Best seats - are Russell Day Long seats REALLY that good?

[OverHillAndDale]

On various bikes, I’ve had a Corbin, a Mustang, and an Ultimate seat. I’m currently driving a 2020 RT with the Comfort seat and my butt just aches after 2-3 hours (My wife says I haven’t had a butt since i turned 50!)

The only brand I have never heard ANTYHING bad about is the Russell Day Long and I’m considering investing in one.

For those of you who’ve had one - is it really that good?

[2dogs]

I'm good with my OEM seat but I believe most of the Iron Butt guys ride on Russell"s Day Long saddles. Laam also has quality seats. Check'm out.

[IGETAROUND]

YES That's why you don't find many of them for sale on the aftermarket

Al in Kazoo

[staneric]

I've had a Russell and Sargent on two different mc's and the Ultimate Seat on my Ryker is equal to or better than both.

[Cirhere]

I have a Russell I really like it but never had an ultimate so can't compare

[Bensonoid]

Mine was worth every penny and cost less than a lot of the other non custom seats.

[hypurone]

My wingman had a Russell for the longest time, but switched away to Seth's seat! He said the Russell was hard and unforgiving on less than smooth roads. Something about the steel insert for bracing in them, FWIW....

I had my stock seat redone by Seth and after some back and forth on the angles I needed for my injuries that he doesn't normally do in a seat, I am GOLDEN!

[2dogs]

Like attitudes, opinions, and butts, everyone is different to some degree or another. I've been to Laam and Russell's shops and both are quality seat builders. And like Chuck mentioned, you have to communicate with your seat builder to arrive at the best bang for your butt.

[Motorcycledave]

On various bikes, I’ve had a Corbin, a Mustang, and an Ultimate seat. I’m currently driving a 2020 RT with the Comfort seat and my butt just aches after 2-3 hours (My wife says I haven’t had a butt since i turned 50!)
The only brand I have never heard ANTYHING bad about is the Russell Day Long and I’m considering investing in one.
For those of you who’ve had one - is it really that good?

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[Peteoz]

I have tried all the “one size fits all” seats, including gel
inserts, “longer” seats etc, such as Corbin, Mustang, Sargeant, Ultimate, and none of them have been comfortable for more than an hour or so, OverHill.

It’s due to the fact that Daylong and Laam incorporate wings into the sides of their seats to support the outer thigh (like your car seat does), and tailor the foam based on your personal requirements and photographs to provide the perfect knee/thigh seating angle and support, that they guarantee all day comfort.

I factor the cost of a Daylong into every new bike I buy, and at around $3k Aussie per seat, that’s a lot of faith. ($3k Aussie due to the purchase of a 2nd hand US seat, seat build cost, diabolical shipping costs to Aus, and $ conversion rate.

I have now owned 5 Daylongs on 5 different rides, and only once have they let me down…….and on that occasion they paid return shipping, determined the issue and corrected it perfectly.

Pete

[Woodswoman]

On various bikes, I’ve had a Corbin, a Mustang, and an Ultimate seat. I’m currently driving a 2020 RT with the Comfort seat and my butt just aches after 2-3 hours (My wife says I haven’t had a butt since i turned 50!)

The only brand I have never heard ANTYHING bad about is the Russell Day Long and I’m considering investing in one.

For those of you who’ve had one - is it really that good?

Yes, IMO, it is.

[OverHillAndDale]

Thanks all for the input. Tomorrow I will call Laam and RDL and make a decision. I also noticed RDL has a genuine leather option. Sounds appealing and the claim is that with proper care it will last as well as vinyl. Any parting thoughts?

[2dogs]

Thanks all for the input. Any parting thoughts?

Yes. I hope the one you end up with is the one that brings your butt back (re; your wife's comment LOL). Good luck and let us all know your experience and which seat you end up with.

[Bensonoid]

Any parting thoughts?

Order now and you might have it back by springtime.

[old Timer]

The answer to the OP's question is a resounding yes.

[OverHillAndDale]

Order now and you might have it back by springtime.

That really won’t be a problem - when I bought the Comfort seat I kept the stock seat, so I will send that one in to be rebuilt. Now … I just have to sell my wife on why this is more important than replacing our sunroom sofa

[Woodaddict]

Thanks all for the input. Tomorrow I will call Laam and RDL and make a decision. I also noticed RDL has a genuine leather option. Sounds appealing and the claim is that with proper care it will last as well as vinyl. Any parting thoughts?

leather is too hard to upkeep. best not to let it get wet. i went with Sunbrella, more sun resistant, does not get as hot, will last longer. this is what most boat seats are made of. does cost more, but worth it. also you can spyder pattern stitching

[Peteoz]

leather is too hard to upkeep. best not to let it get wet. i went with Sunbrella, more sun resistant, does not get as hot, will last longer. this is what most boat seats are made of. does cost more, but worth it. also you can spyder pattern stitching

Yep, yep, yep……same here, Woodaddict. Nothing looks quite as good as leather, but black Sunbrella stays coolish if left in the sun, is waterproof, and doesn’t appear to fade. I had it on my 2016 F3-L for 4 years without issue, and now have it on my 2021 RT-L. A wash down every so often, and a regular brush, and it looks just fine.

CBC0DB7B-2F32-4C29-8284-805A22C5267F.jpg

Pete

[PW2013STL]

I have had Russell Day Long seats on 4 previous mc including 2 Spyders. This time I went with a Laam seat. I did a ride in and he worked on my seat for 7 hours. Turns out he worked for the original owner of Day Long Saddles. Did not like the lack of quality so when the business was sold to the current owners he went out on his own.
He did a fantastic job and it's just as comfortable as any Day Long I have owned. Best part is he warranties his saddle for as long as you own it , and for a lot less than Russell charges.

[2dogs]

PW2013STL, you are so correct.

[Peteoz]

I have had Russell Day Long seats on 4 previous mc including 2 Spyders. This time I went with a Laam seat. I did a ride in and he worked on my seat for 7 hours. Turns out he worked for the original owner of Day Long Saddles. Did not like the lack of quality so when the business was sold to the current owners he went out on his own.
He did a fantastic job and it's just as comfortable as any Day Long I have owned. Best part is he warranties his saddle for as long as you own it , and for a lot less then Russell charges.

Yeah, I probably would have gone with Laam, except he never answered the phone or returned call messages or emails from the 3 separate times I tried to contact him, PW, so I ended up going with Russell again. I’m not sure if he didn’t want international business, or what the story was. But every review you see says he does great work.

Pete

[OverHillAndDale]

I’m reluctant to be negative about any Spyder vendor, particularly small motorcycle shops working hard to keep the lights on. But, I’ve thought about a long time and decided posting this was warranted. Take this for what it’s worth - Perhaps I’m in error, perhaps I caught this vendor on a bad day or before his coffee.

I went to the Laam website and decided to investigate. I called the number listed on the website and the owner answered. I told him I had some questions about his seats and he said “Why on earth would you call the owner of a company to find out information about their product? That’s rude! You wouldn’t call a Chevy dealer to find out why their cars are the best! There’s information on my website and you can read about my products on motorcycle forums.”

I was astounded. I’m trying hard not to exaggerate or embellish this story, but I can’t think of anything I did to warrant this response. If he didn’t want to answer my questions on the phone, he might let us know that the number listed on the website is for other purposes, and he could have directed me back to the internet politely. He did answer a question or two but I ended the call before I was done because I was getting angry. To his credit, he did not dog any other seat vendor.

This may be the Holy Grail of seat reconstruction, but I won’t be using this vendor. If I’ve been unfair to Laam I apologize, but I’ve always thought calling a vendor to ask about their product was not a rude thing.

[PW2013STL]

I’m reluctant to be negative about any Spyder vendor, particularly small motorcycle shops working hard to keep the lights on. But, I’ve thought about a long time and decided posting this was warranted. Take this for what it’s worth - Perhaps I’m in error, perhaps I caught this vendor on a bad day or before his coffee.

I went to the Laam website and decided to investigate. I called the number listed on the website and the owner answered. I told him I had some questions about his seats and he said “Why on earth would you call the owner of a company to find out information about their product? That’s rude! You wouldn’t call a Chevy dealer to find out why their cars are the best! There’s information on my website and you can read about my products on motorcycle forums.”

I was astounded. I’m trying hard not to exaggerate or embellish this story, but I can’t think of anything I did to warrant this response. If he didn’t want to answer my questions on the phone, he might let us know that the number listed on the website is for other purposes, and he could have directed me back to the internet politely. He did answer a question or two but I ended the call before I was done because I was getting angry. To his credit, he did not dog any other seat vendor.

This may be the Holy Grail of seat reconstruction, but I won’t be using this vendor. If I’ve been unfair to Laam I apologize, but I’ve always thought calling a vendor to ask about their product was not a rude thing.

Sorry to read this as my experience on the phone and in person was the opposite of this.

[Peteoz]

I wonder if that’s one of the reasons Laam’s pricing is cheaper than Daylong’s, OverHill. They employ full time front office staff to answer phone and email queries. I won’t be bothering with Laam again…..that is not saying others shouldn’t….but he just doesn’t “work” for me

Pete

[FrogmanDave]

Yeah, I probably would have gone with Laam, except he never answered the phone or returned call messages or emails from the 3 separate times I tried to contact him

It was twice in my case. They may as well have not existed. I never heard a word back at all. I gave up and will never try again. This was about 5 years ago for an ST1300 seat.