Do you own a Corbin seat? Are you pleased?

[dan cata]

Hi all,

 

A friend of mine had an 1100RT, bought a set of Corbins for it but then crashed the bike. Now he has a k1200LT and he is selling the Corbins for a nice price (150 eur).

 

What's your opinion on this? Should I make the move? I will come back with pics of them. On the telephone, they sounded like being in very good condition.

 

I have added a pool to this topic, hope it is relevant.

 

Dan.

[Glenn Reed]

I'm one of the few whose butt fits the stock seat, so when I got my latest 1100RT and it came with a Corbin, I had to go out and get a stock seat to replace it.

 

If your friend isn't too far away, see if he will let you do a test drive.

[John Ranalletta]

I've got Corbin on my GS. It's okay; much better than stock; yet, I'd buy a Day Long if I were buying again.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Had a Corbin on my 1100RT, with backrest. Comfort was fantastic. The cushion is much harder than the stock seat, but is also shaped much better, and does a far better job of distributing the load across your thighs and butt.

 

If he's selling for 150 Euro's, and it's in "good" condition, you definitely should buy it.

[Linz]

I think backsides and seats are such a personal fit that you need to test if possible. I love my Corbin and didn't like the Day Long on my friend's bike.

 

If the price is right, buy and resell if you find it's not a good fit.

 

Linz

[MAT2CHI]

I've got a Corbin seat on two of my bikes and like them both. But I live about 100 miles from their shop and can ride down there for a no additional cost custom fit. They work on the shape and have you test ride it until you are satisfied and then they cover it. You can sit in their cafe and have a great hamburger and watch them work on your bike through the windows into the custom work area.

[Mrs. Caddis]

My husbands 1150RT came with a Corbin set. I can't speak for the driver seat, but the pillion seat was the worst! Very small actual seat area with 2/3 of the seat slanted causing significant sliding action into the driver. If you are riding 2 up I would pass on the Corbin!

[NeilCW]

My 1150RT came with a Corbin and a stock seat. I find the Corbin is wider and makes me tippy toe at stops even though I am 5' 10" and 32 inseam. I ride with the stock seat now and find it comfortable. If I go long distance I might cosider switching to the Corbin

[Jerry Johnston]

When I purchased my 96rt new I could only go about 100 miles without hating the stock seat. I purchased a set of Corbin and made several 800mi days and still felt better than stock. I think it's a great seat once you figure out how to make it fit.

[ltljohn]

I had a Corbin and loved it. I could spend 10 or 12 hours in the saddle and my butt was the least of my concerns. I sold it because it was wide and forced me to be a ballerina when I stopped.

[Eckhard Grohe]

I had the stock seat, a Sargent and finally a Corbin. It was the most comfortable, is difficult to install and remove and looks like heck underneath and at 150 Euro I would buy it immediately. My wife likes the passenger seat as well. I have a 28" inseam and am on my toes but I can ride the bike while with the others I couldn't.

 

 

[Peter Parts]

A lot more to a good seat than the dimensions. I dislike plastic covered seats on a bike or anywhere. If seats don't breathe, they feel clammy pretty fast, and I don't think that is just my butt talking. On a long trip, we always ride on sheepskins from Ikea.

 

Corbin uses an amazing leather-like substance. It has a texture I like a lot for a sport-bike feel. The upholstery seems to hit the right amount of firmness too. But most important, it breathes like leather. Yet, if cared for with silcone spray, it doesn't get too soggy in the rain*.

 

Otherwise, their quality control is terrible and customer service ranges from best to worst. Their backrests are ergonomically awful. See my write-up to make your own at URL below. You can see nice pictures of my Corbin saddle and my fine wife there and discussion of the virtues needed in a bike backrest.

 

Folks at Pelican Parts (R1100S Oilhead model) jack up their bike rears by using short reaction struts and then complain about their testicles getting squeezed into the gas tank. Go figure. So if you play with the suspension, you need to compensate with the seat.

 

*Don't use greasy stuff like Lexol from your neighborhood saddle store which is much better for other leather-like coverings, but not for Corbin's leather.

[dan cata]

Well, here are the pics... I thought they looked better, but here it goes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you say? Get them or not?

 

Dan.

[AndyS]

You could always sell them on again if you don't get on with them.

 

(Good ol' ebay).

[Linz]

Buy them, clean them up underneath a little and treat the seats with Doc Baileys leather care (refreshes the black dye and treats the leather) and they'll come up almost like new.

 

https://www.leatherclear.com/cgi-bin/store/pid_01.htm

 

Linz

[OoPEZoO]

I love mine, but my Wife hates the rear seat. I bought Mitch's old Corbin off his 1100RT. I had to remove the backrest because it was too cramped for me, and I wish it was a little taller......but it is lightyears ahead in long distance comfort over the Sergeant seat it replaced. The problem is that my Wife can't deal with it for longer than about 45 min. She gets some really nasty hot spots from it that we haven't been able to fix. She used to ride the Sergeant seat from sun up to sun down and I never heard a peep about discomfort.

 

Now I'm trying to figure out how to get a hold of a Sergeant rear seat so I can attempt to mate it up to a Corbin front seat

[Mrs. Caddis]

Looking at the pictures, I notice a significant shape change on the pillion seat than the one we had and that I hated. This picture shows the seating area for about 2/3 of the seat with a slight rise in the back. The seat we had was the reverse with only a short seating area and the majority of the seat sloped up. Makes me wonder if they have changed the design over the years and how it effects the responses you get to your question.

[cali_beemer]

I cant comment about the Corbin for the RT but I had a corbin on my LT and I hated it. I finally took it to Corbin for adjustments and it was still uncomfortable. I have had mayer seats with a Bill Mayer being pretty good, a Rick Mayer being awful. I used Sargent on my ST1300 and it was an improvemnt but still not what I was looking for. I went with Russell Day Long for my Vstrom and I was absolutely amazed. I had never had a seat that allowed me to ride all day with no pain at all. So when I sold the Vstrom and bougth the RT, I immediatley placed my order for another RDL. Seats are a matter of preference and it may take a while to figure out whats best for you. I know I have found the ticket for me.

[boatzo]

I had a set of Corbins on my RT, the fit was OK, but they were way too hard. Also very difficult to get on and off. Cracked my seat latch trying to get them to latch. Sold them and got a Rick Mayer in leather. It was better but still not as comfortable as a Day Long.

[OoPEZoO]

I had a set of Corbins on my RT, the fit was OK, but they were way too hard. Also very difficult to get on and off. Cracked my seat latch trying to get them to latch. Sold them and got a Rick Mayer in leather. It was better but still not as comfortable as a Day Long.

 

Forgot about the latch......they can be a bitch. It took me over an hour to get mine on the first time. Even now it takes me about 10x longer than it should.

 

I love how mine feels, but I doubt I would buy another one

[bmw_rider]

I have yet to see a Corbin on an 11XXRT that was stiched strait. They all lead off to the left from the rear of the bike.

[Curtbo]

I have a Russell Day-Long Saddle on my 09 RT and also on my 98 RT. The last thing you think about is your butt. It does make you slide forward to put your foot down due to the "wings".

[SageRider]

On my 1100 I had a Corbin. In reality, rock hard and little better than stock. For me, good for between 150 and 300 miles depending on road.

 

Replaced the Corbin with a Russell DayLong. Seating Bliss!

Multiple 1000+ mile days with no discomfort whatsoever.

 

Don't waste the money on the Corbin...

[Curtbo]

I agree with SageRider, the Day-Long allows for very long miles. Here is a picture of my Russell Day-Long Saddle on my 2009 RT. Left the pillion seat stock since I tour alone. FYI - For the first 2 or 3 days, you will think you made a terrible mistake. I felt this way on both of mine, but within a week you love it.

[SKYGZR]

Corbin (3rd recovering/rebuild) on the stock pan on the K. Sergent on the R. Sergent for the R was 'cause Corbin doesn't do a two piece for that year. Both are good....

[Toto]

I used the Corbin for about 7 yrs and when the stuffing and heaters finally gave out I switched to the Sargent. A lot more comfortable and now I can easily stand flat-footed at stop lights.

[Rinkydink]

Never had a Corbin on a BMW but had one on my 98 Honda Superhawk. Very heavy, stiff as hell, but it looked good and after an hour of fine tuning I got it to latch onto my bike. Not a long distance saddle. YMMV and there are better seats out there IMO.

[Skywagon]

I have a Russell, Cee - Bailey, factory, and Corbin. For comfort and distance:

 

Russell, CB, Corbin, Factory

 

For quality

 

CB, Factory, Russell, way back Corbin

 

Would not buy another Corbin nor a factory. The advice you are getting is good. Needs to fit you. Try it first. Go put in a 350 mile day and you will know for sure.

[Ozonkiller]

Crappy product and even crappier customer service