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Seat Recommendation?


Guest fcaprilia

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Corbin is the single worst company I have ever dealt with in my entire life, it was a absolute nightmare. They even openly admitted 100% fault to the issue, then refused to do anything about it. I wish I was kidding or being dramatic, sadly that is not the case.

I'll never buy a corbin again. cust service is laughable.

there's good and bad experiences with all companies....

I've put well over a dozen Corbins (probably closer to 20) on bikes going back to 1985, and have never had an issue with a seat, and customer service (rarely needed) has been all I could have asked for.

There are plenty of negative Corbin stories out there, not saying they didn't happen....but plenty of folks have been doing business with them for a long time.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Any more updates on the seats? I rode with a fellow with a heated Corbin and loved it. I am not loving the price, but other than his silver side panels, it looked fine to me.

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Hi all,

I rode just under 3000kms over the past 4 days on the new seat and I have to say it is a fantastic improvement. Last year riding home 1200kms in 1 day was a very painful experience, both during the ride and for days after. This year on the new seat we had to stop around 900kms due to it getting dark and seriously cold, however I could have easily rode the remaining 300kms. Also I am not sore after the trip, I could have rode my bike the next day without any discomfort.

Best money I have spent on the bike by far.

Hope this helps someone.

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I had a Corbin once. Bought it from Mike himself. Quite a long time ago. Never again. I tend to hold a grudge. I've had several Sargent seats on various bikes. Sargent is great to deal with. Always as promised and on time. AND, they cured the sliding forward problem on my VFR.

YMWV, R3~

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  • 3 months later...

I happened to see a 2010 VFR1200 on eBay for sale with an aftermarket seat. The seller didn't give much info about it though. After looking closely you can see Saddlemen on the side of it. Looks pretty comfortable to me, although I've never sat on one of their seats. The center cut out is interesting.

I don't remember ever seeing a picture of one like this here (although I could have missed it), so here it is.

14631e569baf376feb971d2bd0d9308b.jpg

a11f33995c89d50770fd5bb184da3736.jpg

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  • 5 months later...
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I went with this one:

What seat is that? Euro special?

Sargent is awesome. I don't even think about a seat anymore. Couldn't be happier with the selection

I phoned but the lady in accounting said they were in a meeting, but out in 20 minutes, but no one called me back. I looked at their long PDF form and gave up, I have no idea what I am supposed to fill out. I want heat, touring shape, high end foam, possibly a little higher to lift me up, do not care about passenger or piping, black, and not a basket weave. What did you get?

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Sargent is awesome. I don't even think about a seat anymore. Couldn't be happier with the selection

You are lucky. I also had mine remade in Sargent. Had to open it several times to make it fit. But now it is perfect. That polish one looks very good. Even better than Sargent.

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Corbin controversy...

Had Corbin "Gunfighter+Lady" seats on my RZ-350 and my 4th Gen VFR, to a great extent because I really like my passengers to have the safety and security of a back rest. On the RZ I really liked how the seat made me feel like I was more "in" the bike than on it when strafing the countryside. On the VFR I felt it was a bit too stiff and the passenger contour didn't do enough to control forward sliding.

Corbin's seat pan designs were always shitty, very heavy and tended to be really tough on the bike's paint, with contact points that made things an ugly mess if you were ever to go back to stock. Production delays that far exceeded their initial estimates were common. The stainless steel on the backrest parts was of a mediocre grade. Customer service was semi-literate and just a little bit short of obnoxious.

My impressions are that if you live or work near their facility they'll bend over backward to make you happy. And of course you'd be in a better position to communicate with the guys doing the cutting and molding so nothing gets lost in translation. If you're three thousand miles away you'd spend $1000 in shipping to get the same results.

Or you could send a seat pan to Sergeant. :wink:

Or you could try an approach that for some reason nobody ever seems to consider, which is to take your seat pan to a local automotive upholsterer. Seriously. Lots of folks have done that with perfectly acceptable results. You just don't hear about it much because most folks seem to think they're better off going to a place that specializes in doing bike seats.

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Or you could try an approach that for some reason nobody ever seems to consider, which is to take your seat pan to a local automotive upholsterer. Seriously. Lots of folks have done that with perfectly acceptable results. You just don't hear about it much because most folks seem to think they're better off going to a place that specializes in doing bike seats.

+1 on this. I took mine to a local guy that does a variety of upholstering work, including motorcycle seats. Very professional work and because he was local, I had the chance to fit and tweak to get things just right. A good auto upholsterer can easily handle a custom motorcycle seat.

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I went with this one:

What seat is that? Euro special?

Made locally in poland. Very cheap andv superb quality.

Got a link to that?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well... I was ready to order a Laam seat but after several calls and leaving voicemail request to call me back, as well as typing in inquiries on his website, I never did hear back from Seth. I guess he is either extremely busy or just not interested in my business.

Checked Corbin and was surprised to see their price for a gunfighter & lady saddle has dropped from what I remember. Called them up and got to talk to a rep, who was very patient in answering all my questions. Ended up ordering one, $431 shipped to my door. I don't have to send in my stock seat pan and Corbin lets me choose leather with no extra charge. Laam would have been more expensive, since I would have to ship my stock seat. I went with their standard setup, and about the only thing I wish I could've ordered differently was to delete the back rest provision. I believe a lot of the extra weight in the Corbin seat pan can be attributed to the support structure built in to withstand stress from the backrest. I ride solo and with a top case, so don't think I'll ever need to exercise that option.

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Well... I was ready to order a Laam seat but after several calls and leaving voicemail request to call me back, as well as typing in inquiries on his website, I never did hear back from Seth. I guess he is either extremely busy or just not interested in my business.

Checked Corbin and was surprised to see their price for a gunfighter & lady saddle has dropped from what I remember. Called them up and got to talk to a rep, who was very patient in answering all my questions. Ended up ordering one, $431 shipped to my door. I don't have to send in my stock seat pan and Corbin lets me choose leather with no extra charge. Laam would have been more expensive, since I would have to ship my stock seat. I went with their standard setup, and about the only thing I wish I could've ordered differently was to delete the back rest provision. I believe a lot of the extra weight in the Corbin seat pan can be attributed to the support structure built in to withstand stress from the backrest. I ride solo and with a top case, so don't think I'll ever need to exercise that option.

Please post your impressions when you get it. Their service quality seems to fluctuate a lot. Thanks for posting. That price is not too bad.

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  • 1 month later...

Sure thing. :cool:

Did you get this seat?
Yes I did. I have put some miles on it but not enough to render a solid opinion yet. My first impressions are positive. The Corbin seat is firm, which I like. The nose is higher than the back, which took some getting used to, because I instinctively slide forward when I come to a stop to give my midget legs a better chance of reaching terra firma. With the Corbin, I found it's better to stay back a little. I understand the reason for the high nose though, as I no longer slam my family jewels against the gas tank every time I brake, which my #1 complaint with the Honda OEM seats. The Corbin rep I spoke to talked a lot about this "feature" and that some folks elect to send back for a "nose job".

I can still easily hang half a cheek over, which is about all I care to do on a street bike. Lookswise, I am neutral. On one hand, I have always liked the classic Corbin dished look, but it makes the VFR1200 look more like a touring bike. Still, I spent $400 for comfort, not looks. For that, I'll wait till after my upcoming 3-day 3Sisters tour to make a call.

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