My Russell Day Long

[Bionicpork]

Well I'm not sure which of the combinations mentioned in the sale thread I would fit into,

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

but I received a used Russell Day Long today and went on an errand trip to try it out. Definitely a big change to the FJR experience.

• 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.

Will run it on my usual commute tomorrow, and try to get a joy-ride in this weekend to test its "Day Long" credentials.

I had a little trouble getting the front saddle installed. It required me changing the seat height settings just to get it to fit: front adjuster on high, rear adjuster on low. Is this normal? I couldn't find any instructions on the RDL website.

 

[sapest]

I think the usual seat height set up is both frt and rr on the same setting.
The bottom of the seat should be parallel with the top of the plastic side panel.

Thats how Russell installed the seat when I purchased it.
However, if its working for you, “ride more, stress less”, as its often stated hereabouts.
-Steve

 

[Whooshka]

Are you sure both adjusters are set the same (hi/lo)?

 

[Bionicpork]

Maybe I’m just reading it wrong. Pictured is the only configuration I can get the seat to install in. With the front on the low setting the edge of the seat is contacting the side fairings before the seat nub can reach the bracing point. With the rear in the rearwards position (high?) the seat pan is hitting the vertical nubs on the bracket long before the latch can reach.

 

[Whooshka]

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.

 

[Bionicpork]

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.

"Blocking plate"

Yep, I'm being dumb. The pictured config is the "low" setting on the front, and the seat tongue needs to go where the plate is currently to reach the high setting. Had it backwards in my brain for some reason and was correlating moving the plate lower to low setting.

Will confirm my brain-deadness later

 

[Bionicpork]

Confirmed: Brain-dead behavior detected. Thank you Whooshka for the mental kick just by using the words Blocking Plate

I was moving the blocker plate to the lower position, then trying to shove the tongue into the blocker plate... So I WAS riding in in the low position.

I moved the blocker plate down, and the bracket rear-wards, and once I put the tongue in the proper (higher) hole there were no further problems. Haven't ridden in the high position yet, but from stationary I think I'll like it better. Just a bit more room and wider angle for the knees.

 

[Whooshka]

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?!?!?"

 

[Dan Cooper]

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?!?!?"

That could be as early as tomorrow!

dan

 

[Bionicpork]

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.

 

[RossKean]

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.

So, is it a Yay or a Nay for you?

 

[Bionicpork]

Primarily yay. I may switch back in the stock if I’m doing a lot of around town riding, or the hooligan escapes. For scenic rides it’s a big upgrade

 

[BIODSL]

Agreed. When riding my FJR like a sportbike, the RDL's wings get in the way. You CAN learn to try to work around them, but it's not ideal. However, I rode 900 miles from Alamo, Nevada to Monmouth, Oregon yesterday. Not once did I think about my butt. My 16 year old RDL just keeps working.

 

[ksiesel]

Bili,
I have a set of stock stock seats from a ‘12 that will fit. I’m interested in trading you those for the RDL seats. I’ll reach out via PM to see if we can make a deal.