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Some folks like gel seats.

Joined
Mar 1, 2003
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Location
The end of the road between Sodom and Gomorrah
First Name
Jack
Last Name
Giesecke
I got one for free from a friend. He works for the shop that sold me my SV and it was a damaged seat, had a little hole in the cover. Well, I installed it and rode it for over a year with that seat. That hole has turned into a tear and I removed it and put the stock seat back on thinking I'd get it reupholstered. Well, you know what? I like the friggin' stock seat better! I never was impressed with that gel seat, seemed awful hard on the bum to be an "improvement". Well, the stock seat sits higher and is softer! Go figure. I know that seat set in the bum burn after 400 miles or so, but the extra height sits me up away from the pegs, better on my legs. I also have a gel pad to put on it on long straight rides that sits me even higher.

So, I've gone back to the stock seat. I may cover that gel seat and ebay it, don't know. But, I don't think it's going back on the SV.
 
I have never liked gel seats. I tried a gel pad and it is in a drawer at home.

I tried a gel seat on the Tiger and it was really bad.

I have never understood the attraction to gel seats.

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it's all about pressure points...

for some reason people seem to equate comfort with EXTREMELY soft.....this just simply isn't the case....I've found that the soft seats give more 'hot' spots and are more uncomfortable.....

I went back to my stock and am selling my corbin...

the corbin is very supportive and great for long rides, but it doesn't let me get down in the corners like I would like since it just holds me in the seat....

never quite understood why people went gel in the first place......not any better IMO
 
Heck, I hang off my Wing with the Aspencade seat. :lol:

Yeah, the only thing I like about that pad, actually, is it raises me up a little and I can shuffle it round to change the pressure points on the old bum which helps a lot. The pad is squishier than the Suzuki gel seat, though. That thing's kinda like a board.

Another bad thing about that gel seat, if it sat in the sun, it was hot till 1AM. :shock: Talk about BUTT burn! I'm glad at least it didn't cost me anything. I'd really feel stiffed if I'd have paid for it at retail.

I guess Corbin probably makes a saddle for the SV, but they're way too high and if I didn't like it, boy, whadda waste, LOL.
 
I prefer the stock seats over Suzuki's gel seats as well. As for Corbin, they plain suck. Their quality is piss poor.
 
quality is piss poor?

compared to what?

both corbins we have for our Ducs are outstanding in so much as quality. The seating position for me just didn't meet my needs, doesn't mean it's quality is piss poor, and on monte's, it's better for him than stock so much so that without it, he can't go more than 100 miles without having problems with those things down there that men have....lol
 
I actually liked the gel seat on my SV a lot. It may not have been the material, but moreso the difference in shape. The stock has very hard lines and angles, and the gel seat was more curved.
 
I like the gel seat on my SVS1K. I did 292 miles today and my butt still got sore though. You did get me thinking, I might put the stock seat on and see how how it feels. It would be nice to get a good comparsion after riding with the gel seat for over a year now.
 
I bought one of those cheap bead seat cover things for my trip to NC recently and it was well worth the $15. you can change it out in 30sec and it really gives you a different feel and raises you up about 1/2". Plus it's a lot cooler. Not so much that it's better than stock, just a handy change-up for those long rides. I didn't use it at all during the twisty riding so I could have that familiar feel.

I have a corbin on order since it was so cheap, $229. Now I'll be able to send my stock off to Rick Mayer some day and still have a seat while he makes my custom.
 
I sold my gel seat for the SV immediately as well. It was no improvement over the stocker. The Corbin was just right.
 
DucGirl said:
it's all about pressure points...

for some reason people seem to equate comfort with EXTREMELY soft.....this just simply isn't the case....I've found that the soft seats give more 'hot' spots and are more uncomfortable.....

I went back to my stock and am selling my corbin...

I am generally a big Corbin fan. I had a Corbin on my Virago and both Valkyries.

However, with the tiger I went with Russell Day Long and have been happy so far. He rebuilds your seat on your seat pan and does it similar to one of the Mayers.

www.day-long.com

For the T-Bird I have both a Corbin Gunfighter and a Triumph Single Seat with Cowl. Both are firm and offer good support. I did about 250 miles on the Triumph Single the day of the New Ulm Rally with no problems at all. With the stock seat my rear was hurting after 50 miles.

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I think I will be going the corbin route soon. My stock seat feels like it flattens out after about 50 miles. Corbin looks like the only option that doesn't involve me giving up my stock seat for some amount of time, they also seem come out to about $150 less than having the stock seat redone.
 
190 Octane said:
I think I will be going the corbin route soon. My stock seat feels like it flattens out after about 50 miles. Corbin looks like the only option that doesn't involve me giving up my stock seat for some amount of time, they also seem come out to about $150 less than having the stock seat redone.

When I got ready to send my Tiger seat to Russell to have it reworked ($700 for both seats and rider backrest) I bought a used stock seat off ebay for $50.

I am hanging onto it right now but I am sure I could sell it for what I paid for it and that meant I had no down time while my seat was being redone.

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Thermalser said:
Jack Giesecke said:
Seven hundred bucks for a SEAT?! Think I'll just let the bum suffer. LOL

I think that's TWO seats and a backrest. ;-)

Divide by three and I'll still let my bum suffer. :lol: There ain't that much to a SV seat and I don't care about the passenger seat. It'd be tempting I guess for a couple hundred bucks. I could send 'em the gel seat to scrap the gel out of.

Kinda wonderin', I bookmarked that site. It's all custom stuff according to the site. I was wondering what they do, take a plaster impression of your back side or something???? :lol: Maybe they could put in a pocket on the seat for my wallet? Well, it wouldn't be all that thick except for the plastic. :-?
 
DucGirl said:
quality is piss poor?

compared to what?

both corbins we have for our Ducs are outstanding in so much as quality. The seating position for me just didn't meet my needs, doesn't mean it's quality is piss poor, and on monte's, it's better for him than stock so much so that without it, he can't go more than 100 miles without having problems with those things down there that men have....lol

Compared to anything I've ever seen. The Corbin on my GS had to be recovered after a year and a year later it looks like *****. That and they aren't that comfortable although still better then the stock BMW plank. Rediculous considering the thing cost $699. If I ever buy anoher "custom" seat it will be from someone who actually does custom work. Plenty of people have had problems with Corbin's BTW, just do some searches and you'll see what I'm talking about.
 
I know others have had problems, but I have had them on: the ZRX, the Bandit, the SV650 and now the Concours. Every one fit and functioned well, was high quality and very comfortable for me. I would try others too were it not for the "send your seat in and wait part".
 
Hood Ornament said:
The Corbin on my GS had to be recovered after a year and a year later it looks like *****. ....Plenty of people have had problems with Corbin's BTW, just do some searches and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Strange.
The Corbin on my Speed Triple is 7 years old and is only now starting to show it's age. For a number of years, it was my daily bike - rain, shine, summer, or winter. It's held up very well. The one on my Guzzi is three years old and still looks new and it's seen a lot more rain than the other as well as the same extremes of temperature. I'd get another in a heartbeat.
 
hood ornament: ARgh, $699? You could get a real custom seat plus change for that. I did not know the corbin prices varied so much between models.
 
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