$75 for the spencer, $100 for a good sheepskin, $150 for the airhawk. just about the price of a russell.
Ridding comfort (seats)
- Thread starter Sreed94103
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Redfish Hunter
Gone Fishing
+1
I just bought a used Sargent for my Honda but I knew all the time that I really want/need the Russell. The Sargent and the Russell are almost the same price, but one is a custom, the other is generic. At least now I have the Sargent to ride on while the OEM seat is being redone by Russell.
PhilJet09
Nondescript FJR Hierarchy Displayed
That's pretty much the same boat I'm in. I got the Sargent, not much better but at least now I have something to sit on when I send my OEM in. I think I'm going to try some simple mods to it first though.
DWill
Member
I found that my stock seat was only good for 2 hours before I needed a break. I purchased an Alaska buttpad (sheepskin deluxe) and found that it extended my saddle time by 1.5 hours. In the end, I purchased the Russell Day-Long seat and have no regrets. The seat creates a comfortable surface for my back side. At 6'1" 230 lbs, I can ride 5-6 hours with little if any discomfort. I know the Russell isn't cheap. I'd start with the buttpad and see if that helps before laying out the Russell cash.
ehc0720
Well-known member
Not quite, I have about $275 tied up in the seat, Russell is like $700-800 I think. Also, I move the airhawk and sheepskin to my other bike so it works out well for me.
depends on what you spec out. the front Russell rebuild with a passenger cover only can be as low as about $400 - $500 the last time i checked. Your $275 is a substantial chunk of a real solution instead of layering bandages on to results that still don't get you there.
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painman
Well-known member
Stock seats suck. Not too many people can last on one due to cheap foam and construction. Not too long after I bought the 06 my wife and I took an upholstery class at our local adult ed and I have never looked back. The seat I now have is a cross between a day long Russell and a Sargent. I plan soon on making another that will be a Russell clone with some custom touches. And this one will probably be in bull hide.
Any way, if I can stop doing recliners, rockers and everything in between, I might be able to have some real fun with the cycle seats. The right foams are the trick with the right shape on bike seats. And if you don't use leather you usually end up with around 80 bucks in material. Like every thing else the labor is what drives the price. PM.
Any way, if I can stop doing recliners, rockers and everything in between, I might be able to have some real fun with the cycle seats. The right foams are the trick with the right shape on bike seats. And if you don't use leather you usually end up with around 80 bucks in material. Like every thing else the labor is what drives the price. PM.
Geno
Well-known member
I agonized between Russell, Corbin, & Rick Mayer. They're all within riding distance for me, but after trying a Corbin ( cheapest, but just didn't suit me). Tried a Russell (loved the seat, but almost $900 for both seats in leather, includung a $80 ride-in fee). Rode to Rick Mayer's place near Redding, got both seats made to order in leather (took about 3 hours including BS ing with Rick & his crew) for $500. IMHO, there isn't a lot of difference between Russell &Meyer seats to justify the rather large price gap. I can now ride all day without butt pain ( of course it may just be that my wallet's thinner) 
Goodman4
Pressing on
Getting ready to put my order in for a Russell seat for me and my wife on my 07 FJR. I like how they want pictures, so I don't have to make a bunch of stupid decisions that I don't have the answers to. Any advice on the rest of the options? I was thinking all vinyl. Any reason to do anything different? I have an Ultimate seat on my other bike and I'm pretty excited about getting a nice seat on the FJR to save our butts for some longer rides.
Extra pictures are good.
Details on what your current comfort issues are with the stock seat. The more detail they have the better they can do their job. Hot spots? Scrotal/tank intrusion? Coccyx clearance?
Details on what your current comfort issues are with the stock seat. The more detail they have the better they can do their job. Hot spots? Scrotal/tank intrusion? Coccyx clearance?
Pete Bansen
Well-known member
I've had both leather and vinyl. Leather is definitely a little cooler in the hottest weather, but the difference is not huge. With the leather seats, I always worried about covering the bike when parked outside at night. There was probably little cause for concern - dew would not harm a properly maintained leather seat. I used Lexol a couple of times a year and that kept the leather in nice condition. Russell's 'half-moon' pattern has the least stitching, so if you're in a wetter climate, that pattern would prevent moisture intrusion into the seat better than the large rectangle or small square pattern. The small squares are reportedly the coolest stitching pattern, due to the improved airflow between the surface of the saddle and your butt. I have a small square seat now, but would probably not repeat that - either half-moon or large rectangle. Gray vinyl or leather makes for a cooler seat than black.
V-Strom seat in the Russell large rectangle pattern, gray vinyl:
R1150GS Adventure in Russell 'half-moon' pattern (looks gray, but is actually black vinyl):
Rick Mayer in leather and Russell saddle in vinyl side by side:
That's sort of random, but I hope it's helpful. Russell makes a hell of a great seat - you'll love it.
Catch
Active member
I just put 2k miles on a road trip, and instead of dropping hundreds on a new seat, I used the Medium sized AirHawk air cushion seat. That with my Motorcycle Larry highway pegs made for lots of comfort! At the end of the trip it was not my legs and posterior that Ached, but my hearing from the high pitch frequency I had to deal with for wind noise from my original windscreen (yes..even with hearing protection)... I solved that issue too
NCSurveyor
Member
Russell, Corbin, Sargent etc. What about the gel filled Yamaha? I like the look of stock seat, not one twice the width of the bike. 2 hrs is about as long as I can stand on the stocker without stopping and getting off for a bit . At 6'-2", 240#, I'm not small so it seems that the firmness of the OEM is just too targeted to small areas and subsequent pressures in those small areas. Really would like to hear some feedback on the Yamaha gel before I take my OEM to get redone/gelled and possibly messed up.
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This thread is called (sic) "Ridding Comfort", not "Seat Visual Appeal" or "Cheapest Seats", or best seat for riders with short legs.
The answer to the original question, ie which seat is the most comfortable, is Russel Day Long. Period.
Unless you really do want to rid yourself of comfort, in which case just about anything else, including the stock seat will do.
The answer to the original question, ie which seat is the most comfortable, is Russel Day Long. Period.
Unless you really do want to rid yourself of comfort, in which case just about anything else, including the stock seat will do.
El Toro
Innocent Bystander
I had a Suzuki badged gel seat for my V-Strom, and it was worse than stock. I've seen other reports from other folks who were also unimpressed by gel seats after trying them. They may work for some people, but for those of us who are truly seat sensitive, gel seats tend to be too mushy, and they tend to be temperature sensitive too.
I have had stock, Corbin, Sargent, and Russell on the FJRs, and of these, I would rank them in the order Russell ... long gap ..... stock, .... and worse than stock for me, but maybe OK for someone else.
The Russell takes a lot of things out of the equation. I can wear kevlar reinforced jeans with big seams, tuck my shirt tail into my pants and sit on it, wear standard underwear, and keep my wallet in my back pocket. None of these things affect the great comfort that I experience on the Russell. On the other seats, this sort of careless disregard for comfort clothing tends to extract a penalty.
The only issue with the Russell that I've experienced is widely reported by others, and that is that it is a bit higher than stock. I was able to deal with this by waiting for the break in to be completed before evaluating it, and by changing from my usual Sidi Vertigos to a pair of US made leather boots with a bit more sole and heel height. I can flatfoot the bike with this boot choice just as easily as I could flatfoot the stock seat equipped bike with the Sidis.
Overall, I've had several Corbins on various bikes, and some of them were really good. I've had several Sargents on various bikes, some of them true customs based on ride in appointments, and some of them were really good. I've had several incarnations of high, low, comfort, gel, etc. stock seats for various bikes, and some of them were OK.
Seats are really very personal choices. People often balk at the high price of getting something like a Russell, but when you think about how much everything else costs in the motorcycle hobby, and when you think about how big an impact the seat has on your enjoyment, I think that the cost of a first rate seat is justified. Certainly it is for me. 200 miles on a stock seat, and I'm getting pretty antsy. 200 miles on a Russell, and I'm just starting to think about a stop because of gas issues, not because of comfort issues.
El Toro
Innocent Bystander
One other thing to add on the seat comfort. I've tried various seat materials, and I always come back to the real leather.
Corbin uses leather for the seating surfaces as their standard option. They say in their advertising that "You wouldn't choose vinyl boots, would you?" I used to think this was just BS to get you to go with the leather .... but over the years I've decided that I really can tell the difference, and that I really do prefer the leather.
People complain about the leather care required, but if you use leather preservatives on a twice a year schedule, the leather holds up quite well. Borrowing from Corbin's advertising, I've found that my leather hunting boots are OK for rain as long as I keep up with their care.
Sargent's marine grade vinyl holds up without any significant care, and I like it OK too, but I can feel the difference when I sit down on a real leather seat.
FWIW, I do not like leather seats in my cars, but I do like it in my household furniture .... go figure.
Corbin uses leather for the seating surfaces as their standard option. They say in their advertising that "You wouldn't choose vinyl boots, would you?" I used to think this was just BS to get you to go with the leather .... but over the years I've decided that I really can tell the difference, and that I really do prefer the leather.
People complain about the leather care required, but if you use leather preservatives on a twice a year schedule, the leather holds up quite well. Borrowing from Corbin's advertising, I've found that my leather hunting boots are OK for rain as long as I keep up with their care.
Sargent's marine grade vinyl holds up without any significant care, and I like it OK too, but I can feel the difference when I sit down on a real leather seat.
FWIW, I do not like leather seats in my cars, but I do like it in my household furniture .... go figure.
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Sreed94103
Member
I just put 2k miles on a road trip, and instead of dropping hundreds on a new seat, I used the Medium sized AirHawk air cushion seat. That with my Motorcycle Larry highway pegs made for lots of comfort! At the end of the trip it was not my legs and posterior that Ached, but my hearing from the high pitch frequency I had to deal with for wind noise from my original windscreen (yes..even with hearing protection)... I solved that issue too
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canadianfjrowner
Well-known member
I can see only one drawback from the Russell seat. It makes the bike look ugly. This bike has beautiful lines and then the Russell seat just ruins it. Happy butt but ugly bike or vice versa.
Russell Day-Long. Vinyl for zero maintenance. Heavyweight suspension. Half-moon.
This is my third seat made by them, just added it to the new-to-me Gen2.
About 400,000 miles on the first two Russells in the last eight years, there may have even been a thousand-mile day in there somewhere.
How ugly does it look to you when you're sitting on it?
John Ryan
This is my third seat made by them, just added it to the new-to-me Gen2.
About 400,000 miles on the first two Russells in the last eight years, there may have even been a thousand-mile day in there somewhere.
How ugly does it look to you when you're sitting on it?
John Ryan
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