Best seats?

[Lauren_TK]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Airhawk 2. According to other threads here on the forum, the "Medium Cruiser" fits the FJR:

https://www.motorcyclecushions.net/p-242-airhawk-2-medium-cruiser.aspx

I know a couple of people who have them, and love them. They are certainly cheaper than a custom seat. I sat on one this weekend and was impressed.

After the 400+ miles I rode yesterday, I'm going to order one for myself.

 

[Bounce]

Partial solutions and band-aids are no match for a good blaster at your side...

oops... sorry.

...are no match for a custom Russell.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

My opinion, for whatever it is worth.

The Laam seat is the best value on the market for the majority of us. It is far better than the OEM and better than a Corbin or a Sargent. For the money spent the return is incredible. The looks and the craftsmanship are first rate. I love my Laam Custom and consider it money very well spent.

But...

For the true LD rider, the guy who is expecting to get his name in the hat for the Iron Butt Rally, there is really only one choice. That is the Russell.

I guess I could have just quoted Georgia Roller.

 

[leclairk]

Does RDL make a seat without those damn wings coming off of it? Can you slide over the edge of the seat when your hauling *** in the corners?

 

[user 8909]

Does RDL make a seat without those damn wings coming off of it? Can you slide over the edge of the seat when your hauling *** in the corners?

No. and Yes.

 

[Ignacio]

Does RDL make a seat without those damn wings coming off of it? Can you slide over the edge of the seat when your hauling *** in the corners?

That's the point! It ain't rocket science that the big reason a Russell is such a good seat is EXACTLY because of those wings. It's all about leg support in the thread I linked about *** boards and detailed by Vetter. Leg support is the key to a comfortable saddle.

You want a crotch rocket to hang off in corners...don't get a Russell. You want to do 500 miles like the OP asked about....including hauling *** in the corners and not need to move around on the seat (maybe a little if you REALLY wanted to).....Russell is the dog's danglies.

I marvel at seat discussions on this forum sometimes. Except for the very recent Laam discussion...it's the same basic thread with side discussion as the dozens of times before.

 

[Bounce]

With the same people explaining why the cost of a Russell (or other truly pan-up custom seat) isn't as costly as trying to buy 2nd or 3rd tier brands that usually are either a "recover" or made from a limited selection of templates.

When getting a different off-the-shelf saddle *custom cover or not" you may get lucky and be the person they built to. You're as likely to not fit the new seat that cost 3/4th a Russell as you were the OEM Yamaha seat.

If you buy an after market seat and still need beads, sheepskins, or air mattresses, then that new seat really wasn't such a bargain.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

For my ST1300 the approximate costs were:

Sargent- $550.00 and up

Corbin -$500.00 and up

Russell -$700ish

Laam - $260.00

Seth Laam was running a discount when I contacted him. He called me back and spent 50 minutes on the phone with me. I sent him the photos of me on the bike, and sent him the seat. He called back and re-hashed a few things the morning of the build. His turnaround time was just a few days, his craftsmanship was excellent. The seat was everything I hoped it would be. I don't need to put beads, sheepskin, Airhawk, or pig intestines on top of it to be comfortable. In my opinion, if you have to add another $100+ dollars on top of a seat to be comfortable, you did not get your money's worth.

The Laam is a TRUE custom seat. The Sargent and Corbin are not customs, they are aftermarkets. Again, if I were even considering being worthy of an IBR slot I would go straight to the Russell. I do notice my butt on longer rides which they tell me does not happen with the Russell. Since at best I may do another SS1K, the Laam is perfect for me. I love it.

 

[Fred W]

It isn't just a matter of IBR participation or just for LD feats of super human riding. It is a matter of paying the money once and never having to think about seat comfort again for the entire life of the bike, or longer for those who have transferred their 2nd gen Russell seats to their third gen bikes. I seldom cover "long distances" but I often spend all day in the saddle. Being able to ride all day long, stopping just for gas and photos along the way, and ending the day with no seat comfort concerns the entire time (even looking forward to getting back on the road the next day) isn't worth $700. It's priceless!!

Rick Mayer makes custom seats too. I have first hand (or is it first butt?) experience that they do not compare in comfort to a Russell with those big (ugly) wings. The comfort is in those wings, not just in the "custom."

The $700 number for a Russell would be for a dual (both the rider and passenger seat fully shaped and customized) and with the full full leather seat cover at full price. If you do not normally carry a passenger and wanted to go with the vinyl seat covers you can get a Russell solo (front and back recoverd to match) for just $480, and if you are really price conscious and opt to not send the passenger seat in to be recovered with the matching vinyl, it is only $395. Plus, if you get it during one of the annual group buys you can get 10 or 15% off of that. (a 15% discount just ended on 10/13)

@leclairk Yes you can get a Russell without the huge wings. They are called the "Russell Sport Seat," but you lose out on a great deal of the comfort of the regular Russell Daylong. Yes you can still shift your *** on a Russell Daylong with the big wings, and yes (to the unwritten question) it is a bit more work to do it. But why would you even bother for street riding? Most of your body weight that matters for cornering is up high in your torso. You can shift your torso weight quite easily just moving your head and shoulders to the inside without sliding your *** across the seat. Most of the Ricky Racer seat sliders that I see out on the road slide their butt to the inside, but then they leave their entire torso centered over the bike with their eyes still level to the horizon. That doesn't work. Get down and kiss the inside mirror and see how much weight gets transferred to the inside with your butt "still in the pocket."

 

[101stpathfinder]

Dog Gone..

Keep reaching my quota of positive votes for the day

+1 on what Fred W. and most of the big riders have been saying.

It never ceases to amaze me how riders will dish big time cash out for after market goodies like exhaust, smugglers and the whole lot, but when it comes to the most essential item (The SEAT) they

become tight fisted. Unsightly wings? Sit on the bike and RIDE it and the wings will disappear under your comfortable butt ! ... Problem solved ! If you are worried about day to day riding and looks,

buy a stocker and swap them out depending on your plans.

After buying an RDL for my gen 1 from another forum member, I purchased an RDL for my gen 2 BEFORE I purchased the bike. Cart before the horse so to speak.

Priorities are with COMFORT... not LOOKS !!!

 

[Breathless]

Went through several seats from a big name, spent a lot of money and still my *** ached. Finally went with Russell. Wonderful. Needed a minor adjustment and happened to be passing through Redding, CA where they are located. They could not possibly have been nicer and fixed me up "toot sweet".

 

[RaiderBill]

Ok, for now I reworked the corbin pillon seat. I drilled out the rivets and put a gel pad and more foam in and re-riveted it together. I also adden no slip tape so the wife is not sliding all over the place. She likes the seat a lot better now.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Wow. That just looks uncomfortable to me.

I guess I am different but IF Mrs. Redfish would consent to ride on the bike with me money would cease to be a factor. I can tolerate some discomfort but if it made the difference between the wife riding or not I would spend whatever it took no matter who had to go hungry.

 

[RaiderBill]

You are right redfish, riding season ends here Saturday and its supposed to get in the teens at night after that. All winter to get the Russells ordered. Actually I am not sure the fjr will be around next spring, I can't seem to keep off the throttle and between that and the wife not really happy with the setup compared to the cruisers I've had, I just don't know. Might have to go to the Triumph shop and get another Rocket 3 (wrecked mine hitting a deer). I seemed able to just cruise along for the most part on the Rocket and enjoy myself, find myself actually kind of bored at the speed limit on this bike, it just does it so easily with no fuss. Maybe louder pipes so it seems like I am working it harder.

 

[Dutch]

Ok, for now I reworked the corbin pillon seat. I drilled out the rivets and put a gel pad and more foam in and re-riveted it together. I also adden no slip tape so the wife is not sliding all over the place. She likes the seat a lot better now.

I never would have thought of putting Velcro down for the woman - great idea!

 

[RaiderBill]

Ok, for now I reworked the corbin pillon seat. I drilled out the rivets and put a gel pad and more foam in and re-riveted it together. I also adden no slip tape so the wife is not sliding all over the place. She likes the seat a lot better now.

I never would have thought of putting Velcro down for the woman - great idea!

I like that it works really well, does not look too bad. She was sliding all over the place before. The tape is actually no slip tape for stairs.

 

[fljab]

I took my stock seat off @ 72 miles when the bike was new. The mileage was dictated by that hog I hit - but regardless, I knew the stocker was not going to do it for what I had in mind.

I scored a Rich's seat off here used. Much improvement, but the first couple of LD runs I did of ~1K each direction, I found out even that seat was lacking.

Sooo, I had decided that maybe some of these folks that do LD regularly know something about how to set a FJR up. I had missed the group deal that yr and was getting ready to pony up anyway. Then, one day I got lucky - I was first to see a near new RDL set on here used. I paid $300 and traded my stock seats. He actually held me off for a bit as there were others that wanted to do the same deal. But it's hard to argue with seats that have 72 miles on them, even if there might of been a drop of hog blood.

Best choice besides the initial one of buying a FJR! I've since put 80K on it, and you can't even see them dang wings during 400 mile runs! The rear seat is like new as I have an aux cell where the pillion would be, and I still have the Rich's seat as backup.

I have no knowledge of the Laam seats, but they might be worth looking at from what I've heard. It's hard to be the king tho IMO...........

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Actually I am not sure the fjr will be around next spring, I can't seem to keep off the throttle and between that and the wife not really happy with the setup compared to the cruisers I've had, I just don't know. Might have to go to the Triumph shop and get another Rocket 3 (wrecked mine hitting a deer). I seemed able to just cruise along for the most part on the Rocket and enjoy myself, find myself actually kind of bored at the speed limit on this bike, it just does it so easily with no fuss. Maybe louder pipes so it seems like I am working it harder.

I have tried to explain this phenomenon to others. I can't even explain it to myself.

My ST1300 is like a best friend. It wants to do whatever I want to do. Pretend we are a Harley? Fine, we go slow. Drag our pegs and erase our chicken (*****) strips? Fine, we can do that too.

But not the FJR. Oh no, that Thing has a more forceful personality. It is always whispering, "You could go just a little faster. You could lean it over further if you wanted. Come on, just a little more throttle." Sounds crazy but I cannot ever behave on the FJR.

If you cannot make your wife happy with the FJR, get something else. No shame in getting the right bike. It does not have to be an FJR.

 

[Bounce]

Hell. Have her get her own bike. She'll have what she wants and you'll have the FJR. Compared to trading a perfectly good FJR away, it'll be better for everyone involved.

 

[RaiderBill]

Hell. Have her get her own bike. She'll have what she wants and you'll have the FJR. Compared to trading a perfectly good FJR away, it'll be better for everyone involved.

She does not want to ride or us to spend the money on a second bike. I really do love my fjr that is why I bought it. Will just have to learn to take it a little easier on the throttle and get the Russell seats this winter and all will be well!