Hi Dennis,
I ride mostly one up, and with my size, my passenger is cramped even on the stock seat. On both the stock seat and the RDL, the passenger is comfortable (130lbs), but we rarely do overnighters, as all she sees is the back of my helmet (and my back!). I remove the backrest when riding two up. It’s not an issue on shorter trips. Also, the RDL has had the driver area lengthened by 1.5” to fit me, which is why the passenger seat is a little shorter. Having said that, The Chosen One is very, very happy with the RDL seat, which she likes far more than the Cannonball.
With the expense, yeah, it’s bloody expensive for Aussies. There are a couple of options. You either ship your seat to Russell in the US (cost around $250US), have no seat for a couple of months, and wear the cost of return shipping (around $200US), or purchase a second hand seat in the US and have them ship direct to Russell (around $400US) and wear the cost of shipping to Aus($200US). It’s roundabouts and swings, but with the second option, you continue to ride on your stock seat, and if you upgrade to another F3, you put your stock seat back on, and keep the Russell for the new F3......That’s why I prefer to use the second option.
So you’re looking at over $2500 Aussie for a RDL purchase (including heavy duty springing, backrest and heating), which I don’t like spending, but it’s the only guaranteed option for me. I have tried all the other brands over time, OEM alternatives, Mustang, Sergeant, gel, Ultimate, sheepskin, Airhawk and none of them work for me over an hour. I have never tried Corbin due to the all too frequent reports you hear about quality and customer service, along with “hard as a rock” comments. It’s just not worth the risk.
I have now bought RDL for my last 4 rides and will continue to do so. I have only had to return one seat for adjustment, and RDL admitted it was their fault, and wore the cost of shipping and repair. I’m a fan, as you can tell.
Hope this helps,
Pete
I come from the sport bike world so my opinion on comfortable is easily influenced.
As I study the RDL it appears the passenger is getting reduced seating area especially with the drivers backrest in place.
There has been comments on the forum about the F3L's tight passenger area compared to the RT.
So do you ride two up and what's the report from the rear?
Since I now have a spare stock front seat, down time to have an RDL made isn't an issue. I assume you wen't through two steps of expense to end up with the RDL set up?
Thanks for the pics.
Dennis
:thumbup:
hyea:
