My Opinions and Thoughts on the Russell Day-Long

EASt

EASt

Streuselkuchen
Joined
Feb 19, 2006
Messages
1,019
Location
Minnesota
Bike
S1000XR
As most of you know, many products and farkles do not do well under the term of my ownership. I ride like a granny, but everything I touch seems to end up becoming a pile of useless junk. Consequentially, I'm not really fond of most items I end up buying.

It's a curse.

I figured I'd throw in my $.02 on the Russell Day-Long after 1,000 miles of saddle time in it.

I like it:
  1. There is no doubt that this saddle will be the most comfortable seat I can achieve on the ST1300. I rode an 8 hour rally in it, and my butt never caught fire. It was a sheer joy to be firmly ensconsed in the Russell all day. Man, what a change.
  2. The Russell has lifted my seat position. It puts a bit more pressure on my wrists and make the ST feel more sporty as I lean forward a bit more. What's important here is that the Day-Long saddle has been the answer to my knee problems. Days in the saddle of the ST have often caused butt and knee pain for me. Those are both gone now. I'm very pleased with this.
  3. The seat is top-notch construction. I just had the driver's seat in vinyl and it's really nicely built. I got what I paid for.
  4. The folks at Russell took a potentially confusing purchase and made it nicely simple. It was very smooth and they nailed my custom build on the first try. Again, couldn't be more pleased.

I don't like it:
  1. Here's where I can't get past the Russell. The wings that project on the side that create so much comfort annoy me endlessly when the motorcycle comes to a stop. I can't just put a leg down like I used to. I have to slide forward to the tank, and then drop my leg down. During my commutes and rides of less than an hour in the city, this gets so annoying that I want to tear the saddle off and ride on the sub frame. I can't get past it.
  2. It's not waterproof. I hate that I have to keep the cover for the thing in my saddle bag all the time. I hate feeling like I can't ride in the rain any more. I subscribe to the "One Suit" philosophy of the Aerostich Roadcrafter. I do not want to have to stop my ride to don a rain suit; I want to keep going into the storm.
  3. The extra height I love so much for my knees has made it so I can't see my turn signals blinking any more. I'll have to make an ACL blinkie thingie, or just get used to driving down the road with my blinker on all the time.

So, I've decided that I will definitely keep the Day-Long for my day-long rides. But, for the other 75% of the time I'm riding, I want my stocker back. I want a saddle that I can squirm around in and move my legs. I'm figuring out that I need the stocker (which, honestly, I never had much problem with - I was always pretty comfy in it) AND the Russell.

So, that's my opinion. Not expecting everyone will agree with it, but I want my cake (pie), and I want to eat it too.
 
Thanks, Matt. Y'know, I think that the saddle grail just doesn't exist. It's like so many other things in motorcycling, there's just not a good do-all product. Everything is a compromise somehow. Ultimately, that's why many of us end up with a few different ponies in the stable.

However, the Day-Long is well worth owning if you're an extensive tourer, an IBA participant, or a rally hound. I think the fact that it's called the Day-Long and not the Commuter sums my feelings up.
 
You can ride in the rain... treat it, and you are OK. You just can't let water puddle up on the seat and let it stand, it will soak thru the stitching. If you couldn't ride in the rain, you wouldn't see that seat on IBA MC's... wouldn't see them on any IBR MC's... trust me on that one. ;)
 
sherob said:
You can ride in the rain... treat it, and you are OK.
Click to expand...

I assumed that they included the rain cover because it wasn't water-able. What would you treat the vinyl seat with?
 
After only 115,000 miles on my Russell, I have learned to ignore the fact that I skoot forward when I come to stops. But since I don't have to come to too many in my 63 miles commute, I can live with it. I have the leather cover front and rear. I also have a MC cover for it when I'm at work. If I see :rain1: in the forcast, I will cover it, although there have been times the water got through that cover, so it does require me to treat it once in a while. :D

You'll get used to anything if you put your mind to it. My "stock" (Original is my Russell) saddles stay in the garage unless I'm washing the bike or trailing it. I refuse to use it to commute with! :eek:4:
 
Off their site about the cover... and rain...

Waterproof Cover
Q. You say that even your vinyl covers are not 100% waterproof because of the sewing machine needle holes. I've heard there is a way to make your Saddle waterproof by installing a layer of plastic or other waterproof material between the seat cover and the foam inside. Is this the best way to address this problem?

A. It is true that the sewing machine needle holes even in a vinyl cover render the material less than 100% waterproof. This is generally not a big problem because the holes are tiny and will not let much water pass through. Of course, if a bike is left standing in a downpour and water is allowed to puddle in the low spots of the saddle for very long then some water is going to have time to seep through the needle holes. Once this happens it will take a long time for the internal foam to dry out. None of this will cause damage to the vinyl, and the only possible damage to the foam innards is if the wet condition is allowed to persist until mold or mildew develops. If a saddle does get wet inside take it off the bike and stand it on end in a corner for a couple days, the water will gradually drain out of the foam. As always, an ounce of prevention=a pound of cure!

We've spent a good deal of time exploring various ways of water proofing our seat covers, including the one you mentioned. In the final analysis nothing compares with the flexibility, simplicity and effectiveness of utilizing the external rain cover which also provides additional benefits such as protection against sunlight, dust, morning dew, spillage, etc. The rain cover is made so that you can ride with it in place, and it provides all these benefits whether your Saddle is covered in vinyl, velour or leather.

I use Protect All... same stuff I used from way back for all vinyl seats... car seats too. Make sure and wipe off the excess... you can use Pledge... Plexus too I guess... just remove the excess so you don't go sliding off!
 
SupraSabre said:
You'll get used to anything if you put your mind to it. My "stock" (Original is my Russell) saddles stay in the garage unless I'm washing the bike or trailing it. I refuse to use it to commute with! :eek:4:
Click to expand...

Yeah, mine sits on a rack in the garage in a Hefty garbage bag... only comes out for LD rides. I tried the daily commutes for a short time, I didn't like that very much either. ;)
 
SupraSabre said:
After only 115,000 miles on my Russell, I have learned to ignore the fact that I skoot forward when I come to stops.
Click to expand...

So, I've only got to ride another 114,000 miles on the Russell to get used to the stop/scoot? ;)
 
EASt said:
I ride like a granny, but everything I touch seems to end up becoming a pile of useless junk. Consequentially, I'm not really fond of most items I end up buying.
Click to expand...
Let me know when you're ready to get rid of it... LOL!!! :D
:cool:
 
ChipSTer said:
Let me know when you're ready to get rid of it... LOL!!! :D
:cool:
Click to expand...

Well, I can tell you that I certainly will not be ditching it; for what it's meant to do, it's first rate. For countless long hours in the saddle, I'm more than pleased with it.

It's just that on the other five days of the week when I'm driving 24 mile commutes... it's not the best saddle, IMO.
 
I too experienced a great deal of discomfort and insecurity when stopped - and felt skipping forward to straddle the tank was too high of a price to pay in exchange for Russell's pleasures.

The thought occurred to contact the fine folks at Russell to see what could be done. I asked if "those wings" could be trimmed down in order to allow my feet to touch the ground without removing myself from the seat. They replied with "no problem" - and here's how I went about it. I took an overhead pic of the saddle and drew "guide-lines" for Russell to trim to.

It took some patience as I had to return the saddle twice before it was just right for me. I've attached a pic for reference. During the summer of 2010 I rode from southern California to New York and back - often doing 800 to over 1000 miles daily and was never more comfortable.

The trim-down work was completed in 2006 - and for the past several years have had nothing but praise for my good fortune. I believe others here have had their Russell "wings" adjusted also????

Thanks for posting your article - perhaps you might give the idea of trimming your saddle for a more customized fit - the folks at Russell are great to work with, and I will vouch for that.
 

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RaYzerman said:
I am wondering if you can rub beeswax into the stitched areas... it works for leather, don't know about vinyl.
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I'm sure there's something that'll work. Don't know why beeswax wouldn't be any better, or any worse than anything else? Good thinkin.

STill STylin said:
I too experienced a great deal of discomfort and insecurity when stopped - and felt skipping forward to straddle the tank was too high of a price to pay in exchange for Russell's pleasures.

The thought occurred to contact the fine folks at Russell to see what could be done. I asked if "those wings" could be trimmed down in order to allow my feet to touch the ground without removing myself from the seat. They replied with "no problem" - and here's how I went about it. I took an overhead pic of the saddle and drew "guide-lines" for Russell to trim to.

It took some patience as I had to return the saddle twice before it was just right for me. I've attached a pic for reference. During the summer of 2010 I rode from southern California to New York and back - often doing 800 to over 1000 miles daily and was never more comfortable.

The trim-down work was completed in 2006 - and for the past several years have had nothing but praise for my good fortune. I believe others here have had their Russell "wings" adjusted also????

Thanks for posting your article - perhaps you might give the idea of trimming your saddle for a more customized fit - the folks at Russell are great to work with, and I will vouch for that.
Click to expand...

This is a great looking seat! Not only does it have a bucket to hold your rear-end in comfort, it also gives you some wiggle room. Very nice!
 
Did you look at their new sport touring seat? There are a few on the C14 board that have sent in a Sargent pan and had them do a seat on it too... aother choice apparently to work with as well. It seems we always find out these things after we buy, eh? LOL!!! :)
 
The wings will break down over time and be less of an issue at stops and you will notice them less. Just give it time.
 
Poor Eric is there anything that would completly make him happy ? Alwatys buys the best and still ? At least he doesn't ride Beemer with FD issues .
 
At least he's happy with his name... right Eric... you do like Eric? Eric Eric Eric! :)
 
EASt said:
[*]Here's where I can't get past the Russell. The wings that project on the side that create so much comfort annoy me endlessly when the motorcycle comes to a stop. I can't just put a leg down like I used to. I have to slide forward to the tank, and then drop my leg down. During my commutes and rides of less than an hour in the city, this gets so annoying that I want to tear the saddle off and ride on the sub frame. I can't get past it.So, I've decided that I will definitely keep the Day-Long for my day-long rides. But, for the other 75% of the time I'm riding, I want my stocker back. I want a saddle that I can squirm around in and move my legs. I'm figuring out that I need the stocker (which, honestly, I never had much problem with - I was always pretty comfy in it) AND the Russell.
Click to expand...

This is my feeling also with the seat. Another dislike I have when I first put it on in place of the stock one is the increase in height over stock. It feels like your perched up high and not sitting down into and one with the bike. It takes a little while to adjust to this. I do like the seat for long trips though it is worlds better then stock. I'm going to send my seat in over the winter to be "Spencerized". If this works out I may sell the Russell. I probably should have gone that route first anyway.
 
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