Picked up my new Russell seat. What a great experience!

Stopped in Shasta City on our way to AZ for a new fitted seat and wanted to shout out my thanks for a very good experience with the staff and owner of Russell. Cannot wait to get it broken in and start enjoying some very comfortable rides. The Sargent was much better than stock but after 7 or 8 hours or 3-4 days in a row, my butt was sore. Got the rear fitted for Marianne as well, so when she meets me in Montreal for our two up, two week, portion of my 50/60/70 ride this fall, she will be comfortable. This should be the most important of my preparations for my bucket list ride.

Welcome to the comfy butt party. What took you so long?

I believe that the "break-in" is more a factor of you getting used to the wings being there than the seat actually morphing... But I suppose that there is some of both.

Once I got the Russell dialed in on my '05, I'll never own a road bike that doesn't have one. It's a big part of why I am not completely sold on buying a '14. I'd have to get a new seat. Would it be as good as the one I have now?

I got a new Russell seat the other day. I've not ridden with it, put my Corbin back on. I am NOT impressed, prolly end up selling it.

rbentnail said:

I got a new Russell seat the other day. I've not ridden with it, put my Corbin back on. I am NOT impressed, prolly end up selling it.

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What don't you like about it?

rbentnail said:

I got a new Russell seat the other day. I've not ridden with it, put my Corbin back on. I am NOT impressed, prolly end up selling it.

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What was your motive to buy it, style or function? If style, you probably needed something else, if function and comfort you made a good choice. And how can you say you don't like if you have not ridden on it?

Ted230 said:

What don't you like about it?

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bikerskier said:

What was your motive to buy it, style or function? If style, you probably needed something else, if function and comfort you made a good choice. And how can you say you don't like if you have not ridden on it?

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The purchase was for comfort not style. I ride more than some & less than some but averaging 12k+/yr for the last 6 yrs has my butt wanting more.

At 5'10", 30" inseam the biggest drawback I see of the Russell seat is the plushiness- it comes with a cost. Even if I slide all the way forward, crushing "the boys" against the gas tank, I can just barely tippytoe one foot on the ground. And I do mean tippytoe, barely, and that's with the 1" sole on my boots. There's no possible way I can get both sets of toes on the ground. Not a comfortable feeling at all.

Then there's the increased reach to the bars due to the increased height. I added 1" risers and moved the bars all the way back for a more comfortable riding position for me. With this seat I'd prolly have to add at least another inch b/c it's so damn tall.

So, my initial reaction is sell it. But I'll ride with it some on familiar roads where I know there are no intersections in sloped curves to be sure I don't drop the bike. I'm sure the comfort of the seat is there but it seems it's for a trade I'm not willing to make.

I'm at 6' 2" and 34" inseam so I have zero issues with ground reach.

Looking forward to following your adventure Ralph! Hope the new seat allows many (s)miles of comfort.

--G

I love my R too. But the other gentlemen is correct... it does raise the toes off the ground..

I only have a 32" inseam (6'2" but long in the torso) and have never had the least bit of problem reaching the ground with a Russell. When I flat foot it I can still have my knees are bent a little, and that's without skooting forward. If you really have a 30" inseam I can't see how it would be as bad as you say. I'd be interested to see some photos of your seat to compare the builds. One other thing to consider would be sending it back to Russell and have them lower you. If you had told them that reach to the ground would be an issue with you they would have kept the rise to a minimum.

I also have on a Russell on my Vstrom DL1000, which as you may know sits quite a bit higher than any FJR. I'm on tippy toes on the 'strom with the Russell, but I don't care at all, and would actually like it to be a bit higher (for ground clearance). Anyone who has ridden dirt bikes or dual sports much becomes pretty used to a high seat height which means one-footing it at stops (a good practice anyway) and dismounting to try and back the bike up. You do become more adept at always finding parking spots pointing uphill, so backing out is easier. It is well worth that trade-off (to me) for the all day comfort of the butt zone..

As for the reach to the bars being greater, yes that is definitely true. I really would not have needed bar risers on the FJR, but did for sure after getting the Russell. I got the Heli risers which go up ~ an inch and back an inch

Im 30" inseam too and Russell recommended their Sport seat for me. Hindsight, great idea. Seat initially felt very high but after about 400 miles, seat is breaking in nicely, feels close to stock height now. I'll always have to scoot forward at stops though. Comfort is awesome as everyone will attest.

I'm (now) 5'10" (was 5'11.5") and (now) 30" inseam. I'm on my 2nd Russell (previous bike was #1) and can't be happier. They will remain mod #1 for any new bike I ever buy. Flat footing serves no purpose on a bike that weighs more than you can dead lift.

Rbentnail: I would take Fred's advice. Russell has a "one free tweak" policy so why not use it? I guess shipping cost might be a reason, but if you went to the trouble of going through the ordering process I would think you'd want to give it one more shot.

rbentnail said:

I got a new Russell seat the other day. I've not ridden with it, put my Corbin back on. I am NOT impressed, prolly end up selling it.

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Give Russel a call and explain the situation and take advantage of the free adjustment.

It's a great seat and worth the effort.

Start taking note now about what doesn't work. The more detail you can give them the better.