I have an RDL and like others have said, I sent in the pics and the issues I was having and a couple weeks later my seat was built and sent back to me...The thing is f'ing awesome, I had no issues at all and the seat fits my wife and I perfectly. I would recommend the RDL to anyone, I just wished I would've went with the RDL in the first place rather than going through 3 other seats prior to the RDL.

 

I sold all of my previous seats, so I ended up buying a used Tallboy off of eBay that had a small tear in it. No issues with the fiberglass seat pan. But you can always ask them to be sure.

 

I did the 1,800 mile round trip to have mine custom fitted. I got the leather half moon design. The comfort level is simply unbelieveable. I rode 9,000 miles in 11 days last year and never once did I have any discomfort. 12 days ago I completed a 4 day 3,000 mile trip by riding an unscheduled 1,005 miles on the final day. I could never have rode these distances on the stock seat.

I have two pictures of my Ultra with the RDL seat posted in my album if you would like to see how it looks on the bike.

 

Thanks everyone. ENAZ, the seat and ultra look great. What made you pick leather over vinyl? I'm sure leather is better looking, but did Russell give you any practical difference/reason to choose it? I love leather, but was thinking that durability would push me towards the vinyl. Hmmm......

 

I have had Russell Day Long saddles on my last 6 motorcycles. I ordered via internet and set in the photos as directed. On a Goldwing I owned a few years back, I had them build the riders portion 2 inches back to give me more leg room behind the fairing. I had one on my 08 and now on my 2010 ultra limited. If it doesn't fit as originally ordered, you can send it back during the winter and they will make the mods. Great company to deal with and an outstanding Saddle.

 

There was no practical reason for choosing leather. I just like the way it looks and matches up with my Harley Davidson backrest and passenger wrap around backrest. The vinyl is more durable, more weather resistant, and easier to maintain according to the Russell Daylong website; however I just prefer the look and feel of leather.

 

+1 on all the positives for the RDL seats. I've had one on my 2005 Ultra since the 3d week of ownership (and 2 of those weeks was when the seat was off getting built!). Sent them the pic's of me, me and wife, details on height, weight and preferred riding position (low and as far back as possible for me, and wife wanted 1" height to see over my head) and they accommodated everything. It had to be slightly revised, as there was a gap between the tank panel and the nose of the seat, but that was done on a "rush" basis and I got the seat back very quickly. Since then, 6 years and 51k miles on the seat and I have no complaints. I considered some other options recently, but chose to send it in for a re-build and to have their rider's backrest installed...now I'm waiting.
How satisfied are RDL customers? Tell me when you've seen one for sale here on the forum, or when you've read a negative report about them (other than the fact that they are not as "attractive" as the Corbin). Frankly, when you've just put 500 miles on the bike in a day, I'm not as keen on the looks as I am on the feel of the backside...
RDL... Can't be beat IMHO.
I, too, did the leather seat surface with the half-moon design. It was for comfort and looks (less hot here in Texas than vinyl) and the look was closer to the stock stitching than any other pattern. The leather has worn well and will be used again in the re-build.

 

No Deal,

Not sure where you live but leather will breathe and vinyl will not. In Houston with many days in June - August there are 98-103 temperatures with 98%-100% humidity. Leather is a cooler ride than vinyl. Now I did not say cool ride because nothing is cool at those temperatures and humidity but leather is the cooler of the two materials and your butt will not sweat as much as with vinyl.

Even with leather seats I normally ride on beads in the hot months and just throw them in my saddlebags when I stop. I have found nothing better than beads to keep the air flow moving between the seat and your butt- but I have now digressed from your topic.

A leather seat properly maintained will last a long time and in several years you can have the seat recovered with new leather at minimal cost and appear to have a brand new seat.

Big Red

 

Thanks everyone. I will probably buck up and get leather. A lot of bucks up actually!