My Russell Day Long

Short, Fat dude. Tall guy with bird legs. Normal sized guy but had elephantiasis of the left testis

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• The leather is much smoother, so I'm sliding forward during braking more. Have to learn to squeeze harder.
• The "wings" make me want to slide forward when coming to a stop to put my leg straight down. I don't have any issues reaching the ground, it's just muscle memory from how I usually sit on the FJR. On the stock seat I tend to be way back in the saddle, almost using the passenger seat, and am able to go straight legged. Can't be both back and straight legged with the RDL
• The "wings" also give much more leverage on the seat. I find it easier to balance the bike at a stop with my weight rather than bracing my knees. When maneuvering I'm also causing much more motion on the motorcycle; probably a combination of the extra buttock surface area, and the smooth leather letting me slide around
• Seems like it should be comfortable for longer trips if I can get my posture right. I'm finding myself arching my back, but I'm not sure why yet. Possibly from not sitting as far back, or a change in the seat angle
• It is much harder to install/remove the rear seat, the wings obstruct the normal travel of the forward edge of the rear seat. It's doable with some forcing, but you can see on the RDL where this is a common problem and puts wear on the front seat.

Whooshka said:

That plastic bracket with the load limit sticker needs to be pried up from the rear and slid back and pushed down in the low position too. Give that a try.

After that see how the seat works in the high position. Remove the "blocking plate" in the front under the tank and install the seat tongue in the high position. Same for the load limit bracket, slide it to high. Give it a try.

I doubt the RDL seat is the problem, it uses the stock seat pan. I'm guessing you're just misaligning the high/low brackets.

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Whooshka said:

Excellent! Glad I could help. Someday I'm sure you'll return the favor when I come down with a case of "WTF was I thinking?!?!?"

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Bionicpork said:

Family commitments have kept me from any long joy rides to test out the RDL, but today I needed to take a ~160 mile trip for work. What is better than riding an FJR on beautiful day through SC's back roads? Getting paid to do so.

The RDL does indeed live up to its name. After several hours I had no hotspots and was still perfectly comfortable.
That said, and to the surprise of no one I'm sure, it is not ideal if you are a spirited rider. The combination of slippery leather and extra wide saddle combine to give an odd experience of feeling like you can't maintain your body position, but are also unable to move your weight around.

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