer to the bars. If you can find one, you could do a whole heckuva lot worse than to get a used Russell seat, whether or not the original owner was anywhere near your size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiralGray Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 My buddy says the biggest reason he won't get rid of his 10-year-old Sprint ST is because the Russell seat he's got on it is the most comfortable seat he's ever had on a motorcycle. That, and the fact that the Sprint isn't really worth anything anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Looks like the sport seats are the same pattern as the seats they have always made. They have always been willing to make seats for any bike you send them the seat pan for, and they have always made them to fit the rider. If you have a wide arse, you get a wide seat. None of the ones pictured look as wide as some of the touring bike seats I have seen, though. Maybe the sport seats change the formula a little, and go slightly less wide than the regular Day-long would? Or maybe they're only showing seats they made for skinny people. I thought the same elizilla -- they seem to have a smaller "footprint" so to speak. At least in the few they have pictured it looks like they aren't quite as domineering as the seats they've made for the touring bikes. And thats part of why I'm interested in finding out whether anyone has had one of these new seats made for the VFR. Thanks for sharing your experience with them. I think I'm getting old and curmudgeonly enough to just plain not care what other people think about how it looks if its a seat that will support a long day in the saddle. I know I can't do that with the stocker and don't want to try a Corbin with that in mind. It may be that this new line is brand new and no-one's had one made for a VFR. But I am interested.... cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 The Russell seat is probably the #1 choice for LD guys who ride the ST1100 & ST1300. says something when the majority of folks doing the long miles are relying on the same seat... Thanks BonusVFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 My buddy says the biggest reason he won't get rid of his 10-year-old Sprint ST is because the Russell seat he's got on it is the most comfortable seat he's ever had on a motorcycle. That, and the fact that the Sprint isn't really worth anything anymore. heck, the way I see it -- the bikes paid off, he's got a great ride, and the Russell... sounds like its worth a lot to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer c5ip Posted December 13, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted December 13, 2009 I have a Russell seat on my '98 VFR. I've put about 90K miles on the seat and it's been great. I would buy one again. The only thing I would change is getting leather vice vinal. They do look ugly, though, on the VFR. But, like they say, you don't see yourself when riding. I can easily do about 12 hours in the seat with no problem while only stopping for gas...not real breaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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