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Russell Sport Saddle- Any Experience, Anyone?

ricochetrider

Out There Somewhere
The stock seat on my 02 K1200RS, is uncomfortable at best. At 73K miles, the vinyl covering is now deconstructing. Having had a number of Corbin saddles, having mixed feelings about them I began thinking of a Sargent, just to try it out, but then noticed that Russell, the unofficial King Of Comfort, makes a "sport" version of their famous Day Long seat. The regular day long would look awkward, it seems to me, on the svelte K1200... so the thought of a super comfy Russell sure has its allure, as long as it didn't look like a walrus humping a super model.

None of these seats are inexpensive. I found a handful of comments RE Russell Sport Saddles on various forums in a g**gle search, but was wondering if anyone here in the MOA community has a Russell Sport Saddle, especially on a K1200 or something roughly similar? Also, one thing that seems to have come up several times is the Russell seats are NOT "waterproof" and you need a rain cover! For all this money... that seems a bit below the benchmark for excellence.

I did ask this question on the MOA f*ceb**k page and got nothing.

Anyone?
 
I had a Russell Sport Saddle on my 2015 RT. It was all leather with the stock rear seat simply recovered in leather to match the front. The front seat custom made for me.

It was very comfortable and in my opinion looked ok on the RT. I had the $40 waterproof cover that I used to cover the seat during down pours and at night while on a trip. I did not worry about the seat during normal rain as with regular conditioning of the leather it seemed to be pretty water resistant. Having said that when I get another Sport Saddle I will probably get vinyl instead of leather. I typically wear an Aerostich so the leather may not make a huge difference in comfort.

When ridden aggressively on the road and shifting your weight to the inside of the curve you do have to first scoot toward the gas tank and "out of the bucket" before you slide your butt on the seat toward the inside of the curve. It is awkward at first but after a short time it becomes second nature.
 

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I had one on my 95 R1100RSL and it was a great saddle. Rode two 11-day Iron Butt rallies on that saddle, along with multiple other 1000-mile days, and the saddle held up well. The K1200RS/GT saddle is one of BMW’s better efforts but is still at best a 500-mile saddle, so you should see a significant improvement in comfort with the Russell.

Any saddle with stitching on the cover will not be waterproof; the only reason the OEM saddle is waterproof is it’s lack of stitching on the top side. That lack of stitching also limits what can be done in shaping and texturing the saddle and is part of the reason so many OEM saddles suck. So don’t be put off by the waterproofing factor—I always used an EZ Touring cover over the entire bike anyway, regardless of weather.

Best,
DG
 
I recently had Russell make a sport seat for my 94 R1100RS, love it. It has made riding for any distance and time way more comfortable. Since I only had the front seat made to fit me, based on my riding position and bar backs they had to mod the rear slightly for a better fit. Best part, their cost was cheaper than a Sergeant and a Corbin. More comfort, made to fit you and a better price, what's not to like.:dance
 
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