Seat - Bang for Buck... THINK!

[cyclechris]

I'm getting a saddleman profiler on Monday, I'm hoping it will be an improvement over stock and make me feel a little more like I am sitting "in" the bike. I had a gel seat on my old bandit that lowered me an inch or two and I really liked it. The gel seats can get pretty hot though. I would stick a white towel over mine while I was in the office.

[cyclesinct]

Originally Posted by BudTheGrey

Do you have the OEM backrest, or the Corbin one?

I removed the old seat (loosening the sissybar/backrest in the process). When I tried to put the new seat on, the back of the seat hits the mounting irons for the back rest.

It could be that I need to tweak the tongue in the front of the seat just a bit to get it move toward the tank -- If I can gain an inch or so I'm golden.

I'd rather not have to take the back rest mounts all the way off, put the seat on then re-mount them. Makes taking the battery out a real pain.

I have the MAPAM backrest with the OEM mounting brackets. Its a little tight getting the seat on and off, but I can do it without having to remove the brackets. I'll see if I can take some pics once the rain stops, so you can see if its like yours or not.

[BudTheGrey]

I just did a 150 mile loop of the NY "North Country". The seat rides pretty well; I was always aware that I was on a stiffer material, but it never turned into "butt burn". A couple times, I stood up on the floor boards and sat back down to get everything to settle back in to place, if you know what I mean Meanwhile, not having a back rest was not a problem -- the lower back support of the seat seemed sufficient.

The big problem is standing still. The forward part of the seat a tad wider than stock. I'm inseam challenged (27"), so this makes my legs splay out a little farther than the stock seat. The result is that at stop lights and such, I can only use one foot. If I put both feet down, I don't make good contact on the road with either one. Dog paddling around in the garage to park it has become a bit of an adventure.

I'm not ready to declare a definitive "yea" or "nay" yet, but the riding experience, combined with the poor fit, doesn't make me as happy as I'd hoped to be.

[cyclesinct]

Originally Posted by BudTheGrey

I just did a 150 mile loop of the NY "North Country". The seat rides pretty well; I was always aware that I was on a stiffer material, but it never turned into "butt burn". A couple times, I stood up on the floor boards and sat back down to get everything to settle back in to place, if you know what I mean Meanwhile, not having a back rest was not a problem -- the lower back support of the seat seemed sufficient.

The big problem is standing still. The forward part of the seat a tad wider than stock. I'm inseam challenged (27"), so this makes my legs splay out a little farther than the stock seat. The result is that at stop lights and such, I can only use one foot. If I put both feet down, I don't make good contact on the road with either one. Dog paddling around in the garage to park it has become a bit of an adventure.

I'm not ready to declare a definitive "yea" or "nay" yet, but the riding experience, combined with the poor fit, doesn't make me as happy as I'd hoped to be.

I've had a similar experience to yours with the Corbin, for the money, I'm not as happy as I think I should be. But I may be able to offer you a little help with the backrest if you're interested (and still need it). I am going to be up in your neck of the woods in a few days for vacation. I'm heading up to Willsboro for a few days of R&R on Lake Champlain. I don't think I'll have the bike with me, so far its looking like rain on thurs. and I can't play with what days I'm leaving/coming back, but if you'd like a second set of eyes to look at your backrest and luggage rack I wouldn't mind. I'll just tell the fiance she needs a long nap and sneek out for a little while!

[BudTheGrey]

Originally Posted by cyclesinct

But I may be able to offer you a little help with the backrest if you're interested (and still need it).

I appreciate the offer, but I took the Corbin off tonite and put the stock seat & grasshopper backrest back on. I'm going to try to get Corbin to take it back. I can't believe this fitment issue hasn't come up before, and that there's no notes about it on the otherwise pretty good web site.

Meanwhile, if you ever find yourself up here with the bike -- let's ride!

[BudTheGrey]

I've come to the conclusion that I can adapt to the changed riding position, if I could get to keep my accessories. After a little telephone tag, I got hold of the same fellow who sold me the seat at Americade. The seat's being shipped back (at their expense), and they will modify it to fit with the sissy bar and luggage rack then send it back.

['08-M50 Rider]

Corbin Classic Solo all the way

This seat is like heaven.

With a mustang, you sit down, and you say wow.. this is soft.. I'm so comfortable right now this is great. I like that, a lot. My buddy has let me ride on his and to be honest, after 2 hours I don't have a bad thing to say about it. Even so, I really prefer the Corbin for two big reasons.

With a Corbin, you sit down and it's firm, but incredibly form fitting, like it was built just for you,( i realize this might not be true for everyone.) you drive off, and 4 hours later you stop for lunch with your riding buddy and he asks you how your seat felt. With a mustang you might have all sorts of things to say like, comfortable, great, soft, whatever, but with a Corbin, I feel like answering, "what seat?" The thing fits me so well and has me in such a perfect position that all I ever think about is riding. Even when I rode off to test the thing out after getting severe pains from the stock seat, I remember getting home and being at a loss for words for how the seat actually felt because with a Corbin, when you are riding, you have only to think about your riding, they took care of the seat for you. Additionally, I love the lifted rear back support of the seat on the Corbin, it's just fantastic when you are driving over 90 with no windshield. With the stock seat i was squeezing my legs and holding on for dear life leaned way forward. With the Corbin I'm sittin' back the same way i would be at 35 mph with no squeezing or discomfort. The support is just phenomenal.

I also find that I'm able to assume a large variety of riding positions with the corbin.

Best of all, it was only 200 bucks, because I got it off this forum. (In one day, i bought a Corbin classic solo and a Memphis shades pop top with the brackets for a total of 260 dollars.... it was a good ass day)

[BudTheGrey]

Just a bump on this thread to tie it up.

I got the Corbin seat back about 2 weeks ago. Turn around on the RA, out my door and back in, was about 7 weeks. The good news is that it now fits properly with all the accessories.

I'm disappointed with Corbin's customer relations; they are not very pro-active about communicating with their customers (i.e., I always had to call them). When I called though, they were always helpful, polite, and had the answers to my questions. I got caught in a backlog of service work, hence the long turnaround to get the seat back. All during my experience, they met the dates they gave me. I might be upset when you tell me it will be 5 weeks before you send it back, but that's better than an endless succession of "any day now" or "I really don't know".

I am pleased with the work they did. Even though they shortened the seat by at least an inch, there's no sign of a retro-fit. It looks like it has always been that way.

All that aside, last weekend I took a fairly long ride -- 600 miles round trip -- and I've got to say that the Corbin seat does it's job well. It's very, very comfortable. I had to stop for gas, or for lunch, but not because my butt needed to get out of the seat. Over two hours at a stretch, 6 hours total ride time, no problem at all.

With the stock seat, I had Lonnie's back rest. I didn't get a backrest with the Corbin, and I don't think I'll need one. I had no back pain or fatigue. For me, the seat height didn't change appreciably, but as others have commented, it feels more like sitting "in" the bike and "on" the bike.

Now all I need is a cruise control....

[Apertureguy]

I just got used to it.

I'm still running the stock seat & I have no problems riding for several hours.

[PerfectStranger]

Do any of these seats not push the rider farther forward than the stock seat does? I don't want to sacrifice any leg space...there's little enough as it is.

[PerfectStranger]

Originally Posted by Apertureguy

I just got used to it.

I'm still running the stock seat & I have no problems riding for several hours.

Same for me really. I don't have any real issues with the stock seat other than the hump in the back.

[Copronymous]

Originally Posted by PerfectStranger

Do any of these seats not push the rider farther forward than the stock seat does? I don't want to sacrifice any leg space...there's little enough as it is.

As far as aftermarket seats? None that I've ever tried.

A Mean City Cycles seat mod will keep you where you sit just like stock. Couple a Double Decker mod with a lumpectomy and you'll have a pretty comfortable ride.

[synthz]

OK this seems to make me more confused then when I started. Personally I like the style of the Corbin seat vs the Mustang, but from what I've read the Corbin seat is much stiffer while the Mustang is softer. I read some articles where the Corbin seat might be stiffer but over time it fits you, is that really true? While the Mustang seats have the opposite effect over time. Has anyone actually tried both to know the differences between them? Those that have one or the other what are your comments between them?
Signed, Confused..lol

[cyclesinct]

The Corbin, over time (about 1000 miles), does break in and shape more to your body. Corbin's thinking on having a firmer seat is that in the beginning a soft seat feels nice, but over time the padding will spread out and give you less support. Whereas with their system the material holds up better over a longer period of time so the longer you ride the less pain that you feel. I only have a Corbin and am fairly happy with it. It is much better than the stock, but still after about 1 1/2 hrs. I need to get off and walk around for a couple of min. There is a thread on here somewhere from a guy that had a corbin and switched to a mustang and he compared both. I believe in the end he prefered the mustang, but you'll have to search for the thread and read it to double check what I'm saying.

[synthz]

Thanks for the info I'm checking around the site to see about tha artical. I guess one of the other big things to take into account is body type and body size vs the 2 seat types. More to take in..lol