nusman68
Well-known member
While on our multi-state family vacation recently (which included 8 days of myself and the wife riding our bikes up the CA Pacific coast hwy..awesome!) I scheduled a 'ride-in' appt. at Russell Seats in Shasta Lake on 6/13; rolled in on my '05 at 8 am as requested. We were graciously greeted by the president of the company, and my work order was on their counter awaiting my arrival. 
Two technicians spoke with me; they did a 'check out' with me on the bike, shot some digital pix, etc. ; I noticed a heavily farkled Duc ST4 was there as well..spoke with the rider briefly; told me he rides for Ducati?...hmmm.. The staff loaned me another seat, and off we went. I returned about 10:45 for a test fit; seat felt great, but was definitely higher; staff assured me that would decrease after the cover was applied *and* it was broken in. The one staffer told me that they do a lot of FJRs & mine was the 'best sounding one' he had heard...thanks! (I guess...) we took off again; when we returned for the last time after 3 pm, the weather was crappy; we rode through the rain to get to the shop; staff made room for me in their bay. The seat was ready, (ahead of schedule) and felt great; still sits a good 3/4" higher than stock, but again the staff said it would break in; that's my only concern at this time (for me that is..due to my 30" inseam I have to hug the tank at stops). For the seat, I chose all leather, 2 tone, charcoal gray & black..no pix yet, I'll upload one soon.
The rain got worse, so we decided to hang out at their shop 'til it lightened up. Now I noticed the Duc rider (a slight-build unpretentious older gentleman) was still there, trying to get his new seat back on while dealing with a fuel cell. We struck up a conversation, and he asked for my assistance... I assumed he was an Iron Butt rider:
-you participate in the Iron Butt Rally?"
he nonchalantly replies: "yeah, I've won it before"
-okay, now I gotta know...I introduce myself...and he says...
"I'm Gary Eagan"
-THE Gary Eagan? Wow..(guess the Duc should have tipped me off, but hey, I only knew the name) what are the odds I'd meet him here on this day, right? I explained to my wife how he's ridden all over, evals. bikes, equipment, writes columns, has become a legend of sorts, etc, etc. We had a nice conversation and he revealed he was a bit, um, unhappy with Russell that his rebuilt seat wasn't ready sooner, since now he will have to leave & ride through the rain to get on with his journey; his ultimate destination was Utah. He mentioned he had to give a 6am press conference to the AMA, & would most likely have to ride through snow as well to get there on time. My wife, visibly impressed, now joins in the conversation:
-riding through snow? That must be very difficult! What's the secret to riding through snow?
and Eagan, Iron Butt Rally winner, legendary long distance rider, factory sponsored hard-ass supplies us with this pearl of wisdom:
'Try not to fall down!" :lol2:
There it is folks, you read it here first!
We left, and I put another 250+ miles on the FJR with the new seat before I had to trailer it back to Texas with the family. My butt felt great! B) And thumbs-up to the staff at Russell; great service and workmanship. Pics to follow, more review later//
Two technicians spoke with me; they did a 'check out' with me on the bike, shot some digital pix, etc. ; I noticed a heavily farkled Duc ST4 was there as well..spoke with the rider briefly; told me he rides for Ducati?...hmmm.. The staff loaned me another seat, and off we went. I returned about 10:45 for a test fit; seat felt great, but was definitely higher; staff assured me that would decrease after the cover was applied *and* it was broken in. The one staffer told me that they do a lot of FJRs & mine was the 'best sounding one' he had heard...thanks! (I guess...) we took off again; when we returned for the last time after 3 pm, the weather was crappy; we rode through the rain to get to the shop; staff made room for me in their bay. The seat was ready, (ahead of schedule) and felt great; still sits a good 3/4" higher than stock, but again the staff said it would break in; that's my only concern at this time (for me that is..due to my 30" inseam I have to hug the tank at stops). For the seat, I chose all leather, 2 tone, charcoal gray & black..no pix yet, I'll upload one soon.The rain got worse, so we decided to hang out at their shop 'til it lightened up. Now I noticed the Duc rider (a slight-build unpretentious older gentleman) was still there, trying to get his new seat back on while dealing with a fuel cell. We struck up a conversation, and he asked for my assistance... I assumed he was an Iron Butt rider:
-you participate in the Iron Butt Rally?"
he nonchalantly replies: "yeah, I've won it before"
-okay, now I gotta know...I introduce myself...and he says...
"I'm Gary Eagan"
-THE Gary Eagan? Wow..(guess the Duc should have tipped me off, but hey, I only knew the name) what are the odds I'd meet him here on this day, right? I explained to my wife how he's ridden all over, evals. bikes, equipment, writes columns, has become a legend of sorts, etc, etc. We had a nice conversation and he revealed he was a bit, um, unhappy with Russell that his rebuilt seat wasn't ready sooner, since now he will have to leave & ride through the rain to get on with his journey; his ultimate destination was Utah. He mentioned he had to give a 6am press conference to the AMA, & would most likely have to ride through snow as well to get there on time. My wife, visibly impressed, now joins in the conversation:
-riding through snow? That must be very difficult! What's the secret to riding through snow?
and Eagan, Iron Butt Rally winner, legendary long distance rider, factory sponsored hard-ass supplies us with this pearl of wisdom:
'Try not to fall down!" :lol2:
There it is folks, you read it here first!
We left, and I put another 250+ miles on the FJR with the new seat before I had to trailer it back to Texas with the family. My butt felt great! B) And thumbs-up to the staff at Russell; great service and workmanship. Pics to follow, more review later//
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