Ridding comfort (seats)

[Fred W]

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.

You do realize that "beauty" is a completely subjective attribute. When I look at my full leather Russell Daylong seat I think it looks great.

And at the end of the day, when everyone with a stock seat is standing on their pegs and whimpering in ass pain, my seat looks better and better.

 

[Bounce]

+1 fred.

 

[user 28803]

Keep us updated on the air hawk, I live in the pacific NW and most any ride has lots of curves and the airhawk kind of worries me.

I did put it on my bike and it's worth the money. I rode Friday and Saturday, mostly on the slab, and Sunday on two-lane roads, twisties, and sweepers. Once I figured out how I wanted it set, the Airhawk 2 definitely kept me from getting sore. My wife likes hers too.

Two things:

As for twisties, I don't often slide off the seat in turns but I doubt there'd be a problem if I did. I used the enclosed straps to attach the Airhawk so it wouldn't move.

The pad: I actually turned it sideways and found it more comfortable. I'll be playing with it more but I don't regret the purchase.

Now, having said all that, if I wasn't being a tight ass (ha) I'd buy Russell Day Long seats. Who knows, I may anyway eventually. But for now the cheap fix works.

 

[nervous]

Hi all. I just installed this one yesterday and took my first short ride.



Interesting was the first word that came to mind. It sits higher than both the stock and Sargent I have (seems nearly as high in the low position as the others in the high) which suits me just fine but I initially found the feel of it to be odd. I find I slide fore and aft quite regularly where this seat has a pronounced 'hump' in the front center, creating two leg channels, making the forward most position a bit awkward. The two side bolsters also make standing while stopped rather claustrophobic. They do support well when seated yet there seems to be one single sweet spot where sliding any further rearward feels like your no longer on a usable part of the seat. And, even in the sweet spot the cup part of the seat feels like your sitting 'on' and not 'in' the seat. I need more time with it of course but the first ride left me a bit curious.

 

[user 28803]

I need more time with it of course but the first ride left me a bit curious.

Interesting food for thought. Thanks for the report.

This weekend I hope to bring my bars back (parts ordered). It will be interesting if I can actually ride without hugging the tank. I imagine the stock seat is more comfortable near the, uh, well, near the rear.

 

[Fred W]

nervous... Don't be (nervous) ! Your reaction is very typical to a first time Russell user. It was on mine too.

Give it some time for you to become acquainted with the intricacies of the seat, and it with yours (it will break in a little). Soon it will feel like second nature and you'll wonder why you didn't make the move sooner. You'll find that you will automatically slide forward when coming to a stop that requires two feet down, and using the left leg only down at most stops for convenience. And you won't need to do all that sliding forward and backward on the seat like before because you won't have any ass pain.

FWIW, I have one on my V-strom (As well as the FJR) and I even like the wings for when standing off-road. When you stand straight up your legs are in the narrowest part of the seat, and you can squeeze your knees together and apply rearward pressure on those "wings" and push down on the bike's rear end as well as helping to balance yourself.

 

[bikerjim]

I have tried just about all types of seats, sheepskins, gel inserts, etc. over the years and nothing comes close to a Russell seat. You really will waste time and money buying anything else. It is incredible how the comfort level increases, making seat pain a non issue.

 

[user 28803]

I have to say, I'm going to send my Air Hawk 2 back (I'm within the 60 days). Last weekend it did well for me but I realize I stopped quite a lot (was 2-up for three days). Today I put 500+ miles on it, almost all of it on the slab, and my arse was very unhappy by 250-300 miles. stopping for fuel relieved the pain for a bit, of course, but not enough.

I know I said before (somewhere) that it was worth the money. I'm still a fan because my wife loves hers. But I'll be ordering a Russell. The Zumo 665 I'd planned to order can wait a while longer.

 

[Fred W]

But I'll be ordering a Russell. The Zumo 665 I'd planned to order can wait a while longer.

Good thinking. :thumbsup: You don't really need a fancy GPS if you can't stay in the saddle very long, right?

PS - will someone please edit the title of this thread. I think we all have plenty of ways to rid ourselves of comfort.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

I would like to buy a Russell seat..Must i send my Seat to Russell and when he improved her he send me back..??That's correct..??

 

[user 28803]

I would like to buy a Russell seat..Must i send my Seat to Russell and when he improved her he send me back..??That's correct..??

Correct :thumbsup:

But I'll be ordering a Russell. The Zumo 665 I'd planned to order can wait a while longer.

Good thinking. :thumbsup: You don't really need a fancy GPS if you can't stay in the saddle very long, right?

Exactly what I'm thinking