Russel Day Long Seat or Rick Mayer seat?

Theses are 2 excellent seats but I am trying to decided which one better suits my needs? I have a 2008 R1200RT and do a lot of long distance riding. I do not "sport" ride and prefer comfort. Can anyone give me their personal opinion on either one of these seats?

Marcello

Both are very good!

I've had three Russell seats (two of which were Original Bill Mayer seats) and one Rick Mayer seat (over 120,000 miles on my current K1200RS ride). ALL have been GREAT! Keep in mind that Bill Mayer (Rick's dad) sold his company Bill Mayer Saddles to Russell. His other son Rocky has the current Bill Mayer Saddles company. His seat is also excellent. Contact the individual companies to compare specification differences. Once you ride one of these custom saddles you'll never be satisfied with any stock seat again...especially stock BMW seats!

chasman said:

I've had three Russell seats (two of which were Original Bill Mayer seats) and one Rick Mayer seat (over 120,000 miles on my current K1200RS ride). ALL have been GREAT! Keep in mind that Bill Mayer (Rick's dad) sold his company Bill Mayer Saddles to Russell. His other son Rocky has the current Bill Mayer Saddles company. His seat is also excellent. Contact the individual companies to compare specification differences. Once you ride one of these custom saddles you'll never be satisfied with any stock seat again...especially stock BMW seats!

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Good information, thanks.

Which of those two seats - Russell or Rick Mayer - suits you the best depends as much on your weight, shape, and body type as anything else. But you need to know some history. Bill Mayer, Sr., father of Rick and Bill, Jr. (Rocky) invented the Day Long Saddle that had a transverse metal spring which supported the wings which made the seat look a little like a tractor seat. He patented the use of the transverse spring, and as far as I can tell that patent is still effective. The patent rights were part of what Bill, Sr. sold to Russell which still sells the Day Long Saddle with a transverse spring.

For big folks - over 225 pounds or so - with a fairly wide southbound end of a northbound person, the Russell, with the spring, and with quite wide wings, provides the best spreading of that wealth (weight) and the most comfortable seat.

For smaller folks with less weight and less posterior spread, a seat with slightly narrower wings constructed of multiple layers of different density foam provides good support and comfort. That is what Rick, Rocky, Sargent, and most everybody else does because the metal spring is Russel's patented construction. I'm fairly light at 160 and 33 inch waist and my Rick Mayer seat works well for me.

Thanks for the reply. What do you recomend for a 37" waist, 6', 216 lbs?

Marcello

marcellofalcone said:

Thanks for the reply. What do you recomend for a 37" waist, 6', 216 lbs?

Marcello

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I think you are at the edge of what either Rick or Rocky can do with foam alone. I think that a new seat would stay firm enough for a while, but ...

If I were your size and weight I think the Russell would suit you better over the long haul.

PGlaves said:

I think you are at the edge of what either Rick or Rocky can do with foam alone. I think that a new seat would stay firm enough for a while, but ...

If I were your size and weight I think the Russell would suit you better over the long haul.

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Thanks,

I'm a fat guy and the Russell worked very well for me. However, being both short and fat, the Russell seat was wider than some of the others so it made my short legs seem even shorter on a bike that was already tall for me.

I'm 6ft and 215 lbs. I have been extremely happy with my Rick Mayer seats, and my wife loves the pillion as well. Good quality, very comfortable. Highly recommended.

Another .02 worth...

I've owned Sargent, Corbin, and Rick Mayer seats on a variety of bikes. Looked once at the Russell Day Long seats, but a bit too "tractorish" for me... Though for true long distance riding I'd suspect they would be the best option.

Current bike is an '04 R1100S, the Rick Mayer custom seat was built to fit last fall.
Went to his shop near Redding, CA as it's only a days ride from my location. I'm 6-2, 250 pounds, and this "fitted" seat is by far the most comfortable I've ever owned.

I've heard lots of positive comments about Rocky's seats as well...and think one thing to consider is riding to one of these guys shops for a custom fit. You don't mention your locale, but if you're in reasonable riding range of Southern or Northern California that would be my recommendation.

Also, the Sargent seat I had on an '04 R1150R was also very, very comfy. But as an off the shelf item it didn't fit my old posterior all that well...

Good luck!

BJ

Let me throw in a vote for a different seat altogether: Rich's Custom Seats in Kingston, WA (just across the ferry from Edmonds, north of Seattle) does a great job as well. I just had my RT done there last weekend. There's a good video on the website of how they do their custom fitting process with the customer in the shop, but they can do seats mail order as well. I must say that I am very, very satisfied with the work they do.

With their shop's recent move to Kingston, not only did the shop get much bigger, but he's also got a fully furnished apartment above the store for customers riding in from out of town, as well as private campsites he's getting ready for the summer. A few restaurants and a Rite Aid are within walking distance. This place would make a great base of ops for touring around the Olympic Peninsula.

BILLJOHNSTON said:

Another .02 worth...

I've owned Sargent, Corbin, and Rick Mayer seats on a variety of bikes. Looked once at the Russell Day Long seats, but a bit too "tractorish" for me... Though for true long distance riding I'd suspect they would be the best option.

Current bike is an '04 R1100S, the Rick Mayer custom seat was built to fit last fall.
Went to his shop near Redding, CA as it's only a days ride from my location. I'm 6-2, 250 pounds, and this "fitted" seat is by far the most comfortable I've ever owned.

I've heard lots of positive comments about Rocky's seats as well...and think one thing to consider is riding to one of these guys shops for a custom fit. You don't mention your locale, but if you're in reasonable riding range of Southern or Northern California that would be my recommendation.

Also, the Sargent seat I had on an '04 R1150R was also very, very comfy. But as an off the shelf item it didn't fit my old posterior all that well...

Good luck!

BJ

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Thanks for the reply. I would love to ride in and custom fit the seat but being from Montreal Qc Canada, this trip might be a little far, even for me.
Regards,

Marcello

andrewsi said:

Let me throw in a vote for a different seat altogether: Rich's Custom Seats in Kingston, WA (just across the ferry from Edmonds, north of Seattle) does a great job as well. I just had my RT done there last weekend. There's a good video on the website of how they do their custom fitting process with the customer in the shop, but they can do seats mail order as well. I must say that I am very, very satisfied with the work they do.

With their shop's recent move to Kingston, not only did the shop get much bigger, but he's also got a fully furnished apartment above the store for customers riding in from out of town, as well as private campsites he's getting ready for the summer. A few restaurants and a Rite Aid are within walking distance. This place would make a great base of ops for touring around the Olympic Peninsula.

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Thanks for the info, very impressive!

Marcello,

That would be a HECK of a ride! I see the newest edition of ON has an article about the Russell seat option...looks like a really good alternative for your RT.

And not to rain on anyone's parade...but when I was doing research about optional seats, and talking with current BMW owner I heard some rather uncomplimentary things about Rich's of Seatte seats. Guy I sold my 50R to bought one and it took him 3 trips to their shop to get it right.

YMMV!

Cheers, Bill J

Only thing I can say is that Rich's was very responsive. They do a first cut at the seat (without recovering) and then have you go out for a test drive. After 15 mins, I could tell that the right side was a little high and was pressing on my thigh. Told him about it on return, and they sliced a few more mm off that side, got back on the bike and it was perfect. They clearly wanted me to be happy with the fit prior to final covering and were expecting to make any necessary adjustments.

Don't know what problems your friend had that necessitated multiple return trips, but I certainly have no complaints, and they don't seem to be lacking for recommendations locally. YMMV.

Andy,

That's sort of the trouble with anecdotal "evaluations", one or two (or even three like I've heard personally) word of mouth examples can put a pretty bad spin on a product. I had reservations about evening mentioning the feedback in a forum like this...but seems to me that if a fellow rider wants some info, that he/she should hear what others have experienced or heard about from others. And the "asker" should take everything with a grain (or two) of salt.

One thing for sure...Rich's has been around a long, long time...which has to be evidence that they make a decent product with reasonable customer support as well. And I should also mention that with Rick or Rocky Mayer there are some dissatisfied customers in their universe as well....but my research showed their negative feedback to be VERY low.

I was also pleased with the Sargent seat on my '50R, unfortnately the new owner of that bike isn't a 2XL size like me! So a new seat was sort of necessary...his disappointment was that it took 3 visits to make his seat fit right...but he still likes it. Guess that was my main point, just not expressed well....

Probably a moot discussion for Marcello, he's an awfully long way from Seattle or California. Guess we're just lucky to live closer to the source!

Ciao! BJ

PS. Now time to take the S out of the garage and go for a ride this afternoon....FINALLY!

Oh, no worries. I'm just very pleased with the experience I had, so I felt it was worth my 2c. With any customer-facing business like this you're bound to have at least some folks who wind up having less than a perfect experience.

Andy,

Well, my Rick Mayer seat was pretty comfortable for a 2 hour ride today...glad Spring finally arrived in Puget Sound...even if it's only for a few days.

Quite a few bikes out, for a normal "work" day...!

Cheers, BJ