RDL seat/passenger?

[mrt]

So i am thinking of sending my stock seat to Russell. Looking for feedback from those that have a RDL seat and MORE importantly how the passenger likes it over stock? A little history, tried a Mustang wide touring seat, i loved it, wife hated it. Went back to stock. Last year i found a used Corbin and got it, I thought it was good, wife hated it, back to stock. Running out of options and personally I think the RDL looks like an old tractor seat, but if it means wife is happy, happy life , right? Oh, and I think the stock seat sucks, so really trying to make both of us happy. Wish there was a way to test a seat before shelling out so much money for one, but i guess it is a risk i may have to take,

[plumber63]

Ive done it twice. One on my 1600 and one on my 1700. We can ride all day. Usually 8+ hrs. We go 130-150 between gas stops. We never ride the interstates so 150 miles takes 3 hrs+. Usually 4-500 miles a day when we travel.
The 1600 was a perfect fit first time. The 1700 had to send back twice to get it right. Which cost me shipping @ $50 each time.
Note if you get their drivers backrest it takes up some of the passengers area. And theres not a lot of room back there. If your happy with the grasshopper your better off.

We tried the mustang on the 1600 and it was better than stock but 150 was max for us in a day.

[redjay]

My wife liked the Daylong seats on our Nomad and on the Voyager.

[andyvh1959]

Better question is, why does your wife hate the seats you tried so far? May be a lot more than just the seat, and if it is, you're wasting the money on another seat. If she says she "hates it" without any details or description why its of little help. On one of my bikes my wife was not comfortable, didn't like the seat setup. I asked why and she said it felt like she was being pushed forward. I moved the tail box back 2" and she was much more comfortable. Details from your passenger are so important to get the right setup.

I put a RDL seat set on my 1600 Classic, along with a Harley style tail truck and backrest. I still had to adjust the tail truck position slightly to get her the right back angle and hip position. My wife does prefer the RDL seat over the Mustang touring seat I had on the Classic previously. Floorboard position/height is also a factor. If the passenger floorboards are too low and too flat for her seating position, she constantly has to adjust her seating position to keep from sliding forward. Since our passengers are mostly "sitting still" it is important to address all the sitting factors to make her the most comfortable:

http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/DEA325...s/sitting.html

http://craigvetter.com/pages/Other_D...seatboard.html

http://craigvetter.com/pages/Other_D...ory-const.html

Before your spend the $700+ for a RDL, I suggest studying the attached files. Then set you bike up straight, so she can sit of it las she would prefer as a passenger. Have pieces of plywood handy to put under her boots on the floorboards to adjust the "height" as that determines how the wings on the RDL seat are designed. Maybe also use some wood spacers under the plywood to change the "angle" of the floorboards to determine what works best for her. Then, have her sit there for at least 20 minutes (read a book, use her Ipad) to determine what "pains up" first and where. If you really want her happy back there, and are ready to spend the bucks, make sure the bucks are well spent before you spend them.

[redjay]

My wife liked the passenger seating position of the 1600 Nomad, the Voyager not as much.

Was it the angle of the backrest, the height from the passenger seat to the passenger footrests ? I am not sure. Both bikes eventually had Daylong seats.

[mbarr10]

MRT
Wife is 100lbs, Wet. Boney. and she says it is the best seat she has ever sat on.

Wish I knew you were thinking about this earlier in the year. I could have drove down with it in the trailer and let you try it. It would fit on your voyager good enough for the wife's test sit. For you though you need to learn how to slide forward at every stop to get around the wings, so your feet will touch. Wings to wide to get your legs together. But on the road it supports your legs SO Well. That is were the drivers comfort comes from. Smokier should comment sooner or later on his thoughts. After all It was his seat.

[buckey1313]

A Russel Day Long seat is a bigger seat than all the rest out there in size and thickness. They also have the technology with different foams and padding than any other seat made on the market. They also are the most expensive of any other seat out there.

Even the rear seat is bigger wider and taller than any other seat in the market.

I am sorry I will recommend this seat over anyone else's produced out there in the market place. Others might disagree but I just feel with my experience it was better than others out there.

You will love it but you must pay for what you like they are the most expensive also but you get what you pay for in life it seems.

[andyvh1959]

I agree. The RDL or the derivatives of it are the most comfortable. But in many cases they are thicker/higher, plus the "wings" that better support your weight can cause the lower legs to position slightly higher than a slimmer seat. If your passenger is shorter, this may cause the thighs to position higher which also makes for less contact with the floorboards. That's all why there are many factors to seating comfort than just the seat itself.

[Lumberjack]

I don't think bike will ever be good for passenger with some seats making it even worse. I've tried OEM, Mustang, RDL and Corbin all with driver's backrest. I also tried the highback OEM passenger seat and Corbin too. While I use Corbin for me and don't ride 2-up too often but if keep the OEM seat for passenger comfort.

The Corbin gives the passenger the least amount of room and I am wedged between the two backrests. My butt is too small for RDL and hated the wings and couldn't find a comfortable riding position.

I think an improvement would be adding passenger highway pegs so they can push off with feet. There is one person I know who modded the trunk rack and pushed it back a few inches.

[Chuck A.]

I'm opposite From Lumberjack. I've got a wide arse and had my tailbone broke so RDL works great for me. Being of larger (rounder) frame and a 31 inch inseam, it does affect footing on the ground. RDL backrest is a back saver. I did have them build up the seat to get rid of some of the swayback mule seat feel and shape,,, which added height. But I can ride 10 hr.s pain free and with the stock seat 1 hour and I'm off the bike. Forward pegs do help greatly with the legs on traveling rides. Got knee replacements.

As for the passenger seat I just had them do better foam with no wings and a matching cover. No one has ridden on it so can't say how it is.

[smokier]

MRT, remembering that my bride only rode on the back of the RDL once, before it got reshaped for me then sold to MBarr. She liked the RDL the best for the passenger ride. Mustang, Corbin and home-modified stock (GEL pad inserts) were OK. Stock for the passenger 'sucked a$$' (her words). (She liked the Corbin the best as a driver...)


I'd encourage you to take MBarr up on his offer, save you the $850 to find out it was a $wing and a mi$$...



Ride safe,
Smokier

[Peg]

I was in the same situation as the OP... Bought a Mustang seat with backrest for my Voyager, it was OK for me, but my passenger hated it. The passenger seat is too flat, when it should slope backwards... She kept being bounced forward into my backrest.

It's only money, right? I spent a whole lot of it sending my OEM seat to the USA and back for RDL to work their magic. The freight cost from & to NZ was probably as much as RDL charges to re-work the seat.

But it was money very well spent. The RDL is very, very much more comfortable than the Mustang - for both of us.