New Russell seat

[ctfjr]

Arrived this am - found it when I came home to walk the dogs. now on bike

photos & story at 11!

photo now - it looks like a Russell

:

 

[TCMike]

How long past your production date did you get it back? My date was 9/5, and I paid for 2-day shipping. I'm dying to ride again....haven't had a seat for 2 1/2 weeks now.

 

[Fred W]

Arrived this am - found it when I came home to walk the dogs. now on bike

photos & story at 11!

photo now - it looks like a Russell

:

More than that, it looks like a Warchild Russell...

How long past your production date did you get it back? My date was 9/5, and I paid for 2-day shipping. I'm dying to ride again....haven't had a seat for 2 1/2 weeks now.

Don't worry Mike, it will be worth the wait.

 

[TCMike]

Don't worry Mike, it will be worth the wait.

I'm sure it will be, but as I'm sure you know......winter is around the corner. :cold:

 

[Fred W]

Don't worry Mike, it will be worth the wait.

I'm sure it will be, but as I'm sure you know......winter is around the corner. :cold:

Nah... still 3 months away (at least here) and those are the 3 best riding months of the year IMO.

Just gotta watch out for them forest rats. :glare:

 

[doctorJ]

Me thinks you just pilfered that seat off Warchild's FJR, . Congrats and enjoy.

doctorj

 

[ctfjr]

How long past your production date did you get it back? My date was 9/5, and I paid for 2-day shipping. I'm dying to ride again....haven't had a seat for 2 1/2 weeks now.

My build date was 8/25 - when I emailed them on 8/27 & asked for a UPS tracking number I eventually got this response,

"Hello,

It is a two week turn around period. Once your date starts. If you have any

other questions feel free to write back."

They may make great seats but their customer service needs some help. When you tell me my build date is "X" I assume its going to be built that day. Unless of course that you tell me the two week clock starts on your build date. Just poor communications.

As far as the seat goes. . . Its higher than my stock seat. Its difficult to flat foot at a stop without sliding forward to the 'nose' of the seat. Its not a big issue for me, its just different and the comfort in the riding position (where I spend most of my time) seems excellent. I only rode it abt 20 miles today with the seat and I can't wait to put 3-400 hundred on it one day this weekend. That will be a better test.

The quality & workmanship seem very fine. I did the vinyl with the cross hatching design (as can be seen in the pix. I just went by their website suggestions as to what was the most comfy.

And that's the way it is, September 11th 2008.

 

[wingnuut]

The rear seat looks bigger than the front seat/ do they make a solo seat?

 

[Fred W]

How long past your production date did you get it back? My date was 9/5, and I paid for 2-day shipping. I'm dying to ride again....haven't had a seat for 2 1/2 weeks now.

My build date was 8/25 - when I emailed them on 8/27 & asked for a UPS tracking number I eventually got this response,

"Hello,

It is a two week turn around period. Once your date starts. If you have any

other questions feel free to write back."

They may make great seats but their customer service needs some help. When you tell me my build date is "X" I assume its going to be built that day. Unless of course that you tell me the two week clock starts on your build date. Just poor communications.

As far as the seat goes. . . Its higher than my stock seat. Its difficult to flat foot at a stop without sliding forward to the 'nose' of the seat. Its not a big issue for me, its just different and the comfort in the riding position (where I spend most of my time) seems excellent. I only rode it abt 20 miles today with the seat and I can't wait to put 3-400 hundred on it one day this weekend. That will be a better test.

The quality & workmanship seem very fine. I did the vinyl with the cross hatching design (as can be seen in the pix. I just went by their website suggestions as to what was the most comfy.

And that's the way it is, September 11th 2008.

Yeah... They are a small outfit. And like most small outfits you are actually better off picking up the phone and calling if you want an immediate response.

And also, yes, the seat is a bit higher in the "pocket" and you do need to slide forward when at a stop. But that pocket is very, very comfy and will enable you to ride lots and lots of miles between having to put your feet down...

 

[TCMike]

Part of my anticipation is eagerness, and part worry. I have a trip planned to my bro's in NC in early October.

 

[Mooseonagoose]

Got a question for ya Fred, since I'm seriously considering a Russell. I'm on an '08 also, and w/ the saddle in the upper position I'm pretty pleased w/ the drop to the pegs and to the ground [flatfooted], I'm also fine w/ the bar to saddle relationship. I assume you didn't request a taller saddle, but that it's just a quirk of the Russell saddle that makes it [seem] higher? How much higher would you judge it to be, and if the stock seat were previously acceptable in the upper slot is it enough higher that you would want to drop it to the lower one?

 

[Mooseonagoose]

Oooops, I directed that last question to the wrong guy, ...guess the quote [photo incl] in Freds post threw me off. Got any thoughts on that'n CTFJR?

 

[Fred W]

Got a question for ya Fred, since I'm seriously considering a Russell. I'm on an '08 also, and w/ the saddle in the upper position I'm pretty pleased w/ the drop to the pegs and to the ground [flatfooted], I'm also fine w/ the bar to saddle relationship. I assume you didn't request a taller saddle, but that it's just a quirk of the Russell saddle that makes it [seem] higher? How much higher would you judge it to be, and if the stock seat were previously acceptable in the upper slot is it enough higher that you would want to drop it to the lower one?

Well, I have a Russell on a 1st gen, so no variable seat height. But I would estimate that I sit 1" higher on my Russel than I did on the stock seat. So, all things being equal, lowering the Russell to your low seat position should put your body back in the exact same height as with the stocker in the high position.

After getting my Russell I played with stacking bar risers. I already had Heli Bar risers and I stacked Lenkadapters on them. They give you an added 3/4" rise and full rotational adjust-ability. It did sit me back upright, but I later decided that I could just get used to the lower relative bar position and ever so slight forward lean without the Lenks.

I would say that, without a doubt, it is well worth putting up with the added height of these seats for the added comfort.

 

[ctfjr]

Oooops, I directed that last question to the wrong guy, ...guess the quote [photo incl] in Freds post threw me off. Got any thoughts on that'n CTFJR?

np - Fred answered it pretty much the same as I would have - It's close to a 1" increase in height

 

[Mooseonagoose]

Thanks for the input Gents, kinda what I expected, which works out well enuf. I'm just sittin' tight til the next group buy occurs at this point.

I'm also leaning toward the extra $$s for a ride-in being potentially well spent if I don't want to spend any of next spring w/o a saddle, ...based on your comments about build dates etc.

Fred, your [retrospective] comments regarding leather-vs-vinyl were interesting. I am much enamoured of the solo half moon pattern saddle just as the one in your photo. Sweet lookin' saddle!! That's just what I want, but as there's no SO in my life, I don't feel it's worth the $$s for the full Dubl Bukit deal, and I'm thinking a good compromise in comfort/practicality might be that style done in all vinyl except for the riders seat contact surface done in leather, ...all black so it's not obvious.

 

[Fred W]

Thanks for the input Gents, kinda what I expected, which works out well enuf. I'm just sittin' tight til the next group buy occurs at this point.
I'm also leaning toward the extra $$s for a ride-in being potentially well spent if I don't want to spend any of next spring w/o a saddle, ...based on your comments about build dates etc.

Fred, your [retrospective] comments regarding leather-vs-vinyl were interesting. I am much enamoured of the solo half moon pattern saddle just as the one in your photo. Sweet lookin' saddle!! That's just what I want, but as there's no SO in my life, I don't feel it's worth the $$s for the full Dubl Bukit deal, and I'm thinking a good compromise in comfort/practicality might be that style done in all vinyl except for the riders seat contact surface done in leather, ...all black so it's not obvious.

That would be a way to go. But I do not believe that the leather breathes any better or worse than the vinyl, for what that's worth, at least based on my experience. That's why I'd go straight Pleather (vinyl) as it is way easier to take care of.

But I'm gong to try to find some sort of greasy leather conditioner that will make my leather all but waterproof, like the stuff they use on the Aerostich boots, and see how that works.

 

[git-r-dan]

Thought I might chime in here. I received my Russell from the group buy a while back in which they give you two free fittings. On a previous thread, I mentioned how bummed I was when they gave the rear seat about 6" of padding and the front seat was smaller with maybe an 1" of padding. The front seats in these pictures look identical to mine. Anyway, I did the break-in thing and then called them to report what I needed done. Gave them three things to resolve. First, because of being 6'1", "the pocket" was way too far forward for me. If I was in the pocket, my crotch was just about touching the tank. Second, the wings were poking into the back of my thighs and not comfortable. Third, my wife got $600 worth of padding on her seat and I got $50 worth.

Russell was/has been excellent as far as being customer service-minded to this point. So the seat went back after two discussions with the seat builder himself. I explained that I had about an inch more of space if I lowered it to the lower seat setting and there would be room for at least an inch more of foam. He told me that they had run out of their premium seat pad when mine was installed and that he would install the better one this time.

The seat came back after about a ten day wait. Very excited to open only to see that there was now a small gap between the two seats as they came together where the two actually didn't match. The first item was somewhat resolved with the front part of the back seat was moved back about an inch. The second item was somewhat resoved with the wings not really being as uncomfortable as before. But as far as the amount of cushion, I would say i got maybe $75 worth now. The seat height did not change and I was still on the high setting.

So, with the seat mounted and ready, I took off from Rockport, TX to Mobile, AL to see how this "day-long seat" was going to work. I would say that my butt started hurting about halfway to Houston. Dang, this seat is HARD. Found myself all over the seat everytime I hit a bump because of the hardness. Because of not having enough sleep before the start, I stopped frequently to catch naps along the way which helped the seat problem. After a stay in Mobile, I had plenty of rest and started the trip back at 8:00AM. Set the #2 odometer to zero and looked at it when my butt started to feel pain again. It was 240 miles. I made the 12 hour trip in 12 hours and 20 minutes and my butt was just about as sore as it was riding the stock seat on my trips from Rockport to FL last year. Well, not that bad.

This seat is going back for the second fitting. I figure that if they add 2" of their NASA high-tech, space age, memory, whatever foam, I can set the setting to the lower position and will sink down in it an inch. This should help eliminate being tossed around the seat on a bumpy interstate. I just want it to be a "day long" as advertised.

:beach: git-r-dan