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Author Topic: Corbin seat is too hard  (Read 13695 times)

Offline F14CRAZY

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Corbin seat is too hard
« on: August 10, 2014, 09:28:08 PM »
My K75C came fitted with this Corbin seat...Canyon Dual Sport according to their site



I've logged about 5k miles on it and I pretty much have to get off after an hour. The misses feels the same.

I've googled and found reports that Corbin's suck and their just too damn hard, then reports that they need a while to break in (which I think would have happened already), and reports that the foam in them just gets hard after a while (and can be replaced by Corbin), then reports that they break-into your own butt so being that this seat is used makes things bad for me and the miss.

But what do you guys think? How are stock K75 seats?
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Offline Scott_

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2014, 10:08:31 PM »
You have some options.
1. you could take your seat to a custom upholsterer and have it modified or
2. get yourself a different custom seat.

No seat is the same for everyone. While some my prefer Corbin, Russel or others, some still prefer the stock seat. It's your bottom side that is the deciding factor.
Corbin seats can be a hard seat. I've had 3 different ones and have sold 2 of them.
Currently I have 2 Russel Day Long seats and a Corbin. The corbin is fine for short trips and work commuting, but when it comes to longer trips(especially with the wife) it has to be the Russel.

You can google custom motorcycle seats, and you will come up with the Mayer brothers and Russel and other results.
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Offline richarddacat

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2014, 10:10:09 PM »
I have a Corbin Gunfighter and don't feel much difference between the two, yea the Corbin is firmer but after 2 tank fulls I'm ready to add a sheepskin to either one.

Both are the low seat version.

Now take my FJR with a Russell, all day long baby!
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Offline TimTyler

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2014, 01:35:57 PM »
I started with a standard Corbin Gunfighter which was "okay" but too high and lacked the ability to carry a passenger.

Switched to a OEM Low Seat which was like riding on a wood plank. Awful. Lasting discomfort after an hour's ride.

Been using the Low Corbin Dual Canyon and it fits and feels fine. I've done 12-hour days on it without a problem. It's hard, but it fits.
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Offline roninvt

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2014, 06:29:59 PM »
The oem seat on my K75 was torture after an hour or two.  I had Rick Mayer make me a seat two years ago..I have put 25k+happy miles on it.  My K1100 came with a Bill Mayer seat.  I have put about 7k miles on this seat...better than stock, but I can't go as long without discomfort as my Rick Mayer seat.   
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Offline F14CRAZY

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2014, 06:38:05 PM »
man seats are expensive...
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Offline Chaos

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2014, 10:43:55 PM »
The stock seat on my K75 was pure torture after about an hour.  With the Corbin I'm ready for a rest well before my ass gives up.  Your posterior may differ.
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Offline Dennis de Vries

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2014, 01:47:40 AM »
I've been lusting after a Corbin for my 75rt, having a stock seat on it now. Would offer you an even trade if it wasn't for the shippingcosts to and from Europe to the States... So that wouldn't work...
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Offline Bokobob

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2014, 08:04:40 AM »
I have what looks like the same seat on my bike...it is a Corbin for sure....Mine is very, as in VERY comfortable..it is not hard, although not cushy either...Maybe the Previous owner had it made to fit better...one of the best seats I have ever had on any of my 16 bikes so far....have two left...the other is a corbin as well......(Gunfighter and Lady....hard but extremely comfortable.)...I rarely use a sheepskin or an Airhawk....

I have also had seats modified on the cheap and very extensively by the folks at www.meancitycycles.com  You could ship your seat to them in the offseason, have it redone in the range of $100 to $200 depending on which option you choose.....(They take their big truck to Sturgis every year and do dozens and dozens of seats there during bike week...I highly recommend them...

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Offline Motorhobo

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2014, 01:36:47 PM »
Gel packs. Maybe you can find an upholsterer who will put them in and restitch it.

When I was living in Seattle I went to Rich's upholstery with my stock seat because after getting back from Idaho my whole hip area down felt like it was on fire. Rich had me sit on the bike and then sculpted a seat on the spot with a foam cutting tool using my ass as template. 12 years later it still fits my ass more or less, but it needs reupholstering and a gel pack under there wouldn't be a bad idea either.

The custom seat cost about $500 back in 2002. Rich sold his business and now only does custom moto seats from his home in Grays harbor. If anyone's interested I can get the #, PM me.

To those who don't want to spend $$ on a seat -- best $500 I ever spent. Downside -- spend $$ on a custom seat and you're basically married to that bike model for the life of the seat. It definitely worked for me tho...12 years and still sittin' pretty.
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1994/1995 K75 ABS Frankenbike: original engine 136k miles, frame from Gary Weaver (RIP), 173k miles -- Current Odometer: 198k miles
1994 K75 since 2013, 82,000 mi (19k mine) w/California Sidecar Friendship II Sidecar & Black Lab 'Miss B' - RIP

Past: 1974 Honda 550/4 (first bike), 1994 K75 (sold), 1995 K75 ABS (parts bike), Sidecar Dog & Best Bud 'Bo' - RIP

Offline Mongrel

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #10 on: August 27, 2014, 02:28:35 AM »
I have the factory OEM "comfort" seat (not the stock bench) and it works fine for me. Been a while since I pulled a full day's ride though. I had it re-covered, but I think it might need to be fully reupholstered in some not-too-many-years-away future.

The real key is what part of you butt the weight is on. You need a good height so that you're not jamming your thighs, resting on your tailbone, or doing anything else that makes yer butt unhappy.
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Offline The Mighty Gryphon

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2014, 10:10:38 PM »
+1 on the original equipment "comfort" seat.   I commute 120 miles per day and have done a 500 mile one day trip and my butt loves that seat.  With nearly 7000 miles on it so far, I can't see how anything else can be more comfortable.
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Offline pdg

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #12 on: August 28, 2014, 07:09:47 PM »
I have a stock seat with pretty knackered foam (the cover was split and parts of the foam got worn off).

I recovered it at home on front of the tv and it's fine for my butt, maybe I have a less than fussy posterior?










No, not like that....... Go and sit in the corner, dirty boy :neener:
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Offline MCrenshaw

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #13 on: August 28, 2014, 08:12:18 PM »
Have you ever looked closely at a western saddle that a working cowboy would ride?  They have very little in the way of padding, yet a cowboy can spend hours in the saddle with little discomfort.  Part of it is the way the saddle gives some support to the thighs and part of it is the way it tips the hips forward to rest on the pelvic bone, not on the fat part of the cheeks.  And a big part of it is conditioning your butt to spending hours in the saddle.

I'm certainly overweight but all my bikes have Corbins and while I'll use an occasional Bead Rider or a sheepskin after the second day of a long trip I can ride for a long time with little discomfort.  Just my opinion and observations, YMMV.
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Offline Motorhobo

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2014, 03:52:21 PM »
Quote from: pdg on August 28, 2014, 07:09:47 PM
I have a stock seat with pretty knackered foam (the cover was split and parts of the foam got worn off).

I recovered it at home on front of the tv and it's fine for my butt, maybe I have a less than fussy posterior?

You must have the flattest that side of the Atlantic...I've seen surfboards with more padding. Or perhaps the requisite comfort padding is on the subdermal side of your equation?
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1994/1995 K75 ABS Frankenbike: original engine 136k miles, frame from Gary Weaver (RIP), 173k miles -- Current Odometer: 198k miles
1994 K75 since 2013, 82,000 mi (19k mine) w/California Sidecar Friendship II Sidecar & Black Lab 'Miss B' - RIP

Past: 1974 Honda 550/4 (first bike), 1994 K75 (sold), 1995 K75 ABS (parts bike), Sidecar Dog & Best Bud 'Bo' - RIP

Offline pdg

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #15 on: August 29, 2014, 03:59:54 PM »
Quote from: Motorhobo on August 29, 2014, 03:52:21 PM
Quote from: pdg on August 28, 2014, 07:09:47 PM
I have a stock seat with pretty knackered foam (the cover was split and parts of the foam got worn off).

I recovered it at home on front of the tv and it's fine for my butt, maybe I have a less than fussy posterior?

You must have the flattest that side of the Atlantic...I've seen surfboards with more padding. Or perhaps the requisite comfort padding is on the subdermal side of your equation?

I think it's a seat shape thing, the areas of foam that were shot line up quite nicely with my, erm, rear parts.

On bicycles that I ride, I use Brooks leather saddles. The type that if they are soft, they are knackered. I don't 'do' those padded cycling shorts either. At around 150ish lbs, I don't think it's me holding the padding either ;)
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Offline Motorhobo

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #16 on: August 29, 2014, 09:00:15 PM »
Well...at 150 lbs you don't have the padding on your end (sic) but watch yer nuts. After over a decade of radical bicyclism I ended up with testicular cysts. Not harmful or malignant or oversized like the Man with the 278 lb Scrotum (may he rest in peace -- google it) but still...Doctor said it was a good chance it came from years of bumpity bumpity bumpity...reminds me of that nursery rhyme:  Humpty Dumpty loved to ride bikes, now he's got bumps on his testicles, yikes!

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1994/1995 K75 ABS Frankenbike: original engine 136k miles, frame from Gary Weaver (RIP), 173k miles -- Current Odometer: 198k miles
1994 K75 since 2013, 82,000 mi (19k mine) w/California Sidecar Friendship II Sidecar & Black Lab 'Miss B' - RIP

Past: 1974 Honda 550/4 (first bike), 1994 K75 (sold), 1995 K75 ABS (parts bike), Sidecar Dog & Best Bud 'Bo' - RIP

Offline pdg

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #17 on: August 29, 2014, 09:08:33 PM »
Oddly, that's where a hard seat/saddle is a good thing if it's adjusted properly - if the weight is put on the parts that are designed to take it, (on the sit bones, not the perineum or any further forward) then the 'soft' bits are kept a bit more out of harm's way. With a 'nice' soft squidgy saddle some weight is always transfered to bits you don't really want to squash because the natural support structure sinks into the padding.

I guess I always have been and probably always will be a hard seat guy....
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Offline bikesnbones

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #18 on: August 30, 2014, 07:17:20 PM »
My  recently purchased K1100RS came with a Corbin seat, and I hated it at first for the reasons mentioned by the OP.
However now, after about 600 miles, I love it.
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Offline K75RT Keith

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #19 on: September 16, 2014, 03:35:19 PM »
The Corbins I've had were all painful.  Not the seat design for my can.  Went with a Russell on my RT and after breaking it in, I'm good for 750 -1000+ miles a day.   

The right saddle for the you is the one that doesn't cause you pain.  Whatever make, shape, or material doesn't mater as everyone else's opinion doesn't affect how you feel after hours in the seat.
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Offline bocutter Ed

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Re: Corbin seat is too hard
« Reply #20 on: September 16, 2014, 05:48:02 PM »
I've no problem with the stock K seat. But that may have something to do with my 35" inseam.  :dunno
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