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Russell Day Long - Ordering Experince so far

MalcolmReynolds

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For those considering getting a Russell Day Long seat for your bike I can tell you from past experience that the seat is very nice and is a good investment if comfort in the saddle is an issue for you. Just wanted to share my experience real fast with Russell Motorcycle products for my NC.

You can't just buy a Russell Day Long seat. You have to order it. You then have to send them a stock seat for them to use as the base for the seat they will make for you. You have to send them pictures of you sitting on the bike, and provide them some basic info about your height, weight, inseam etc. The lead time to get a seat built if you order it is substantial once the riding season begins. I ordered mine in March I think and the build date they provided was June 21st. Those lead times may be shorter during the non-riding season, but be prepared to wait for a while to get your seat built.

At the point you place the order online or on the phone you don't have to have everything like the seat or pics etc. But you must provide these things to them before they start to build your seat.

Once you place the order you will be given a "build date" in an email and all correspondence with the company needs to reference your name and build date in the subject. Next get them the stuff that they need.

If you don't mind the down time by not having a seat for a while then just wait to send your seat just before your build date. Making sure it is in their possession before the build date. If you don't want to eat the down time without a bike then you will need to find a donor seat from someone or buy a donor seat that you can use for the build.

Now once you get the build date and that date arrives(if they have everything they need) they will start the build. I did not get any notification from them that they had started the build. My build date was 21 Jun 2017. I just received a call today on 28 Jun 2017 to tell me that the seat build was complete and they just needed my payment information and the seat will be going into the mail tomorrow.

I then received an email from UPS telling me I have a shipment coming from Russell Cycle Products. I will post updates to this thread once the seat arrives, and post some pictures for those who are interested in the Russell and wanted to understand more about the process and the seat.

I know I am really looking forward to getting the seat on the bike and going for some rides. The stock seat even with mods still has me uncomfortable after about 40-50 minutes so I am shuffling around on the bike trying to get comfortable. That is an improvement over what it was like before I modded the seat so I guess I shouldn't complain. Hopefully this Russell seat will make longer rides a little easier on this old body of mine... ;)
 
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Nice post. Looking forward to your update and especially your 'comfort' review. Apparently the Cadillac of NC seats.

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Well it's not a seat but 640 HP @ 6400 RPM right off the lot.
 
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You can't just buy a Russell Day Long seat. You have to order it. You then have to send them a stock seat for them to use as the base for the seat they will make for you. You have to send them pictures of you sitting on the bike, and provide them some basic info about your height, weight, inseam etc.

I know I am really looking forward to getting the seat on the bike and going for some rides.
You also have the option of doing a Ride-In appointment where they will finish your seat same day. That way the technician can see your riding style as you sit on the seat and also let you try your partially completed seat for some feedback prior to finishing.

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I did the Ride-In option, not wanting to leave anything to chance, and have been extremely happy with my RDL since its first mile to now (18 months and 30k plus miles). Doing the butt-dance is a thing of the past, no soreness anymore whether I'm just picking up a pizza or at the end of a 1,000 mile day!

Ray
 
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So, once the seat is built and shipped, what happens if adjustments are needed, or if you just plain don't like it? Do you start shipping it back and forth for adjustments at your own expense, or theirs? Do you go to the front of the line for adjustments, or is the adjustment given a future "build" date? Can you ship it back within a certain time and get a refund?

Nofear2trek, where is the ride-in location?
 
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Do you go to the front of the line for adjustments,

Nofear2trek, where is the ride-in location?
Those photos I posted are from when I showed up in the morning, unannounced, and asked for the free adjustment you are authorized within a year of purchase. I'm not sure how many you get, but they told me I could get an free adjustment within a year after I broke-in my RDL. I just showed up that morning (I was heading home from a cross country trip) and the same technician that originally built it, went right to work on it and I was back on the road a couple of hours later. My experience is that they are really easy to work with. Here is a link to their warranty page (Suspension Saddle | Warranty | Russell Cycle Products).

They are in northern Kalifornia between Sacramento and the Oregon border, just a bit off the interstate hwy (about 300 miles from my home).

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Ray
 
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Was there a conversation about the problem with the forward slope?
Not sure about that, but the adjustment I requested concerned a bit more puffing up of the forward center area.

As you can see in the photo clearly, it slopes downward towards the butt pocket rearward.

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Now, the frunk cover won't stand up on its own because it compresses slightly against that new puffed up area. Rides great!

Ray
 
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I want one, but my 28.5" inseam might put me out of touch with the ground. Stock saddle is just toes.
 
I want one, but my 28.5" inseam might put me out of touch with the ground. . .

The RDL I tried, which was not built for me, looked to be shaped just like Ray's. With my 32" inseam, I couldn't even safely ride the bike with it installed. Walking the bike around the garage was nearly impossible. I'd sure like to see a picture of one made custom for someone with shorter legs.

OCR reported that Russell said they would not build on for him.

I am still very much interested in trying a Day Long based on the paise they get, but I'm skeptical as to whether it will work for me.
 
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The RDL I tried, which was not built for me, looked to be shaped just like Ray's. With my 32" inseam, I couldn't even safely ride the bike with it installed. Walking the bike around the garage was nearly impossible.
I always forget to mention, but is very important, I am 6'4" and that my inseam is 36". The RDL is comfortable because of its different shape and all the extra cushion between my butt and the frame. Shape + Cushion = Increased Seat Height. And that with that different shape with extra cushion and the additional seat height it causes, my legs aren't too short at one end, I can still reach the ground at a stop.

Ray
 

I always forget to mention, but is very important, I am 6'4" and that my inseam is 36". The RDL is comfortable because of its different shape and all the extra cushion between my butt and the frame. Shape + Cushion = Increased Seat Height. And that with that different shape with extra cushion and the additional seat height it causes, my legs aren't too short at one end, I can still reach the ground at a stop.

Ray

Thanks for that helpful background info. In addition to reaching the ground, I think reaching the pegs is also a factor. Now granted, about any adult can reach the pegs sitting on the bike, but the angle at which the legs fall away from the seat varies. A long legged person will have their thighs at a more horizontal position while seated. With that posture, the high sides of the RDL are natural, and probably aid in support. A short legged person is going to drape their thighs off the seat in a more downward angle. That is where I had trouble. The seat sides interfered with my natural leg angle.

The handlebar bar placement plays a role, too. A shorter armed person will lean more forward and rotate the hips forward. This also changes the leg angle. I'm actually quite comfortable riding with my heels on the passenger pegs, but of course the higher sided RDL would hinder that riding style.

Another factor is that the NC pegs are set rather rearward for a sit up straight riding posture. My Goldwing has the pegs farther forward, and I find it works well for sitting in a big wide supportive seat like I was at the dinner table. I think if the NC pegs were a bit more forward and higher, the RDL style bucket seat would fit better while riding. However one would still have trouble reaching the ground due to the seat height.
 
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Now granted, about any adult can reach the pegs sitting on the bike, but the angle at which the legs fall away from the seat varies. A long legged person will have their thighs at a more horizontal position while seated.

Another factor is that the NC pegs are set rather rearward for a sit up straight riding posture. My Goldwing has the pegs farther forward, and I find it works well for sitting in a big wide supportive seat like I was at the dinner table.
You're right on the mark, Greg!

Without question RDL's greater market is with cruisers, low seat height forward pegs bikes.

Adventure bikes are probably an afterthought because not many of us are tall enough to take advantage of their comfort at the cost of increased seat height. I'm just one of the lucky ones that am able to ride one and extremely happy about that.

Ray
 
Well the new seat arrived today and at the moment I can say it is a mixed bag. The seat construction and quality appear to be really good. Sitting on the seat does provide a very supported and comfortable feel. The bad news is if you sit in the sweet spot of the seat(the position of the bucket portion of the seat) it moves my position where I prefer to sit forward which is an undesirable situation.

I feel like some of my instructions from my order were ignored. I am a rider with a very long inseam(36") so I specifically asked for the seat height to be raised up and to allow me to move all the way back on the seat. I normally ride pressed up against the back pillion so I need to have the seat setup with the bucket portion of the seat as far back as possible. This would also mean they would need to move the seat "wings(wide portion that supports the outside of ones legs and lower rear posterior)" would have to be a little further back due to where I prefer to sit.

Sadly the bucket portion was placed toward the center part of the seat, may slightly back from center, but still moves me forward. They did raise the seat up so that is better, but I certainly didn't want to move forward.

I think I will take the bike out for a spin either later this evening or tomorrow and see if I can adjust to this more forward seating position or if I am going to need to send this seat back to Russell. This really stinks having waited so long for the seat to be done and not feeling the love. I almost feel like they took a standard template for the seat and raised it up higher based on my input, but didn't shift anything else in response to both my request and my pictures I sent to them showing how far back I sit on the seat. So I am feeling a little frustrated at the moment. Maybe after a little ride I will feel better about it, but in my initial "sit on it" impressions I feel like they got the width and height right, but they moved me forward which isn't good. Looking at the seat it might be they couldn't move me back without the seat having a gap between the pillion and the rider seat. I don't know for sure. I will post an update after a first ride, and will post some pics so you guys can see what I am talking about.

Overall it is a nice looking seat and it does feel far more comfortable than my stock seat that I have rigged up with a sheepskin and bead rider and some added padding. The Russell does feel better than the stock seat in my initial impressions, but just not liking the feeling of sitting on the hump at the back of the seat where it starts to raise up to meet the rear pillion. If I slide forward into the bucket of the seat it is comfortable, but I feel like I am too far forward then. So I am not sure if there is any more room to move me back or not.

So that is the scoop so far on the Russell. I will update you guys with my impressions after a ride and will get you some pics.
 
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The bad news is if you sit in the sweet spot of the seat (the position of the bucket portion of the seat) it moves my position where I prefer to sit forward which is an undesirable situation.

So that is the scoop so far on the Russell. I will update you guys with my impressions after a ride and will get you some pics.
I remember when my RDL was finished and I was about to ride off thinking,

'What is this and why did I spend so much money on it?!'

Fortunately, I had a 300 mile ride to get home, and as the miles rode by I started to repeatedly say to myself, 'Hey this thing is pretty nice.' I probably have about 50k miles on it now and still say that!

The RDL is a big change from the OEM seat and clones of it. Both of us have 36" inseams and prefer to sit a more rearward position while riding. If your RDL looks like mine, I find myself sitting just a smidge ahead of the leading edge of Dale's rack, sometimes pressed back touching it. But looking at my RDL's bucket location, it would look like I would be sitting more forward. The rearward cushion compresses as you sit on it. Also remember, it takes about 1k miles to break-in the seat, so you will probably be able to train it to your own butt print location.

I got my fingers crossed your transition to a RDL works as well for you as mine for me. I'm looking forward to your update and pics.

Ray

 
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Nothing to worry about...

Well I took the bike for about a 40-50 minute ride. Just long enough for me to normally be thinking it is time for a break and guess what? I didn't need or want a break! This crazy seat is like sitting on a Lazyboy... I don't have the recliner option yet, but it is pretty darn comfortable.

So the deal is just like Ray just said, only I didn't need a 300 mile ride to say "Hey, this is pretty darn comfortable". I sit all the way back against pillion and that "hump" back there sorta compresses a little and is actually pretty comfortable. If I slide forward into the bucket that is pretty comfortable. If you slide up into the bucket on the seat then it puts you up hugging the frunk, but is pretty comfortable if you don't mind being that close. So it looks like they actually gave me room to move around on the seat and still be comfortable. So I really can't beat that.

I think this will work out fine. Couldn't believe how darn comfortable and supportive it is after I had been on it for about 10-15 minutes I was like "hey, this is really comfortable!". My initial sitting impression in the garage really didn't translate to riding it. So I was worried for nothing.

The other weird thing is it really changes the way the bike feels and handles to me. Not sure why that would be the case, but much more confidence inspiring. Which is really strange because I felt very comfortable with the way the bike handled before the seat. So it really is some kind of a strange side effect, but I like it very much.

So far so good, what this seat needs now is some quality break in time!
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Looks super comfy. I'm envious but maybe not so much that I'm willing to drop $500 USD to join the RDL club...not yet. It sure looks nice though. Congrats.
 
So I have a spare pan, the factory seat, because I already have an aftermarket seat.
So I was thinking this would allow me to keep riding while the Day Long is made, but if I want the pillion it means no passenger for that period, as I still use the stock pillion seat.
I would have just ordered the rider only, but the comments above about pushing back against the pillion makes me think again, plus the style difference would look weird.
 
...but the comments above about pushing back against the pillion makes me think again, plus the style difference would look weird.

Nofear2trek has Dales rack, Ray could you please post some pics showing how things look where the rack meets the seat.
 
So I have a spare pan, the factory seat, because I already have an aftermarket seat.
So I was thinking this would allow me to keep riding while the Day Long is made, but if I want the pillion it means no passenger for that period, as I still use the stock pillion seat.
I would have just ordered the rider only, but the comments above about pushing back against the pillion makes me think again, plus the style difference would look weird.

I only ordered the front seat to be done. They "recover" the back seat so that it matches and is covered in the cost they quote for the front seat. You need to send them both the front and back so that they can make it all match for you.

I bought a donor seat so that I could keep riding while they worked on the seat. So now that my seat is done I have a stock seat if anyone is looking for one to use as a donor seat or just to replace an existing stock seat. Just give me a shout and will be glad to hook you up.

The only reason I push back against the pillion is that I have really long arms and legs so the most comfortable position is further back. I think most people probably sit comfortably in the bucket of the seat and don't have the issue of riding back against the pillion. :)
 
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