wheatonFJR
...
I'm surprised you let me park that Russell Seated FJR in your garage last year. It must have pained you somethin' fierce!
Next best seat to Russell seat
- Thread starter canadianfjrowner
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El Toro
Innocent Bystander
When I first saw a Russell seat, I thought it was ugly.
I like their look now. I always get all leather, black, and half moon stitching. I never get negative comments when the bike is parked. Comments are always along the lines of "Wow, that seat looks comfortable."
On my 06 FJR I tried stock, Corbin and Sargent, and none of them worked well for more than 200 miles for me.
On my 09 FJR I tried stock and Corbin before having the Russell made. Same result as with the 06.
I love the Russell.
I recently did a ride in appointment for my K1600, and while I was there, I noted that they had done custom seats on a KTM 690 Super Moto and on an R6. The seat builder owned the KTM and he told me that that seat had been built using their "sport" option. The Russell "sport" pan is unsprung in order to keep from adding too much height to a bike that is already too tall. It provided a way for Russell to add their traditional saddle wings, without adding much height since there were no springs.
Folks who are inseam challenged might ask about this option when they discuss their seat build with Russell.
I like their look now. I always get all leather, black, and half moon stitching. I never get negative comments when the bike is parked. Comments are always along the lines of "Wow, that seat looks comfortable."
On my 06 FJR I tried stock, Corbin and Sargent, and none of them worked well for more than 200 miles for me.
On my 09 FJR I tried stock and Corbin before having the Russell made. Same result as with the 06.
I love the Russell.
I recently did a ride in appointment for my K1600, and while I was there, I noted that they had done custom seats on a KTM 690 Super Moto and on an R6. The seat builder owned the KTM and he told me that that seat had been built using their "sport" option. The Russell "sport" pan is unsprung in order to keep from adding too much height to a bike that is already too tall. It provided a way for Russell to add their traditional saddle wings, without adding much height since there were no springs.
Folks who are inseam challenged might ask about this option when they discuss their seat build with Russell.
TheZsdad
Mr. Bill goes for a ride!
I'd suggest you try a used Sargent or Corbin. If aren't to heavy or to wide one of these may work for you.
I have tried both and prefer the Sargent.
The others mayer and mayer are supposed to be built for the original owner.
Although if I were your height I would learn to like the look of the Russel Daylong.
I have tried both and prefer the Sargent.
The others mayer and mayer are supposed to be built for the original owner.
Although if I were your height I would learn to like the look of the Russel Daylong.
Definitely not the sexiest looking seat but, oh my, does my rear end appreciate the Russell. Of course, when I'm on it, most people just get to see my tail lights anyway!
BigChunk
BigChunk
roger dodger
Well-known member
I felt the same as the OP. It needs to work better than stock, look decent, sit lower, and cost less than a Russell. I looked @ Bill Mayer, Rick Mayer, Sargeant, Nice day to ride, and not long @ Corbin.
I choose Bill @ www.billmayersaddles.com and can now do short legs AND long rides.
I choose Bill @ www.billmayersaddles.com and can now do short legs AND long rides.
NMRoadRunner
A Bulls work is never done!
I have a riding buddy who sprang for a russel and wishes he had his dollars back in his pocket now. He was fitted at a BMW rally and then they sent the seat, so he didn't have a personel fitting as some have had here. Me? I run the stocker on my FJR and it doesn't bother me a bit, but my ass is just avarage sized, not XL! B)
He was fitted at a BMW rally and then they sent the seat, so he didn't have a personel fitting as some have had here. Me? I run the stocker on my FJR and it doesn't bother me a bit, but my ass is just avarage sized, not XL! B) 
wheatonFJR
...
As if YOUR butt size has anything to do with seat pain.
Really, it is a function of how much you ride each day on a trip, combined with how many days in a row you ride on that trip.
Other factors may also factor in as well, but your remark was just asinine.
PanAmerican
Well-known member
Another alternative is to change your butt. Learn how to spend all day on this
and the stock Yamaha seat will seem like a Barcalounger.
and the stock Yamaha seat will seem like a Barcalounger.
TomInPA
Well-known member
Funny! You didn't look that comfortable with all the squirming around you were doing...I'm surprised you let me park that Russell Seated FJR in your garage last year. It must have pained you somethin' fierce!
And who could see you had a Russell Seat under all that shit you were carrying!
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wheatonFJR
...
You'd be squirmin' too if some pervert was taken photos of your personal business. <_<Funny! You didn't look that comfortable with all the squirming around you were doing...
Well it was a 16 day freakin' tour of Kali from Illinois and every state along the way. I think I did pretty good, not having a top box like others. Didn't slow me down much either.
So...YES, the Russell seat worked great on this trip!!! :yahoo:
dcarver
Well-known member
Hmmmm
nervous
Well-known member
I am in the love/hate stage with my new (to me) Russell right now. Need some more days to see which way I end up.
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Another alternative is to change your butt. Learn how to spend all day on this
and the stock Yamaha seat will seem like a Barcalounger.
Not really. Now... I'll admit that it was a few years ago. I was a younger guy, and weighed a bit less (like 50 lbs), back then. But I was once one of those guys that was perfectly comfy on a perch like that, for full day rides, multiple days in a row, etc. But that is a completely different set of physical parameters. On a bicycle seat the vast majority of your weight is on your pedals. It has to be, or else you won't be going anywhere. You end up standing fro most decent climbs, which means you are up and down all day long (unless you live in flatlandistan).
I know that some of sporty rider guys say they support a lot of their weight on their foot pegs on a motorcycle and don't really sit on the seat. Maybe they do (I'm skeptical) but I know that the majority of my weight is borne the majority of the time by my derriere. Yes, I pressure the pegs during turning, but not like you do while riding a bicycle. And only in the tight twisties, not the rest of the time.
As for sliding off the seat for fast turns: You really don't have to move your ass sideways to move your center of gravity. Most of the guys I see ass sliding are doing it wrong anyway. They slide their butt, but then keep their head and shoulders up straight. That doesn't accomplish very much. Your weight high above the seat is more important to COG than your butt is down low. You can shift a good amount of weight just by moving your torso and head to the inside (kiss the inside mirror) and pressuring the pegs.
And, if you really want to, you can still slide inside on a Russell and put your weight on the wing. It's actually easier to slide across a Leather Russell than a sticky vinyl seat cover. But I generally don't and prefer to just move my upper body if I'm weight shifting at all. Try it yourself and see. Get into a fairly long sweeper and feel how much lean it takes to turn without doing anything. Then shift just your upper body to the inside and put your head behind the inside mirror. You'll be surprised how much the bike straightens up. That is all that you really are after.
Aesthetics are 100% subjective. If you think something is ugly, it's just in YOUR head. I think my Russell seat looks great. Better than the stock seat which looked cheap. YPMV
Disclaimer: I do not pretend to be the fastest rider around the turns. Far from that. But then again... neither is an FJR the fastest bike around the turns. We both do good enough to have fun at the right times.
PS - @NMRoadRunner - Your buddy should make a list of his issues and send them along with the seat back to Russell. They have a 100% comfort guarantee. I had to send my seat back one time when I first got it because it made me slide forward into the tank too much. I sent it back and they scoioped out the rear of the seat more and it made all of the difference in the world. If they can't get it right for him I believe that they will refund his purchase price.
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Dirty Hippie
Member
Fred gets double points for giving really good weight shifting advice AND being the only person I have ever heard say they think a russell looks good.
Kissing the mirror is where it's at. My wife and I were just watching rnicky mouse Mullholland vids on Youtube yesterday. Dude sits in the same corner and films crashes. I was slow mo-ing different vids and explaining body and head positioning. Almost everyone who waxes is all crossed up. Ass off the seat, but then their head is on the wrong side of the center line. In this vid, the crash isn't important, but check out the guy who rides by at the end. Awesome head positioning, and he bends through the corner with ease.
Thanks for the kind words. I think the guy on the Yellow ZX hit his front brake mid corner, and that was why he tucked it. You can see him move his right hand just before he biffed.
The guy at the end does have good upper body position, but he was also way off the seat. No doubt that is the best, if you can do it.
edit - Following your video lead, here's a guy that demonstrates sliding your ass, but not shifting your upper body, with the appropriate end result (click pic for You-tube video) His rear started to slide out, then he caught, but it freaked out and drove off the road.
The guy at the end does have good upper body position, but he was also way off the seat. No doubt that is the best, if you can do it.
edit - Following your video lead, here's a guy that demonstrates sliding your ass, but not shifting your upper body, with the appropriate end result (click pic for You-tube video) His rear started to slide out, then he caught, but it freaked out and drove off the road.
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PanAmerican
Well-known member
I currently ride about 300 miles/wk on a bicycle. My stock Yamaha seat feels like a dream. Get back on the bicycle and ride a century. Let me know how your FJR seat deals after that. I think you may have forgotten what. Brooks seat fesls like.Another alternative is to change your butt. Learn how to spend all day on this
and the stock Yamaha seat will seem like a Barcalounger.
Not really. Now... I'll admit that it was a few years ago. I was a younger guy, and weighed a bit less (like 50 lbs), back then. But I was once one of those guys that was perfectly comfy on a perch like that, for full day rides, multiple days in a row, etc. But that is a completely different set of physical parameters. On a bicycle seat the vast majority of your weight is on your pedals. It has to be, or else you won't be going anywhere. You end up standing fro most decent climbs, which means you are up and down all day long (unless you live in flatlandistan).
I know that some of sporty rider guys say they support a lot of their weight on their foot pegs on a motorcycle and don't really sit on the seat. Maybe they do (I'm skeptical) but I know that the majority of my weight is borne the majority of the time by my derriere. Yes, I pressure the pegs during turning, but not like you do while riding a bicycle. And only in the tight twisties, not the rest of the time.
As for sliding off the seat for fast turns: You really don't have to move your ass sideways to move your center of gravity. Most of the guys I see ass sliding are doing it wrong anyway. They slide their butt, but then keep their head and shoulders up straight. That doesn't accomplish very much. Your weight high above the seat is more important to COG than your butt is down low. You can shift a good amount of weight just by moving your torso and head to the inside (kiss the inside mirror) and pressuring the pegs.
And, if you really want to, you can still slide inside on a Russell and put your weight on the wing. It's actually easier to slide across a Leather Russell than a sticky vinyl seat cover. But I generally don't and prefer to just move my upper body if I'm weight shifting at all. Try it yourself and see. Get into a fairly long sweeper and feel how much lean it takes to turn without doing anything. Then shift just your upper body to the inside and put your head behind the inside mirror. You'll be surprised how much the bike straightens up. That is all that you really are after.
Aesthetics are 100% subjective. If you think something is ugly, it's just in YOUR head. I think my Russell seat looks great. Better than the stock seat which looked cheap. YPMV
Disclaimer: I do not pretend to be the fastest rider around the turns. Far from that. But then again... neither is an FJR the fastest bike around the turns. We both do good enough to have fun at the right times.
PS - @NMRoadRunner - Your buddy should make a list of his issues and send them along with the seat back to Russell. They have a 100% comfort guarantee. I had to send my seat back one time when I first got it because it made me slide forward into the tank too much. I sent it back and they scoioped out the rear of the seat more and it made all of the difference in the world. If they can't get it right for him I believe that they will refund his purchase price.
wheatonFJR
...
That's stupid. I don't need to torture myself to know that the stock seat doesn't do what I need it to do. (Or were you just boasting?)
I had my stock seat from 2003 to 2005...and didn't get an aftermarket seat because of limited funds. I would ride 400 mile days okay...and could ride 600 miles on the stock seat if I had to to get home.
But I needed to take long trips of one to two weeks...that's what I got the bike for. The places I wanted to see meant going 400-500 miles per day...and sometimes more on "get home" days.
I got the aftermarket Russell seat during the off season (though short on funds) when a 2 week trip to Maine and New England was cut short due to severe butt burn/pain following my blast out to New York. Because of the pain, I couldn't do the tour I wanted to do...so I returned to base after a shorter trip to NY, VT & NH.
I have done multiple trips out west due to having a good seat like a Russell. Seat issues are now NOT the limiting factor on my daily mileage. That's what a Russell (or other good aftermarket seat) will do for you.
If you're just gonna plink around on shorter trips...or if you have an Ironbutt, I guess the stocker is just fine. I managed to deal with it for two years...but once I got the aftermarket I wondered why I waited so long.
What were you saying about your bicycle seat? And what does it have to do with motorcycle touring? Meh.
You must be in pretty good shape then. I know I was when I did that kind of mileage. I weighed about 170 and I'm 6'2". I look at those pictures and marvel at how freekin skinny I was. Not a particulkarly good look mind you, but probably healthier than my current weight. But riding that kind of miles on a bicycle uses up all of your play time.
I remember the seat was not comfy, but that was in a completely different anatomical area. At least the stock FJR seat, as painful as it is, won't cause you to have a limp dick.
PS - You do live in flatlandistan. Go ride some hills and get your butt up off the Brooks. Your wife / girlfiend / boyfriend will thank me.
PanAmerican
Well-known member
My point was that your butt can adapt. Get past the initial pain and grit it out. The discomfort will go away. Same thing happens on a horse saddle. It doesn't seem to bother me at all. Maybe I'm not as fussy.You must be in pretty good shape then. I know I was when I did that kind of mileage. I weighed about 170 and I'm 6'2". I look at those pictures and marvel at how freekin skinny I was. Not a particulkarly good look mind you, but probably healthier than my current weight. But riding that kind of miles on a bicycle uses up all of your play time.
I remember the seat was not comfy, but that was in a completely different anatomical area. At least the stock FJR seat, as painful as it is, won't cause you to have a limp dick.
PS - You do live in flatlandistan. Go ride some hills and get your butt up off the Brooks. Your wife / girlfiend / boyfriend will thank me.
Yes, I try to keep myself in good shape. This weekend I'm riding 100+ miles in Western Wisconsin. You should ride trough sometime. It would dispell your myth that Wisconsin is another Kansas.
There are plenty of hills here. The Trek Factory Team practices here because of the hills. They may not be as high but they have a larger grade and higher frequency.
