Corbin Seat "tweek"

[Adirondack Bill]

I have been following all the information you guys have posted on Corbin seats. I bought one 2 seasons ago and love the looks of it, but is still too hard. I spoke to Corbin today and I a returning it to California for some adjustments. They will put softer padding in it for free. I then asked if they could adjust the seating position to move me forward a little. For some reason, the reach to the bars is a little too long. In the past, I have just put taller risers on the bars to solve the problem. But as you all know, finding any aftermarket stuff for this bike to improve the ride is almost impossible! Corbin's service Rep. asked me how much more forward do I want to be, and I told him at least one inch. He then told me that they will have to make a new cover for the seat and that will cost about $250. I told him that was fine as it was worth it to have a more comfortable seating position. It's amazing what a guy will pay for just another INCH!. They said they would have a back to me in 4 to 6 weeks. That's fine with me here in Upstate New York. I will let you know how it turns out.

[sleepngbear]

This is great to know, as I'm close to pulling the trigger on one myself. I was thinking of asking for the softer foam right from the start, and specifying to keep the riding position -- particularly distance from the bars -- no further away than stock. You've pretty much confirmed what I need to do.

[Shrubbo]

When I bought my Corbin Dual Tour the thing was ridiculously hard. I mean for the first 20 minutes I was thinking I had made a mistake. I recon I could have felt it if I ran over an ant. After about 20 minutes it felt better and I new they had a long break in period so soldier on.

Even being a hard bastard of a thing I could now make hour and a half or more rides without sitting on the back seat or even wanting to sit on the back seat and my mate noticed this immediately and ordered one as well for his Fury. I really did hate that stock thing.

I am very pleased to say that I have done exactly 5153k's (3220m) on this saddle and on last weeks 700k ride I commented to the boys that my Corbin Dual Tour saddle felt great. Yeah it does take a long time to break in but extremely happy with the looks and the comfort of the thing.

When I was considering it I was interested in the fact that there before/after picture showed you sit back about an inch. This looked good because I felt like I needed to be an inch back and happy to say that I am in just the right position for myself now.

I also have one of the extraordinarily expensive back rests on order to see how that goes as since I have had this seat I recon that a back rest will make it perfect.

Something else that should be noted. I seems to have a lot more grip so to speak in emergency braking. With the stock seat I would tend to slide up over the tank. Being more down in the saddle this tendency is abated somewhat which is a good thing.

No regrets with my purchase and I miss that stock seat about as much as I miss getting kicked in the balls

[idcrewdawg]

I've got 8,000 miles on my seat now. It's still too hard. I'm pretty close to paying for the shipping to have the seat made softer. I don't ride as often or as far as I wanted when I first got the bike so spending the money to make it softer is difficult for me to commit to. I could use to be closer by probably two inches, but I'm not as unhappy with the position as I am with how hard it is.

[dinosnake]

As I've mentioned before, stock Corbins seem to be designed for what they perceive as a "typical" rider, and this is the same "typical" rider that the popular motorcycle rags feel that everyone is: 5-foot 10-inch or over in height, ideally 6-foot+, and say 220 to 250 pounds.  If you do not match that profile...you're going to hate a stock Corbin.  Simple.  

Yet easily solved: don't take an off-the-rack Corbin.  

Look at the way you sit in the stock seat:

• are you touching the front of the passenger pad?  If not, measure the distance from the back of your butt to the front of the pad.
• Do you move forward at stops?  If you do, you probably do this to shorten the distance to the ground.
• What kind of stretch do you have to the ground?  Are you comfortable with it?
• Are you lighter than their typical rider profile?
• etc etc etc

and then tell Corbin what you expect the seat to do for you.  They can soften the foam, move the seat pocket and even make the front of the seat narrower for easier touch-downs.  

All the motor rags rate modern bikes based upon that large body style and it seems that the entire industry is following along blindly, so you've got to be aware and make sure the companies don't force you to buy stuff that simply doesn't work for you personally.

I had my Corbin custom made with a forward seating position, softer foam and a nose job.  The seat is pretty much perfect for me, a tremendous improvement over the stock and it has substantially altered the feel of the bike and my confidence in the ability to control the bike (for the better).  I not only sit more comfortably but my legs fit more tightly against the tank, which has greatly improved my sense of maneuverability on the bike (I didn't expect that at all).  My average days are around 6 to 12 hours long in the new Corbin, say 250 to 400+ miles, and I'm very happy all around.

[Shrubbo]

Heheh 250 pounds? That would be a sweet day but yeah you hit the 6 foot pretty much spot on

Seriously tho I think saddles are like windshields. What works for one sucks badly for another but in my case with the Corbin I am pretty happy with it being stock. I couldn't imagine sitting back on that stock thing again but it is good to know there is an option if I needed it.

Curiously a bar stool we used to have in my home when I was growing up was from an old tractor. Damn thing was made of steel and it was the seat of choice for me. Perhaps that is why I like the Corbin haha.

[headpeon]

I sent mine back for adjustment late last year and had them move me up and forward an inch. I liked the seat the way it was hardness and all but like the O.P., the reach to the bars was hard for me and my short arms so I hope it's an improvement. I can always add back my air-hawk to move even more.