corbin backrest interchange?

[hubcapsc]

I just won this Corbin seat on eBay for $140...



Not only do I want to try a Corbin, I wanted to have the option of a seat pan with a
backrest that maybe I could send off to Russell for a Day-Long...

So... I've got the seat. Now I need a backrest that doesn't cost $300.

There's some knockoff backrests that people seem to like for a little less than $100...

   http://www.harrisonspecialties.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CBR1012&Category_Code=

Lots of real (but non-valkyrie) Corbin backrests can be found on eBay... would they be good, or even work?

I'm also going to put an iwanna on our classifieds for a real valkyrie Corbin backrest...

-Mike

[hotglue #43]

The Corbin seats have a 5/8 inch square stock insert for the back rest.  Any backrest with this 5/8" square will fit.  I welded up a 5/8" square to a Mustang backrest for the Valk.....  it is adjustable, pivots,  and folds down for getting on and off.  Did the same to a Utopia backrest for the Harley.  Like them both a LOT better than the Corbin backrest..... their adjustment is just leaning forward at the top.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I moved the tape just as I pulled the trigger on the camera    Use your math skills     Some folks don't like the Corbin because its hard I've always liked the three that I own. The one on my yellow bike is showing some wear after 14 years and I plan to have it done in black leather again. Hope the pictures help.

[hubcapsc]

I welded up a 5/8" square to a Mustang backrest for the Valk....

Chances are I can't weld as good as you... 



But that bidness with the 5/8'' square stock being the important thing was what I was hoping
to hear...

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

Hope the pictures help.

Yep, looks like 5/8... thanks Joe...

-Mike

[olddog1946]

I don't believe Russell will work with aftermarket seat pans, only the OEM pans.

[hubcapsc]

I don't believe Russell will work with aftermarket seat pans, only the OEM pans.

I've heard that. I hope it is not true, I ride solo most of the time and can't have a backrest
with an OEM seat pan, unless maybe an Utopia would work since I have the fender rack. I won't
be too upset to be "stuck" with a $140 Corbin seat if it is in decent shape, and a member has
agreed to sell me an almost new Corbin backrest for $100...

I wonder why Russell would object to a non-OEM seat pan?

-Mike

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I don't believe Russell will work with aftermarket seat pans, only the OEM pans.

I've heard that. I hope it is not true, I ride solo most of the time and can't have a backrest
with an OEM seat pan, unless maybe an Utopia would work since I have the fender rack. I won't
be too upset to be "stuck" with a $140 Corbin seat if it is in decent shape, and a member has
agreed to sell me an almost new Corbin backrest for $100...

I wonder why Russell would object to a non-OEM seat pan?

-Mike

Mike I'm on the road now and will not be back home till Thursday...I'm pretty sure I have a OEM off a 1998 if you need it you can have it free of charge 

[hubcapsc]

Mike I'm on the road now and will not be back home till Thursday...I'm pretty sure I have a OEM off a 1998 if you need it you can have it free of charge 

Hey Joe... I still have my OEM seat too, thanks though 

Besides being hard to use with a backrest, an OEM seat pan needs these holes where I have my
fuse panel mounted...



-Mike "for all I know, Corbin needs them too  "

[hubcapsc]

I don't believe Russell will work with aftermarket seat pans, only the OEM pans.

I've heard that. I hope it is not true, I ride solo most of the time and can't have a backrest
with an OEM seat pan, unless maybe an Utopia would work since I have the fender rack. I won't
be too upset to be "stuck" with a $140 Corbin seat if it is in decent shape, and a member has
agreed to sell me an almost new Corbin backrest for $100...

I wonder why Russell would object to a non-OEM seat pan?

-Mike

I spoke to the day-long people in email... they'll be happy to build a russell seat on a Corbin
pan, but that will void some kind of buy-back program they have that I didn't know about anyhow...

I'm going to ride around on the corbin a bit, but it is nice to know the option is there... I hope corbin
seat pans don't have the two little spikes on the front that fit into the frame at the base of the tank
like  the OEM does.

-Mike

[Thunderbolt]

I have a Corbin on the Rocket.  I had one on my Tourer.  I had one on the Interstate, but went with the Ultimate for more comfort on long rides.  I think you will like the Corbin, they make you feel like you are riding "in" the bike not "on" it.

[Doc809]

I really think the saying is true that you either have a Corbin butt or you don't.  I must have one cause I love mine.  Yes it is harder than the others but if it fits that is not an issue for me.  The only flaw I have found is that the leather is showing significant signs of wear but I guess after 70K miles that is to be expected. hehe

[hubcapsc]

It took a while for the Corbin seat (and alternator) to arrive from the eBay seller, but they
came on Saturday.

The Corbin seat is much smaller than the Ultimate, the sides of the Ultimate used to
hold my saddlebag lids open, but the lids totally miss the Corbin seat by an inch or so...

I had to shim the Corbin latch, maybe because of my thick tank bib. The OEM seat and
the Ultimate seat snapped in with no trouble.

The Corbin seat rocks from side to side just a tiny bit, maybe I'll find a couple of those
"stabilizing buttons" on the underside of the seat to shim and fix that.

I don't hate the seat... seems like a Ferrari seat as compared to a Eldorado seat. Have to
spend some days in it to know for sure...

-Mike

[Highbinder]

Mike...I have a Corbin backrest that was in a accident some years ago and I hang on to it because it was just scruffed up, if you want to recover it, its yours to have... ...just let me know..

[hubcapsc]

Mike...I have a Corbin backrest that was in a accident some years ago and I hang on to it because it was just scruffed up, if you want to recover it, its yours to have... ...just let me know..

Thanks Don!... I should have posted it to this thread, but I made a post on Classifieds asking for
a Corbin Backrest, and got a really good one... it came last week, so I got it before the seat...

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

I haven't ridden all day with the Corbin yet, but I have ridden back and forth to work
several times.

So far I like the way the seat feels, though I can understand why people compare
Corbin seats to a leather covered board  ... it really feels that way when
getting on and off the bike.

The way the seat feels isn't the whole story, though... the smaller, less padded, Corbin
seat sits me further back, and lower... it changes my relationship to the handlebars
and to my highway-pegs/forward-controls in a way that might be a deal breaker...

We'll see...

-Mike