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Corbin Seats

Wick

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Okay, I found a replacement for my stolen 2006 BMW Dakar. I found a loaded, 7200 mile 2010 F800GS and went for a 40 mile ride this past Monday but the seat is a little too firm for the little lady, she says is too hard on her booty. Since most of my riding will be with the wife on back, I need something with a little more comfort. My experience with the "stepped" seat on the Dakar was not always good as it pushed me forward a little. I'm 6'-1" and I needed a little more room. How are the Corbins and are they worth the money. Or any other brands to consider.
 
I had Corbin (front and rear) on my F4i and it made a world of difference. They're firm but not hard and the contour is better than factory.
 
Seat Concepts for the price. Seeing your other posts, it seems you are budget minded and wouldn't want to blow a ton of money on a seat. The caveat is that you have to recover it yourself or pay a local trim shop to do it which usually costs $50-$100. It's pretty straight forward though. I've put on 5 Seat Concepts seats on friends and my own bikes.

Sargent: $559-$919
Corbin: $$618-$821
Seat Concepts: $279-$289
 
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I've had Corbin, Sargent and RDLs over the years. Corbin is a good seat from a company that has terrible customer service - so be warned. Sargent's are very good but after a couple of years they breakdown and become uncomfortable. RDLs are ugly but once you try one you'll understand why I've purchased 3 over the past 20 years and will order my 4th this winter. All my opinion of course.
 
I've been riding with Corbin seats since 2006 on 2 FZ1s. I bought the 2012 FZ1 new and warned the wife in advance that a Corbin would be coming. Some people call them "bricks." They are firm. However, I can easily ride 500 miles in a day on this seat, and I have done a few 1000 mile days on them. 10 years in with the Corbin on the 2012, and it looks like new. I take it off after washing the bike, dry it off, and give it a bit of lemon pledge to treat and shine it up. Still looks great and still has the same feel.

I suspect that the firmness is part of the key with the Corbins. I have had nice, cushy seats in the past that felt great in the parking lot... like my old Gold Wing. However, 500 miles was my day limit on the GW. I'd rather ride my FZ1 with the Corbin across the country than that old Gold Wing with the really soft seat. If the seat has to be soft and cushy, then it's likely the little lady may not like it... For longer rides, I'd highly recommend them, but for short rides, she may not like it.

I have heard stories about customer service, but I haven't experienced that issue. Then again, I haven't had any issues with the seat in 10 years. I was impressed, however, because I ordered the seat and they called me with questions. They didn't have the 2012 FZ1 on their list... only the 2011. I had to assure them that, yes, the seat really is the same as the 2011 seat. They wanted to be sure that I got what I wanted, and also went over the order in detail to be sure that it was all good. I received the seat(s) and I've been happy with them ever since. My next bike will have a Corbin as well.
 
Seat Concepts for the price. Seeing your other posts, it seems you are budget minded and wouldn't want to blow a ton of money on a seat. The caveat is that you have to recover it yourself or pay a local trim shop to do it which usually costs $50-$100. It's pretty straight forward though. I've put on 5 Seat Concepts seats on friends and my own bikes.

Sargent: $559-$919
Corbin: $$618-$821
Seat Concepts: $279-$289

Tell my Snap On dealer I'm on a budget. :)

I've looked at both Corbin and Sargent but not sure about the 'step' in the seat.
 
I would give Seth LAAM a call (he is a one man shop and calls on his cell are best). I believe he used to build for Russell and now is on his own.
I had a front only build for my Honda NC which was 400 plus the shipping. He builds off your OEM seat pan.
You can see examples of his finished builds on Facebk

LAAM Custom Motorcycle Seats​

 
I was really interested in having Seth Laam work on my seat. We talked on the phone once, but then he completely ghosted me. I ended up working with Steve Gowing in Colorado. He built me an amazing seat at a fair price and much quicker than anyone else.
 
I am a solid Corbin fan and agree with everything Blue Flash said above. I've had a few Sargents including one currently on my RT and their customer service is excellent but the Sargent seat for my butt, is a notch below Corbins.

I've had 13 corbins on many of my bikes over the years: (2) ST1100's, a Tiger 955i and a Tiger 800, Kawi ZRX1100, Honda Transalp, (2) Honda VFR 750s, Honda CBR1100 Blackbird, Honda Hurricane CBR1000, BMW R1200 GSA, BMW R1200 C, BMW K1200RS, and sigh... I desperately need one badly on my Africa Twin but like many don't have the $685 it will take right now. I'll put anything I can find on until I can get a Corbin. I will also say that the best Corbins I had were off the shelf production. The ones I rode in to make were sometimes not as good due to my being on sight and providing input when asked questions about the fit.

Rick Mayer (now out of business) built a couple ride in seats for me that were works of art. See the white GSA seat in the pic below. Yellow GSA has a Corbin.
He did a lot of iron butt rally seats as well, and its a shame he's out of business. He and his brother Bill (Rocky) in So Cal came from the family that originally owned the Russell patent. Their seat-building dad sold it to Russell. Bill Mayers seats look a lot like Russells and could be worth a try. Rick and Seth Lamm are from the same area in No. CA so I'm wondering if they may have worked together at one point to get Seth trained. I've recently heard good things about Lamm seats too. Just a thought.
 

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I replaced my Africa twin seat cover with one from Tappezzeria Italia. I'll not repeat my original 'What did you do in the garage?' headline here, but I'm quite pleased with the improved seat comfort.

They have covers for the F-series here

Prices are pretty good and shipping is reasonable. All told, I came in at $300 for my 'comfort' cover
 
I was really interested in having Seth Laam work on my seat. We talked on the phone once, but then he completely ghosted me. I ended up working with Steve Gowing in Colorado. He built me an amazing seat at a fair price and much quicker than anyone else.
yeah I find most one man operations have a specific way they communicate with people that can rub some the wrong way or seem non responsive. He only responds to calls on his cell phone. That being said he did a great job for me. Glad you found what you were looking for also. 👍🏼

3E689682-BA15-4A48-B9DB-BA52A8523043.jpeg
 
The Corbin on my AT is taller but it adds many miles to the comfort over the stock seat
and most have the option for the passenger backrest.

I have a Sargent for my GS but it's not as good as the Rick Mayer (ADVFM) special

Corbin I thought was too expensive and much heavier but the comfort is there.
 
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I think rick is out of business now. Last time i went to his shop we sat around playing guitar for the first hour. The trip was to build a seat on my wifes bike and she was a bit miffed we did not immediatly get to the primary task :-). Her seat turned out to be the nicest ive ever seen in a stylish custom.
 
I have a Corbin for my V-Strom. I also have a Saddlemen and the stock seat. I had a Sargent for a bit. The Corbin is my favorite and my wife’s least favorite. I run the Corbin when solo and one of the others when two up. The Sargent was the worst of any for me. I have a Seat Concepts on my KTM and another KTM with a Renazco which is a highly acclaimed seat in dual sport scene and I prefer the Seat Concepts. I actually believe I can spend more hours comfortably on the KTM with the Seat Concepts than my V-Strom with any of my seat choices.

@misterk said it is like choosing a restaurant…
I’ll add it is like going to a mattress store. There is someone who believes each one of those mattresses is the most comfortable and they are for that person.

Good luck in finding that Goldilocks seat.
 
I hop one day I can afford to get a Russell Day Long seat due to the reviews I've read. So far I've only had Seat concepts, Sargent and factory seats. The Seat Concepts aren't bad for the price the Sargent is a bit stiff all factory I've sat on SUCK! The reality is I've never sat on a super comfortable motorcycle seat. I hope that changes one day!
 
Still haven't pull the trigger on a seat, been very busy with the property. Almost hit the but button for the Corbin but saw the TourTech seat, they look comfy and well made. Anyone try one of their seats.
 
I will never get a Corbin seat again on an adv bike, they’re too heavy imo.
 
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