Poor Service From CORBIN

[Grassman]

I ordered a front and back saddle. The front saddle was covered in the wrong material and the back saddle did not even fit on the bike. I sent both back asking them to cover the front saddle in the correct material and fix the back saddle so it will fit on the bike. The saddles were at Corbin for over eight weeks. I called them several times and they said that they did not receive them. I tracked the seats and told them the date and time they received them. I just got home from work and saw the Corbin box on the front porch. The back saddle still does not fit on the bike.

[DaveC]

I have heard similiar complains about Corbin.

They do not have a very good reputation for customer service.

[bmwdave152]

I bought a seat from Corbin--once.

Never again.

Save yourself and buy a Russell Day Long. Russell seat.

[sardineone]

WARNING if you have a warranty problem with Corbin. I had my seat on my 86' Guzzi done by Corbin and have been very satisfied with the product. Still on the bike. With that said about 10 years later I bought a great looking seat for my Triumph at the time. It developed a slight tear in the nose or front of the seat within 300 miles of riding. I had a very difficult time getting them to warranty the seat. They kept accusing me of dropping the seat which I had NOT. I'll not do business with them again either.

[BMWSTeve]

Sad to say, Corbin is synonamous(sp?) with "bad service with a bad attitude"

 

Sargent makes nice off the shelf seats with good customer service.

 

No connection to either.

[Mainuh]

I bought a seat from Corbin--once.

Never again.

 

Same experience here. Customer service: Unknown commodity to those folks. A classic example of a company with a great idea, but grew too fast and hasn't handled the growth well (IMHO).

[Voodoo]

Hate to jump on the bandwagon here, but I agree. I've had a Corbin on my scoot for almost 8 years now. I like the saddle, but their service was horrendous and the rear seat never really fit right. I wouldn't do it again.

[BUSTED]

I've had several Corbin seats for my airheads and oilhead bikes and good performance from them. I had a tear in the front edge of one when delivered and Corbin said to return it for repair. I explained I didn't like the idea of losing the seat for 8 weeks and they gave me a fair solution. They told me to use it that summer and return it that off season for repair if I liked. I sent it in after Thanksgiving with 30,000 miles on it and they recovered the whole seat for free. I was satisfied.

[Whip]

Four Corbin seats on four different bikes....sent a couple back and forth for adjustments...never had a problem....they always say they will fix it or give your $$ back...FYI the R1200RT Corbin seat is the best seat I've ever owned....

 

Whip

[baggerchris]

I have had one on my Harley for almost 9 years now. Once about each year, I call them up and have them send me some of the little rubber washers that go between the seat and the frame. They always send them to me quickly. Nice seat, good materials, no problems. Had a Corbin on Bonbon the RT; no problems but was too high. Had a Sargent low on her also. Much Better than the Corbin but was not leather. I prefer Leather. Basically anything beat the stock BMW seat.

[onedae]

I've had many corbin seats on many bikes and love their product. BUT mail order for seats frequently requires adjustments and they are a sloppy company with a bad customer service rep. I have always done a ride-in appointment for my seats and as a result have been able to get everything perfect. My strong recommendation with Corbin is that if you can do a ride-in you will be very pleased. If not, go elsewhere.

[Dave_Armstrong]

Well, all this talk about Corbin has me nervous. I'm leaving Washington state on Sunday for a ride in appointment on Tuesday to get some nose work done to make my legs seem longer.

 

I guess I'll just have to go for it and see what happens.

 

BTW,,,This Corbin seat is infinately more comfortable than the OEM seat. My wife even noticed the difference,,,,"you are not squirming around any more"!

 

It sounds like Corbin may have a problem with employees, perhaps high turnover resulting in the poor customer service, etc. Sometimes you cannot control which crew will show up to work, sorta like never buying a Monday or Friday car.

 

I'll know more Tuesday afternoon,,,,

 

Dave

[DaveC]

I have a very low opinion of the employees and owners of Corbin for several reasons.

 

1. Reading a lot of complaints from riders who have experienced terrible customer support.

 

2. A few years ago I went to the annual big motorcycle show in the SF Bay area, and saw the Corbin booth while there. The guys staffing the booth looked like Hispanic gang-bangers and ex-convicts. They were heavily tatto'ed including on their faces and necks. Their appearance made a poor impression on me. They would have fit right into the outlaw motorcycle gang crowd.

 

3. About 6 years ago Corbin tried to get into the vehicle business. They designed and manufactured a small electric powered 3 wheel personal city/commuting vehicle. I think they called it the Sparrow. It actually looked nice for a single person to get around the city protected from the weather. Anyway, they sold dealership licenses for tens of thousands of dollars to a couple of hundred hopeful dealers around the USA. They manufactured a couple hundred of these vehicles and distributed them. All of them had to be recalled under warranty because of defective motors and other problems. Most of them were never repaired and returned to the owners in working order because Corbin did not have the resources to redesign the motors and fix the problems. The whole business collapsed in many lawsuites between Corbin and the dealers/investors who got screwed, and vehicle owners who got screwed. Meanwhile the owners of the Corbin LLC venture were driving around in Rolls Royces or some equally expensive cars and living the high life after they sucked all of the cash out of the business before it collapsed. (Sort of reminds me of Enron) This whole sorry affair was written up in the local paper after it unfolded.

[Ralph]

I bought a seat from Corbin--once.

Never again.

 

Same here! Had a terrible time with them. Will never shop with them again. They have a habit of lying when you call. And telling you want to hear, then doing nothing. Seeing them shut the doors would bring a smile to my face. Then re-open with a new, trust worthy owner.

[Heck]

do they really say they will give you your money back?

I have had my seat for the 1150 RT for going on a year and a half, had it done originally on a ride in appointment and had it rebuilt once. Still cant sit on the thing for more than 100 miles at a time without having to get off for a few. Got smart and had Rick Mayer build me a seat on the stock pan- he got it right the first time....Been thinking about putting an auxiliary fuel tank on so I can ride further between stops. Have spoken to Corbin on numerous occasions about a refund on the seat that just hasn't worked, and they suggested last time that I could sell it on Ebay. Yeah. for $350. I have over $1100 in the seat and backrests (heated) so last week I took the Mayer seat and the Corbin seat back to the factory in Hollister with the request that if they could not refund my money, at least maybe they could mimic the Mayer seat.....It will be difficult as their custom Fibreglass seat pan does not lend itself to much customization. In fairness, the seat felt pretty good compared to the stock seat when I had it built, but you cannot tell about long distance comfort until .....you sit on it for more than a quick ride of 3-4 miles.

 

 

Oh yeah- the topic was poor customer service....I guess they have tried to make things right, but it does take personal contact with the factory (ie: riding their a$$) to make anything happen.

We'll see.... News at 11.

[Tony_K]

The article is a few years old now but may help some of you who have had bad experiences see a possible reason. Mismanagement happens.

 

www.freelancenews.com/news/contentview.asp?c=72372

[tomk99r11]

Corbin's poor reputation is well deserved and earned. And, they could not care any the less. Arrogant bastards.

[Penrod]

I read over and over the same stories at the Harley forums when I used to visit there. No way I would buy a seat or anything form them. They've had plenty of time and opportunity to turn things around and haven't.

[Grassman]

Update. I called Corbin and told them that the back seat still does not fit. Corbin said that they would sent me one that would fit, and I could just send the one that does not fit back. The seat was supposed to arrive 04-16-06. It is now 04-28-06 I just called them and Corbin said that there is nothing in the computer about shipping me a new seat. Corbin said that they would get back to me within the hour. We will see.

[Grassman]

The time came and went and no call back. So I called and The salesman was gone for the day. I asked if I could talk with a supervisor. Corbin stated that there was no supervisor in the building. I asked corbin in the entire building as in 82000 square feet. She said yes. But she could put me through to a salesman. The phone rang for ten minutes and some one picked up the phone and hung it up. I called back and no one answered

[2wheelterry]

Interesting article. I had a Corbin on my last bike. It was better than stock, but not worth the money.

 

IMO, Corbin can make a custom seat that looks very good, with custom stitching, colors, etc. catering to a crowd different than those who want long distance comfort and longevity.

[wolcott]

Makes me glad that I ordered just an Airhawk air cushion for the old RT. I really like it- the best $150 I spent.

[Illini]

I ordered a Corbin for my 22 year old V65 Sabre and it is the best seat ever. I've got to have a rock hard firm seat or I can't ride long. I've ordered the front heated seat for the 1200Rt and the fact that I don't have to send in my stock seat pan and wait 8 weeks makes all the difference. My heated corbin should be here any day now. I'll post feedback on fit and function

[keithb]

I bought a seat for my 93 K1100RS from Corbin in 1994 based on reputation, quality, etc. I never really like it.The seat was hard and after 200 miles or so I wanted to get off the bike. I passed on buying the backrest with the seat. At the time the backrest was $115. Five years later the backrest had jumped in cost to almost $200. Absurd for a metal frame, foam, and naughahyde. I had a backrest custom made for $65 OTD that looked just like the Corbin. I refuse to pay his inflated prices for what I perceive to be a low quality product. I would never buy any product from his business again.

[wsearl]

I've recently ordered a front seat from Corbin for my R12RT and most of these posts are making me really nervous!

[Dave_Armstrong]

Greetings,

 

Well, I just returned from Hollister where I had my 'inseam' lengthened at the Corbin Factory. I'll include my thoughts and impressions on Corbin.

 

First, the OEM seat was horrible. Buying the Corbin made a vast improvement in comfort and time in the saddle over the OEM seat. I had to tippy-toe the ground with seat in middle position, but overall seat was comfortable.

 

This last week, I rode from Spokane, WA to Hollister for a ride in appointment and a 'nose job' on the seat.

 

I was impressed with the work and attention they gave their seats. Other bikes were there having custom seats made from ground up and that was interesting to watch. My nose job was just removing the cover and trimming the front and sides of the seat nose and re-attaching the cover. Pretty simple if you can still reuse the cover. I thought their attention to detail was great and quality of work was acceptable. The seat is still comfortable and better than OEM.

 

After the nose job, I could ride in the top position and still almost flat foot the ground. Unable to flat foot in middle position prior to nose job.

 

For me it was worth the trip, and was interesting to see how they did everything. I was invited to walk around the plant unattended, and found everyone working and it appeared plenty of work in progress. Their cafe was right there and the food excellant.

 

How the upfront operation works, I don't know. Seems to be some complaints over returns, shipping and communication. Probably some areas that Corbin could improve upon, maybe they just don't want to improve. What ever, I was treated well, and the work done was good.

 

Over all, I would say that my seat quest is just beginning. I've done OEM and that sucked. The Corbin was stage 2, and that was better. After riding home to Spokane, my butt still gets sore and that may just be from sitting so long. My thought is that my next seat will be a Mayer or Russell, but for now the Corbin will do just fine. I'll give my backside a week off and then ride again and see how the seat fits.

 

Just one man's observation,,,,,Dave