Russell December Group Buy

[Fred W]

I got my seat back on Tuesday, looks awesome! I have an issue with the seating position of the pillion portion which I'll call them about but the front section feels great. It's about 2 degrees (F) so a test ride will have to wait. Pictures to follow (as soon as I can take some and figure out how to post them).

I assume that you had them rework the passenger section then? (ie Dual seat)

I just had them recover my stock back which already had a gel and memory foam insert.

 

[protondecay123]

I am sure one the seat breaks in you will slowly get closer to where you want to be? I am sure they factor everything in before they make them.

Well not quite.... I spoke with Russell today about mine putting me on my tiptoes. They suggested that it would settle about 1/2" in 1k miles, but that's nowhere near enough for my short legs (28"). I've laid too many bikes down by not having enough foot on the ground. He said they go for comfort rather than hieght. He did agree to reshape the seat for me the day it arrived and send it back, which is fair. Unfortunately, there goes my savings from the discount. While that sucks, I really can't complain too much because it is a comfortable seat and my butt is happy!

Got the seat back today. They seem to have lowered it about an inch. Every little bit helps with my short stature. It's still taller than stock, but hey, it's an all day'r ! Believe I'll keep it.

Glad that worked out for you. Congrats!

Got Picture? :evo:

 

[BullCBX]

I had a build date of 1/16. New seat shipped 1/21 and UPS delivered this past Monday 1/28. Hope to get out for a nice ride on Saturday. Quality is top-notch and it looks sooo nice!!

BULL

 

[twistedcricket]

mmmmmmmmmm

Arrived just today. Shipped on the 25th.

I sit a little taller on the center stand, but still flat-footed with no stands down. HELLACOMFY!!

 

[RICLET]

Guess who knocked on the door at 6:00pm? Yep the man in brown from UPS. The saddle is magnificently well made and although I was not uncomfortable on local trips with the stock seat there is a marked improvement I can feel already.

I don't post on the forum very often, however I do visit and read several times a day. Thank you to everybody who posts both their wisdom and humor and a HUGE THANK YOU TO FJR2006 for setting up this group buy.

 

[RICLET]

Sorry forgot to say Build date was Jan 18 delivered on Jan 31 Heasther was very helpful each time I called and asked a silly question

 

[Fred W]

Received my seat too. Very nice. Feels "funny" sitting on it in the garage, but with the big difference in shape I expected that. I will wait to make any kind of judgment until it gets warm enough to do a few thousand miles.

One thing that I am amazed by is how much different each of these seats looks in the pictures. They truly are "custom" in a one-off sense.

 

[Bounce]

So how many new owners are now going to pick up the torch and try to explain to newbies the difference between an off-the-rack saddle with a covering of your choice vs a truly custom-built saddle?

 

[twistedcricket]

So how many new owners are now going to pick up the torch and try to explain to newbies the difference between an off-the-rack saddle with a covering of your choice vs a truly custom-built saddle?

No one explained it to me. I saw a bike at CFO with a Russell seat. I sat on it... done deal.

 

[protondecay123]

So how many new owners are now going to pick up the torch and try to explain to newbies the difference between an off-the-rack saddle with a covering of your choice vs a truly custom-built saddle?

+1

I had a Sargent on before that in retrospect was marginally better. The Russell is night/day better.

 

[FatNakedGuy]

I'm on tiptoes now with the bike so think I had better purchase a set of 2" platform boots... Sure hope I don't see a drop in the future...

 

[Fred W]

So how many new owners are now going to pick up the torch and try to explain to newbies the difference between an off-the-rack saddle with a covering of your choice vs a truly custom-built saddle?

You asked, so here it is: Fearless Freddie's Most Excellent Seat Adventures:

Bike came to me with a Corbin Canyon close. Prior owner was apparently a vertically challenged fellow. The seat looked beautiful, and it was OK to sit on initially, but I'd develop some serious hot spots after ~2 hours in the saddle. Ouchie! Began wearing padded bicycling shorts underneath to lessen the pains.

Bought a set of stock seats on flea Bay. Actually got a rockin' good deal as they were like new and I paid a princely sum of $38 for the pair. Rode the bike with these for a while and I actually preferred this to the Corbin because the seat "pocket" didn't put me so close to the tank. But I still got hot spots in different anatomy locations than on the Corbin.

Traded my Corbin close with a forum member for a Corbin Canyon regular. I primarily did it because he was a shorter guy and wanted to try the close. He paid all the shipping so... why not? Not much better than the close. Kept looking.

Sent my two stocker seats to a place in the Dakotas called KnoPlace that customized them by inserting gel pads and memory foam. This was better. Much better. But still... hot spots on the insides of my legs where the gel doesn't cover. I know there are better seats.

Bought a Corbin Modular heated saddle, just the driver section. Nice seat. Covered in Gray leather. This seat is actually pretty darn comfortable. I like it a lot for shorter trips as I can slide around on it quite a bit, am not stuck in one sweet spot. The heat, meh... it just makes my ass sweat (and that's not a good thing)

Saw a guy selling a Rick Mayer seat from a crash bike in the classifieds here. It was a dual covered in black vinyl. Bought that and it was almost right. It was still canted to far forward making me slide up into the tank, but the scooped out butt area was a big improvement on the derrier over anything yet.

That was the last straw. Ordered my Russell in Black leather. I selected the half moon and only a solo, so the pillion section still has the KnoPLace foam in it under the Russell leather. My wife really doesn't ride enough with me to justify the dual, and she was perfectly comfortable on the stock seat.

I just took a 2 hour ride last Sunday (yep, there was a break in the weather in New England). Wow. I expected it to take several long rides before the saddle would conform to my butt (or vice versa) but no... at the end of Sunday's ride I got off feeling like I had just climbed on. :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

This is the end of my story. I will not be buying any more seats for this bike. If you are reading this and on the fence about a Russell seat, go for it and save yourself a year and a half's aggravation and expense. Get what you want, no... what you need. Get a Russell and accept no substitutes.

No animals (only one man's buttocks) have been harmed in the production of this drama

 

[phil]

So how many new owners are now going to pick up the torch and try to explain to newbies the difference between an off-the-rack saddle with a covering of your choice vs a truly custom-built saddle?

You asked, so here it is: Fearless Freddie's Most Excellent Seat Adventures:

Bike came to me with a Corbin Canyon close. Prior owner was apparently a vertically challenged fellow. The seat looked beautiful, and it was OK to sit on initially, but I'd develop some serious hot spots after ~2 hours in the saddle. Ouchie! Began wearing padded bicycling shorts underneath to lessen the pains.

Bought a set of stock seats on flea Bay. Actually got a rockin' good deal as they were like new and I paid a princely sum of $38 for the pair. Rode the bike with these for a while and I actually preferred this to the Corbin because the seat "pocket" didn't put me so close to the tank. But I still got hot spots in different anatomy locations than on the Corbin.

Traded my Corbin close with a forum member for a Corbin Canyon regular. I primarily did it because he was a shorter guy and wanted to try the close. He paid all the shipping so... why not? Not much better than the close. Kept looking.

Sent my two stocker seats to a place in the Dakotas called KnoPlace that customized them by inserting gel pads and memory foam. This was better. Much better. But still... hot spots on the insides of my legs where the gel doesn't cover. I know there are better seats.

Bought a Corbin Modular heated saddle, just the driver section. Nice seat. Covered in Gray leather. This seat is actually pretty darn comfortable. I like it a lot for shorter trips as I can slide around on it quite a bit, am not stuck in one sweet spot. The heat, meh... it just makes my ass sweat (and that's not a good thing)

Saw a guy selling a Rick Mayer seat from a crash bike in the classifieds here. It was a dual covered in black vinyl. Bought that and it was almost right. It was still canted to far forward making me slide up into the tank, but the scooped out butt area was a big improvement on the derrier over anything yet.

That was the last straw. Ordered my Russell in Black leather. I selected the half moon and only a solo, so the pillion section still has the KnoPLace foam in it under the Russell leather. My wife really doesn't ride enough with me to justify the dual, and she was perfectly comfortable on the stock seat.

I just took a 2 hour ride last Sunday (yep, there was a break in the weather in New England). Wow. I expected it to take several long rides before the saddle would conform to my butt (or vice versa) but no... at the end of Sunday's ride I got off feeling like I had just climbed on. :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

This is the end of my story. I will not be buying any more seats for this bike. If you are reading this and on the fence about a Russell seat, go for it and save yourself a year and a half's aggravation and expense. Get what you want, no... what you need. Get a Russell and accept no substitutes.

No animals (only one man's buttocks) have been harmed in the production of this drama

Funny you should mention the sliding-to-the-front of some saddles, Fred. I received my Russell just today. I specifically requested that they build the back of my rider's seat lower, or as low as, the front of the unit for that very reason. I sat on it tonight, and by dang, they did it! The old 'nads will sit high and dry on a raised saddle-front. I look forward to enjoying the improved support for ass and private parts, on the long rides planned for 2008. Phil

 

[FatNakedGuy]

Speaking of bicycle shorts, will they still be needed with the new Russell?

In the past, the bicycle shorts are the only thing that saved me... Haven't had a chance to try yet but was wondering if I'd even need them now....

 

[Fred W]

Speaking of bicycle shorts, will they still be needed with the new Russell?
In the past, the bicycle shorts are the only thing that saved me... Haven't had a chance to try yet but was wondering if I'd even need them now....

Based on my short 2Hr ride last Sunday, I don't think that I'll need them any more. There is no more pressure in the areas the bike shorts' chamois protects, not like on the stock seat, so it would seem pointless to wear them. I hate the feel of the spandex anyway, so I'm pretty happy about that.

Some good quality polypro underwear with minimal seamage under the buttocks would be the way to go. Someone recently mentioned REI underwear. I'm going to look into that stuff.

 

[phil]

Okay, I've got a challenge with my new Russell. I put about 30 miles on it today (first ride), and the leading edges of the wings press into the back of my thighs. Does anyone else have this problem? If my lower legs (tibias?) were 1 inch longer, or pegs 1 inch higher, I don't think this would be happening. Suggestions?

 

[fjrchik]

Okay, I've got a challenge with my new Russell. I put about 30 miles on it today (first ride), and the leading edges of the wings press into the back of my thighs. Does anyone else have this problem? If my lower legs (tibias?) were 1 inch longer, or pegs 1 inch higher, I don't think this would be happening. Suggestions?

same exact thing happened to me on my first ride with it. and it was also about 30 miles. after stopping and then getting back on, the problem was gone. you have to give the seat some time to compress and break in. hopefully it will work out for you!

 

[OhioFJR1300]

Well. I finally have my Russell seat. I'll try to get some photos of it and get 'em posted. I have a question, I asked for them to try to do what they could to build for my short legs (28-29 inseam)and it looks like they did. The set seems to be shorter where it meats the tank, so much so that the bolt heads on the tank (holding the trim on) are exposed. Any one else have this? It is still more seat height than the stock one, but seems WAY more comfortable. Just wondering why they would cut that part of the pan, or maybe I did not get "my" pan back and got some one else's. Again, I am not complaining, as it is very comfy, just don't want to be a part of a seat pan mix up that may cause a problem for some one else.

 

[phil]

Well. I finally have my Russell seat. I'll try to get some photos of it and get 'em posted. I have a question, I asked for them to try to do what they could to build for my short legs (28-29 inseam)and it looks like they did. The set seems to be shorter where it meats the tank, so much so that the bolt heads on the tank (holding the trim on) are exposed. Any one else have this? It is still more seat height than the stock one, but seems WAY more comfortable. Just wondering why they would cut that part of the pan, or maybe I did not get "my" pan back and got some one else's. I wrote my name in marker on my pan, but it is not on this one. Again, I am not complaining, as it is very comfy, just don't want to be a part of a seat pan mix up that may cause a problem for some one else.

Ohio, the attachment heads show a little on mine, too. Not bad, though. Phil

 

[2006FJR]

You guys are welcome and I was happy to set this up and it has been great to see all of the shots of your seats. Now get out and ride!!!!