[lady fisher]

We are interested in purchasing a Corbin Seat for our DL1000 VStrom. Any information out there from someone who has purchased one? Like it or not? etc.

 

[skudrunner]

Corbin seats are such a individual thing that you really need to try one and see what you think. I am not a Corbin fan because they have a keep it you bought it attitude but I have a friend with an 02 DL1000 and he likes his Corbin. For me it is to hard and lowers the seat a bit which make it uncomfortable for me.

 

[Pauljo]

Cobin Seat

I put a Corbin seat on my DL1000 about 4,000 miles ago. My Strom is yellow, and the seat has yellow piping - it looks very nice on the bike.

I am a person who likes Corbin seats - this is the third bike in a row that I have put a Corbin seat on. They are quite firm, but I can ride long distances on them without any discomfort. There seems to be no middle ground with Corbin seats - folks either love 'em or hate them. I also bought a set of Corbin riding boots last year (they were phasing out of producing them, so had a good sale price going). I've heard stories about poor customer support a couple of times, but the sales folks who helped me out with both purchases were friendly and efficient. I've never had a problem with a Corbin product, so I can't say if that reputation is deserved or not.

A possible issue with the Corbin on the DL1000 is that it makes it harder to get your feet on the ground. Even though it is about an inch lower than the stock seat, it is wider, so it pushes your legs apart when you go to put your feet down. Makes it seem like your legs got an inch or two shorter.
I have a 34 1/2" inseam. I can get one foot flat on the ground, and the ball of the other foot on the ground. The first couple of times I rode with the Corbin seat, that bothered me. With the stock seat I'd had no trouble getting both feet down flat on the ground. But I got used to it.
You can custom order a seat from Corbin with a "nose job" - they make it narrower in front, which helps alleviate this problem. Any rider with legs shorter than mine should consider having that done.

Transferring the hardware for the seat latch from the stock V-Strom seat to the Corbin was easy - it fit right on the first try, and has continued to work perfectly.

Hope this helps.

 

[vstro44]

I just put a Corbin on my 2003 DL1000 last week. It is harder to reach the ground now but the added comfort makes it a worth while trade off for me. The stock seat had me burning after 60 to 75 miles. I rode 150 miles today without stopping on the Corbin with no problems. I had the yellow piping put on to match my bike and it does look sharp.

 

[scooter]

Seats

If I purchased a after market seat I would have it custom fitted to my butt.
At $300.00 US plus it better fit me. It looks like you are in a good situation living in Oregon. You could either ride to California or Washington. I have heard good things about Riches Custom Uphostery in Seattle. He charges $350.00 US for a custom made seat with a gelled pad insert.

I figure $350.00 US is pricy so I better like it. I have been looking at this ButtBuffer.com gelled pad to be moulded into my seat. Travelcade.com also sells a gelled pad. The BB pad is 3/8" thick and the Travelcade pad is 3/4" thick. I like ridind my V-Strom like a sport bike at times and do not like the looks of the squared edges of the Corbin seats. I would have the gelled pad moulded in with a slightly firmer layer of foam on top then the OEM foam.

If you have a seat custom made talk to the uphosterers about the different
in foam density that can be put on. You would not want the density of foam that is comfortable for a 240lbs ride over a 120 lbs rider.

If your bike is a year old the original seat will probably still be firm, I figure you being around an average womens weight the seat will start to get soft around a 1 1/2 years. I'm 250 lbs and just before a year the seat lost it's firmness, 15,000 km later.

Scooter

 

[RiffRaff]

My vote is "yea"

I am very satisfied with my Corbin. If at all possible get it custom fitted. When you order they ask for certain measurments like inseam etc.... and it gets it close but there is no substitute for the tailoring.

You also have to break it in. They tell you about 1000 miles but mine was more like 2000 and it makes quite a difference.

My $.02

 

[Woofy]

Re: Seats

I have heard good things about Riches Custom Uphostery in Seattle. He charges $350.00 US for a custom made seat with a gelled pad insert.
Scooter

A new leather cover set me back an additional $100. I can put in 12-18 hour days seated on my Rich's saddle, whereas Mustang, Corbin and Sargent saddles were good for about 4-6 hours max before my butt wanted a break. In spite of Rich's quoted break-in period of 1000 miles, mine took less than two hours to feel superbly comfortable, and it keeps getting better and better with every ride. This is the first saddle that makes my backside feel perfectly integrated with the bike. It's no wonder Ironbutt competitors seek him out and waits for appointments can be over a month. I can personally attest that customer loyalty from Seattle area riders verges on the fanatical and after owning one, I'll never own another bike without one. I'll get some pics posted ASAP.

Rich ships saddles as well. He still needs to get several measurements from you before he proceeds. Check out the last Motorcycle Consumer News issue under recommended products for the long distance BMW K1200LT project. The MCN writer noted that the saddle easily surpassed other manufacturers seats in comfort and quality workmanship by a significant margin.

Honestly, if you love to stay in the saddle as your 'Strom eats up hundreds of miles of asphalt, day after day, you owe it to yourselves and your backsides to check out this master saddle maker. You won't be sorry: http://www.custommotorcycleseats.com

 

[ZedNedbesty]

Well,

I bought a corbin saddle this year, and I couldn't be happier. I ordered it with matching silver piping, and carbon fibre embossed black leather, with backrest. I asked for a "nose job", not to lower the front portion, but to raise it about one inch, to keep me from sliding out of the comfort portion of the saddle. It did make it a farther reach to the ground, I am 6'2" and I can get the balls of my feet down easily yet, and it took about a month to get used to it. Seat is wide and flat, firm with some lower back support. If I could order one again, I would get a nose job to the passenger portion, because my wife slides into me now a little bit, that way she would stay put also. She loves her adjustable backrest, and we have found comfort. I also would see if they made a close model, which puts the rider portion slightly closer to the tank than stock, to give more room between us, maybe just the passenger nose job would have fixed it also? It fit on with slight modification to my rear-rack-grab-bar piece. I have the Jesse luggage also, and that makes a difference, any other luggage doesn't require any tiddling that I know of.

I did in the past order a custom hand made saddle from Rick Mayer. People complain about corbin's business practices, I complain about Rick Mayer. By the way corbin does offer one free fix for your saddle you pay shipping, if your not happy, so your not in the cold. Rick made my saddle so I could constantly slide out of the comfort zone and onto the flat portion before the tank. If I really locked my arms and pushed with my knees, I could stay in the comfort pocket he made. If I relaxed I would slide right out. Thanks a lot. I didn't ride in, I wish I would have because maybe I could have slapped him up a time or two while I was there. My seat was pushed back about a month and a half, from my delivery date, I had a trip to go on, he is in California, I in Wisconsin, he billed my cc about four months in advance of even my date of manufacture! He is a clown working out of his "shop" which really looked like a garage to me. I wasn't happy with his business practice or his saddle. Yes I could send it back until I was happy, and maybe I would have gotten it back in another four months? Maybe never, maybe his chimpanzee would have eaten it? So don't be fooled by everyone telling you to get that saddle customized with that personal "touch" because it could be a retard, like at Burger King, and that "custom fitted line" an ass is an ass. Not all(custom seat builders) are Baboon's, some are really happy with them. For now, I am a corbin convert.

Zed.

 

[Pauljo]

My V-Strom is my third motorcycle in a row that I've had a Corbin Seat on. I love them. Very firm, but also very comfortable for me. The one on my V-Strom has Yellow piping and looks gorgeous on the yellow bike. Looks great, Works great - unlike my Cee Bailey tall windscreen, which works great, but doesn't look so good on the bike. I'll go for function over beauty, but it is so nice when a product enhances both.

I would have liked to put a Corbin on my Burgman, but they do that on a ride in basis only - and it would have been a 3400 mile round trip for me. So I had that one re-upholstered locally, and they did a very nice job at a reasonable price.

 

[lady fisher]

We bought a used one out of the market place on the V- Strom portal web site for about half of Corbins retail and the person I bought it from said he would take it back if I was not happy . Any way I am more than happy with the seat but we where about the same size and weight. So if you buy used that make a harder to get the right fit. Pete