Russell Seat Backrest

[Fieroguy]

Does anyone have a Russell Day-Long with the drivers backrest option? I'm looking for photos of the underside and topside of the seat, particularly the backrest connection, where the base is bolted to the bottom of the seat and location of where the post comes up through the top of the seat. Thanks.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Rick Ryan (FalconAF on the list for a long time) had a backrest on his Russell.



These pictures were on Russell's Gallery of seats. The backrest flips forward to allow you to get on. IIRC, Rick would get both feet on footpegs and then flip the back up before he sat down. I can't remember if he did that while the bike was on the centerstand or sidestand. I got on his bike once and didn't handle the process very well. Plus, I've never needed or wanted a bike rest on any of my bikes. I think you could also remove the backrest by pulling straight up on it. He liked it a bunch. It was on his bike when he ran over the engine of a friend's Goldwing after the friend had been nailed by a woman coming down hill in a Dodge Ram pickup, who drifted across the lane. After spending a long time in and out off the hospital before finally having having surgery to repair his broken back. He is back to riding a CanAm Spyder. It's been a while since I've talked to him.

Because of your question, I just wrote Rick a long email. We'll see if he answers. One of the questions I asked him was if his old NT saddle was still around anywhere. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Fieroguy]

Thanks Phil. Now that I see these pics, I am reminded of Russell's method of incorporating the backrest. I would still like to see a shot of what it looks like on the underside and I appreciate you following up with Rick Ryan. Hopefully he has a pic of what that looked like.

 

[Woodaddict]

I HAVE THE BACKREST. decided when I got the Russell, since Rick had one and they made it I could get one. I can take pics when I get home tonight. I would have to look, but I don't think you see anything underneath, maybe only some bolts holding bracket. the backrest slides in like a computer "0" degrees, and has the hinge to flip up

 

[Fieroguy]

I HAVE THE BACKREST. decided when I got the Russell, since Rick had one and they made it I could get one. I can take pics when I get home tonight. I would have to look, but I don't think you see anything underneath, maybe only some bolts holding bracket. the backrest slides in like a computer "0" degrees, and has the hinge to flip up

Yup, that's what I'm interested in... those bolt locations and whether the base plate for the backrest is on top of the seat pan or mounted from below. Given your description, it sounds like it is mounted on top of the seat pan since you state you only see the mounting bolts on the underside of the seat pan.

 

[Woodaddict]

The bolts are just on bottom. Approx 2" x 4" long tab 1/4 thk slides into receiver. Approximately computer -5 degrees looking from side. Once pushed in hinge allows to flip up. I also have a Russell on my Spyder, backrest same design

 

[Phil Tarman]

Fieroguy, I'm glad that Woodaddict could help you with this. I did get a reply from FalconAF today and he'd sold his saddle to someone from the Forum about a year ago. I asked him to send me pix of his saddle if he had any, but haven't heard back from him yet.

David, does the tab slide back parallel to the seat base?

 

[FalconAF]

I just sent Phil an email reply with several pics showing the construction/installation of the Russell backrest on my ex-NT. Then I logged in here. If Phil wants to post my pics here, the combination of my pics and Woodaddict's pics will give you a complete overview of how Russell makes an NT backrest work (if Russell hasn't changed the way they do it). Although my NT was destroyed in the accident, my Russell seat did not get damaged (go figure) and I kept it in case I might buy another NT after I recovered from my neck surgery (it wasn't back surgery as Phil stated). The surgery was a success (for the most part), but after an 18-month recovery before my neurosurgeon said , "Yes, you can ride again", I didn't feel comfortable doing 2-wheels anymore (some limited neck motion and vertical balance concerns, etc) so I bought my 3-wheel Spyder 2 years ago and offered my NT Russell seat for sale here on the forum. Someone on the east coast bought it, but I don't remember who it was ("Jim"?...I can't find my correspondence about it with whoever bought it). The pics I sent Phil are some of the pics I sent them at the time so they could decide if they wanted to buy it.

Yes, you insert the bottom bar portion of the backrest into the pax portion of the seat in an (almost) horizontal ("parallel") direction. Then the backrest swivels up/down using a "hinge" that is also located on the support bar attached to the backrest itself. It's rock-solid construction and installing/removing the entire backrest takes only a few seconds. For me it was the best "farkle money" I ever spent for my NT. I liked it so much the first thing I did with my new Spyder was ride it to Russell in California and have them put a $1500 Russell seat on my Spyder (the Spyder Russell seat is quite a bit larger, hence the higher price, just like one you might buy for a Gold Wing).

 

[FalconAF]

Oh heck, I'll save Phil the trouble. Here's the pics I sent him in my email to him. Click on thumbnails for larger versions. The first 3 are from 2011 right after I bought the NT and the Russell seat. Last 4 (much larger pics) are close-ups taken in 2019 I sent to whoever wanted to buy the seat, so they could see it before making their decision. It was missing the plastic thumb screw cover that got stripped off the thumb screw adjustment slider on the back of the backrest. New ones can be purchased from somewhere like Lowe's or Home Depot for a couple dollars. Woodaddict's picture shows how the bottom part of the backrest bar inserts into the pax seat. My pics show what it looks like with the backrest inserted into the seat. My pics also show the silver "shim" that you can use if you want to (at the bottom of the backrest support bar...you'll use it) that will adjust the forward/backward "tilt" of the entire backrest. With it used you can adjust the backrest "tilt" to a "sit up and beg" position. Without it used you will get a "fully leaned back like a Harley rider" position. Regardless of the tilt or the up/down backrest position, the backrest pad itself is on an independent vertical swivel, so it will always be "flush" to your back with no pressure points regardless of how much you may move your back up or down (or tilt your back) while riding.

 

[Fieroguy]

Wow! Thanks, Gentlemen. This is very helpful.
I have a Russell Day-Long without the backrest option. Due to an injury, I either need to install a backrest or find another bike. Even though the Day-Long offers excellent seat comfort, my back is shot within a few hours and any riding beyond that is extremely painful. The Russell backrest appears to be an in-house, custom build of their own design for their purposes. I bought a kit from Amazon for a GL1800 that looks like it would work. I was thankful when the shipment arrived and saw how robust the components were. The next question is; Will if fit? The good news is that it appears that the base plate for the receiver, the part that bolts to the seat pan, is a perfect match to the contour of the seat pan on the NT! It also looks like the receiver is just the right height (but can be modified if needed and it should land right where it needs to be where it will come through the top of the seat. I thought at first that Russell would simply use one of these GL1800 kits on the NT since things align so well, but I can see why they went the route they did (and why their product costs so much). Chaulk it up to their design and build quality versus my 'hack and slash' approach. Pics to follow.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I was just getting ready to post Rick's reply to me about the Russell backrest, but he beat me to it! Thanks, Rick!

 

[Fieroguy]

Okay, so here is my adaptation... $99 backrest for a GL1800 from Amazon... some hack and slash... and done. Feels great and I was impressed with the quality of the product and how well it fit the contour of the seat pan, like it was made for it. The receiver for the backrest is very robust. You can see how thick the steel is and the finish is very good.

 

[Fieroguy]

Note that I did not use the trim piece that was included. Instead, I opted for a Gorilla Tape solution. I also didn't use the set screw as there is sufficient length going into the receiver and it terminates at the perfect height. That also allows for two choices when 'boarding', either simply remove the backrest by pulling it out of the receiver or fold it forward.

 

[Woodaddict]

DIY at its finest!!!

 

[Fieroguy]

While the preferred (correct?) method would have been to remove the seat cover and foam and bolt the receiver onto the top of the seat pan and reassemble, my idea was to make it as minimally invasive as possible while trying to incorporate as much rigidity as possible for the application. Judging by my 'in-situ' test, I think it is going to hold up just fine.
My only other possible alteration is to maybe go with a slightly larger and softer backrest, which I have on hand, but we'll see how this one does.
Thanks to everyone who responded to the original post and provided pics and guidance.