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View Full Version : Jury's still out on new Corbin seat



bluestratos
02-06-2012, 10:59 AM
I insalled the new seat on Saturday and took it for some long rides that day and Sunday. The seat is much, much firmer than the stock seat which was a concern but over all I have felt no discomfort ( I need to take a long run of 100 miles or so to be sure, by that them the seat will be broken in as well).

The gas door works great, much easier access to the filler cap. I plan to reroute the heated gear cable to this location now as I can store the cable out of site in this location.

The back rest does not interfer with getting on or off and has a lot of adjustment.

I sit further ahead but it is good for me with my 28" inseam. I have the back rest set with the 1 1/2" bolt (they supply 4 different bolt lengths) so a person with a longer leg can move it back an gain a bit more leg room.

As far a the seat in general here are my impressions:
1 The seat is now held up with a lever arm, the factory opener is no longer used or made provision for.
2 The seat is heavier than the stock seat
3 The gas door is a bit cheesey, it works fine but it does not fit well in its opening
4 The back rest has too much curve and digs into my back at the outside corners
5 The back rest is very sloppy left and right which reduces the support when cornering.
6 The front of the saddle fits very tight and rubs the paint which will likely result in scuffing or worse
7 The locking pin is in the wrong place (too far back) and I cannot get enough adjustment to make it work.
8 The leather is very slippery (probably due to the preservative) and I felt my bottom slide across the seat when I did a fast turn in a round about.

Regards

Bob Denman
02-06-2012, 11:19 AM
:shocked: Gee... Some of these issues are big enough that maybe you should give Corbin a call and see if they'll make things right for you...
Please keep us posted on how this story unfolds. :thumbup: Thanks for the write-up!

spyder3
02-06-2012, 12:06 PM
:agree: That all sounds awful...:dontknow:

SpyderAnn01
02-06-2012, 12:28 PM
I hope you get this all worked out I know they certainly aren't cheap seats and I'd hate to invest all that money on something that isn't great. My factory seat has been really comfortable for me and I think I'll stick with it.

ARtraveler
02-06-2012, 12:47 PM
I have found that 500 to 1000 miles is needed for a "break in" to get the seat more shaped to your parts. I don't like the slickness either. Don't use Armor All on it for sure. The gas door does seem a bit "cheesy"--but it has worked fine for me in 20,000 plus miles.

Because of back issues, I am now using an AirHawk Pad and Seal floorboards to make it easier to adjust my position.

The locking pin issue was solved on both my seats by just not using it. I also removed the piston for holding the seat up on both the seats I have had. A bit of a pain when filling the RS, but no issue with the RTS.

I found the stock seats much more uncomfortable than the Corbin. I have 28' inseam, have a bad back, and other issues. The RS seat was to hard for me, and the RTS seat was to soft for me.

Seats are very personal, and you can spend lots of money on the quest for the "right" one.

BikerDoc
02-06-2012, 01:07 PM
I am on my second stock seat and find them perfectly comfortable so long as I have my Utopia Driver Backrest. Now I would - really like a fuel door - cheesy or not....

Bob Denman
02-06-2012, 01:15 PM
We've heard of a shop that can add the fuel filler door to the factory seats...
(www.ass-essories.com (http://www.ass-essories.com))

bluestratos
02-06-2012, 02:01 PM
Don't get me wrong, I was not complaining, just passing along observations for fellow riders information. I think mine is pretty much the same as everyone elses (I believe the locking pin does not work for most buyers) but hope to hear comments back along that regard. I am sure I can make some minor improvements when I get some time to fine tune.

Regards

Randy

sinkhole
02-06-2012, 02:45 PM
As far a the seat in general here are my impressions:
1 The seat is now held up with a lever arm, the factory opener is no longer used or made provision for.
2 The seat is heavier than the stock seat
3 The gas door is a bit cheesey, it works fine but it does not fit well in its opening
4 The back rest has too much curve and digs into my back at the outside corners
5 The back rest is very sloppy left and right which reduces the support when cornering.
6 The front of the saddle fits very tight and rubs the paint which will likely result in scuffing or worse
7 The locking pin is in the wrong place (too far back) and I cannot get enough adjustment to make it work.
8 The leather is very slippery (probably due to the preservative) and I felt my bottom slide across the seat when I did a fast turn in a round about.

Regards
I agree with all above. You can also add to #4 that the whole backrest mechanism has way too much play in it.
I also had issues with the rivets Corbin uses around the front edges of the seat rubbing on the body panels and scratching them. Corbin did send me some leather that I cut, fitted, and glued in place to prevent this from happening again.

paintedlady
02-06-2012, 06:08 PM
Oh, my goodness, and I am thinking about getting a red one with red rear seat back rest for my black lady. Guess, I better meet up with someone that has one already and take a seat on it. Too much, cash, to be unhappy.;)

bluestratos
02-06-2012, 08:45 PM
I paid about $1,000 for the seat, backrest (drivers), cover and some preservative. By the way, the cover only works if you pull the back rest off which of course now one will do as it takes some work to remove the set screw so that was a big waste of money. I will see if I can modify it to sip over and close back up with some velcro. I would be happy to let any one check mine out if they want to, just give me call and we can meet up if we are within a few hours ride of each other.

I will have to check out the leather over the rivets trick to see if I can save my paint where thed sides rub.

Regards,

Randy

NancysToy
02-06-2012, 10:17 PM
.....( I need to take a long run of 100 miles or so to be sure, by that them the seat will be broken in as well).
I'm afraid it takes many more miles than that to break in a Corbin seat. Minimum of 1,000 miles, and often several thousand. nojoke

TuckMiddle
02-06-2012, 10:51 PM
I insalled the new seat on Saturday and took it for some long rides that day and Sunday. The seat is much, much firmer than the stock seat which was a concern but over all I have felt no discomfort ( I need to take a long run of 100 miles or so to be sure, by that them the seat will be broken in as well).

The gas door works great, much easier access to the filler cap. I plan to reroute the heated gear cable to this location now as I can store the cable out of site in this location.

The back rest does not interfer with getting on or off and has a lot of adjustment.

I sit further ahead but it is good for me with my 28" inseam. I have the back rest set with the 1 1/2" bolt (they supply 4 different bolt lengths) so a person with a longer leg can move it back an gain a bit more leg room.

As far a the seat in general here are my impressions:
1 The seat is now held up with a lever arm, the factory opener is no longer used or made provision for.
2 The seat is heavier than the stock seat
3 The gas door is a bit cheesey, it works fine but it does not fit well in its opening
4 The back rest has too much curve and digs into my back at the outside corners
5 The back rest is very sloppy left and right which reduces the support when cornering.
6 The front of the saddle fits very tight and rubs the paint which will likely result in scuffing or worse
7 The locking pin is in the wrong place (too far back) and I cannot get enough adjustment to make it work.
8 The leather is very slippery (probably due to the preservative) and I felt my bottom slide across the seat when I did a fast turn in a round about.

Regards

Glad other than that, it is ok!!! Sounds like the seat from hell. Personally, the stock RTSM5 is great for me, with the Utopia back rest. Perfect match to my old fragil body.
Tuck