Russell seat

can anyone give me some feed back on the Russell day long seat. i'm 5'9" and have an RT. Im conserned about it raising me up to high> any problems?

Russell Seat

I'm 5'6" and I have the Russell Day Long on my 2009 low seat, low suspension RT. I have had this set up for the last 3-4 years.
The Russell seat will raise you up about an inch to an inch and a half and there's no getting around that. I spoke to the guy that
built my seat at Russell on the phone before he started about my concerns and he was honest with me and told me what I could do
to best deal with this change. If you ask, they'll let you talk to the builder too. On the original low
seat I was on the balls of my feet, with the Russell I was on my tip toes. I was sliding forward on the Russell Seat to get
past the wings and drop my feet down at stop signs, but was still on my tip toes which I found a little concerning. I found the solution to the
problem on these boards, a guy posted on these boards that he had taken his riding boots into a cobbler and had the width of the soles of his boots
increased........I took my BMW all around boots in and my cobbler added 3/4 of an inch and my problem was solved, they are not
great for doing any extended walking around in, but I usually bring along other shoes if I know I'm going to be walking around a lot
anyway. There is no comparison to the Russell seat to the stock low seat that came on the RT. The Russell is the best accessory
I've ever added to my bike and I've adapted very well. The seat does tend to "settle" a bit with time so it does go down a little on
it's own anyway. I'm quite comfortable on mine at this point and am glad I went through the initial issues to get here. Good luck
with your choice, the Russell seat is the best in my opinion.

Russell Seat

A more appropriate measurement may be the length of your inseam. I know a couple of pretty long-legged short people !

Kidding aside, I acquired a GSA last summer, and waited to do the ride-in build at the Russell factory till October. I'm 6'2" with 34" inseam.
The stylish padded doily stapled to the 2x6 that BMW calls a seat is OK if you spend time standing up on the pegs, but if your weight/build does not fit their design range, you are going to be sore. I was borderline miserable. And I won't even mention the wife's comments.

When they fit the seat, I was not wearing riding pants. Just jeans. I was able to slide forward easily and flat-foot in the parking lot with the seat in the low position. Later when I put on ATG, I found that it was somewhat more difficult to flat foot at stops on pavement. I found that for sitting in the Russell saddle for an extended period it is more comfortable for my knees to put the seat in the high position, which makes getting my feet down flat even harder.

I can still (sort of) flat foot, but if you are not very heavy it can be difficult even sliding forward to force the new seat to compress to the point you can get your feet down. Think of sitting on a horse (wide) versus sitting on a 2x6 (narrow). If you can easily get your feet flat with the stock seat, try putting a folded wool blanket about 2 inches thick on your seat. If you can still get your feet down with all of your gear on, you will probably be OK. The form they inserted into the stock saddle will only raise you up about an inch, but the biggest challenge is probably the extra width, which is why you can sit comfortably on it for a very long time.

With a Russell seat, I would suggest that you try to find a used seat to send in to have the Russell built on. I kind of wish I had my stock seat back for short duration, off pavement riding.

Russell has a good re-fit policy if you find you need adjustments. I am really pleased with the seat. I have about 2300 miles on the new seat, so it is just getting broken in. I am still kicking myself for waiting till October to do it.

Beemeup has a good idea with the boot soles. I may try a thick piece of felt on the boot sole (like a wading boot).

I had a Russell seat built years ago for my Honda GL1800.
I'm fortunate in that I live 10 miles from them.
The stock seat on the GL1800 was a killer, after a 100 miles I was in pain as well as my wife on back.
We went to Russell for help. We filled out a personal spec sheet, (height, weight, inseam).
We got on the bike with feet on the pegs while someone held the bike up and they took pictures.
They came back with recommendations, move me up and back and more lumbar support for my wife.
Because they moved me up and back I had to get relocation adapters for the handlebars to move them up and back.
The new seat made a world of difference. I could now ride all day without pain.
The K1600GTL I have now is comfortable enough that I don't need a Russell seat for it.
The seat height on the BMW is about the same as the Honda with the Russell seat.

Give them a call and talk to them about your concerns, take pictures with you on the bike, feet on the pegs and feet on the ground.

To have the entire seat and back rest done on the Honda was expensive but worth every penny.

A new Russell will settle a bit after you get a couple thousand miles on it. I've had two and guestimate the settling at 3/4 inch.

K1100LT (1992) with a Russell. Best there is IMHO for two up especially. All Day is not a gimmick. We bought second-hand but the original owners where our weight/height stats so it was perfect. Downside is that Mary no long slides into me on a slight deceleration (like with the stock seat) - Bob

I had a Russell Day Long on my 1150 GSA and it was spectacular on the highway. I opted to raise the rear passenger section about four inches so as to provide my wife a better view than she had with the bench seat, and also it provided an even platform to align with the tops of the side cases for carrying a dry bag etc.

No regrets with the seat. I could go feet up to feet down for approx five hours for a tank full and though I was ready to get off it only took about twenty mind before I was ready to get back on. And the squirming did not commence until about twenty mins before the gas stop. This was pretty amazing since the stock saddle created misery in the southern regions after about an hour and the recovery time was much more too.

The Russell Day-Long Stopping Technique (2008 R1200RT)

For the OP (143143) I have a different issue with height on my RT. I'm 6'4" tall with 36" inseam. I switched to the RDL three years ago, and seat comfort ceased to be an issue. I did find that I had to slide forward a little bit (maybe 2") when stopping to get down off what most people would call the "wings" of the saddle. Russell was great about amending the seat position after I had a hip-replacement operation on my right side. Since that event, the RDL saddle is perfect, but I still have to slide forward to get off the wings.

Also, FWIW, I have about 22,000 miles on my RDL now.

I went up to Redding last November and got one.
It was horrible.
First, it's shaped like a spoon. So my tail did nothing but sink into the center low spot. Most uncomfortable.
I couldn't move.
2nd, I'm 6'2" and can touch the ground or even flat foot on anything. I couldn't with the RDL as the sides peak up at the outside and I had to put my legs over that to put my feet down, which left my legs pointing nearly 45 degrees up.
It also was built so I could not slide forward, nor back. I was stuck in a hole.
I sold it as soon as I got home.
What I need is just a little wider than the oem, with edges sloping downward. Just a little extra platform for the tail. And still be able to slide a little forward and back, and to each side.
dc

I've spent untold $$$ on getting the saddle just right on my R1200C's. I have an '02 Montana and an '04 Montauk. At 6'2", 180 lbs, and a 34" inseam, I needed something comfortable for the long haul. And since I'm really thin, I have no meat to cushion myself. I had Russell build me a seat off my stock pan, and sent it back 3 times for wing, foam and pocket adjustments. After about 18 months, I sent it back again, for new foam, a new spring & heat. It was out of warranty so I paid for it myself, and each time, UPS shipping cost a small fortune, from NY. At best, I was getting 2-3 hours of comfort, then severe, stand on the pegs pain. Tried adding an Airhawk then a sheepskin pad, but they did little to help. All told with 2 builds and all the shipping, I was easily into Russell for over $1,000. I sold the Russell, and sent another stock seat to Rick Mayer. His seat also went back for adjustments, and was better than the RDL, but not perfect. Again, it was costing serious bucks for shipping & insurance, but I had to get this right. An uncomfortable seat kills a great day's ride. Then I saw some seats on Saddlemen's site, called the Adventure Touring/Track Seats, where there is extra padding under your cheeks, and a channel cut out the length of the seat, so your tail bone never touches. They wanted about $700 to build one for my cruiser. Instead I took my Rick Mayer seat to local upholsterer and had him modify the normal "flat" Mayer seat to add the channel and firm up the cushions. Now I'm good for 4-5 hours until I start squirming. Over the winter, we're doing some final modifications to make the channel wider and deeper, and I think that might do it. For me, the tailbone touching the seat was the issue. Channeling and firming the seat up seems to have worked. Never heard a big guy on a Gold Wing complain about comfort. They must be tougher than I am, or really, really comfortable!
Here's what my current seat looks like, and under that are photos from Saddlemen's site.