Spencer has done three seats for me: CB 919, ST 1300, and a VTR 250 over the years. I have nothing but good things to say about his craftsmanship and attention to detail.
Spencer Seat Mod?
- Thread starter GoTime
- Start date
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
There is a reason for the price difference - I've had both and as was said, there is no comparison.
However, for Spencer's price, it is good value if it works for you.
My personal 'feeling' is that the Spencer mod works decently if you are not of 'large' dimensions like me.
I had a ST1300 seat 'Spencerized' for when I rent ST1300s overseas.
I was ready to throw it away at 100 miles after hauling it all the way to Europe.
My Russells for my ST1100s are very comfortable and set a very high standard for what a seat should be.
Thanks for your insight. I do not have large dimensions. I am six foot with a normal tushy. However, the forward slide is what bothers me the most. Do you think the spencer is designed to prevent that.
Do they prevent the forward slide, that is a common problem with the stock seat.
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
'Large dimensions' - especially as in 'weight'. 
The Russell has a spring in it for us big guys to prevent the foam from compressing. Whether it is gel or foam, it will compress over time and their patented spring solves that issue.
The Russell has a spring in it for us big guys to prevent the foam from compressing. Whether it is gel or foam, it will compress over time and their patented spring solves that issue.
ST Gui
240Robert
Not having any custom seat made as yet I'll just venture that you can tell any seat maker familiar with the bike that sliding forward is a problem and they should be able to work with that. Without saying anything and if they don ask then the seat would probably maintain the factory angles.
Tried to call and email him last fall several times...…….nothing. I thought he was sick, or on vacation, but never returned my call ??
He did one for me and while it was better than the stock seat, it was just ok... I then tried a Sargent and that, for me, was a 1000 mile a day seat with no pain the next day.. Spencer is a good option if it works for you, I know several have stated it has made the seat an all-day seat so it's worth a shot and if it doesn't work you can definitely sell it here pretty fast.
If the spencerized seat does not work. Can it be sent to russell and have it converted to a RDL?
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
RDL builds them from 'scratch' on the seat pan - so I assume they would pitch the Spencer stuff and put in their stuff.
If you end up doing a Russell, I highly recommend a 'ride in'.
They built my first one from pictures and it was great.
My second two were with a ride in and they are even better.
The 'ride in' gives them a chance to make sure it works on the spot because you can give them direct feedback during the build process.
As Joe and I both said, it may be worth a shot because it does work for some folks and there is not a lot of money involved.
But then there's Sargent seats, Adcock seats … the list goes on.
If you could set it up, sitting on someone's ST1300 with a Spencer mod might answer your question before you buy it.
With a Russell, it would depend if the person it was built for is very similar to you in anatomy - reach, inseam, weight, height, etc.