Corbin Solo for ST1300 - Preliminary impression

[wjbertrand]

LiSTers,

I've tallied up the grand sum of 46 miles on the new seat. I'm cautiously optimistic. The seating position feels more neutral, if that makes any sense, in that most if not all of the forward collapse/slide/shear business seems to be gone. This is a function, I think, of the wider seating area and the denser foam used in the Corbin. There's a little bit of room to move around, but a definite "pocket" area that feels the most relaxed. No wedgies this morning! :D

Another problem with the OEM seat that I was having is that I think it was tilting my pelvis in such a way as to cause some lower back pain :( . I would find myself deliberately trying to arch or straighten my spine to counteract that. I did not have that problem this morning either, and usually only half my commute distance is sufficiant to notice it, particularly in the AM when I'm still a little stiff. :D

Appearance wise, I'm pleased that the coverings I chose are pretty close in texture to the OEM pillion seat.

Downsides? Not sure I like the appearance of the interface between the Corbin and the OEM pillion seat. Maybe this will grow on me, or I'll just ignore it eventually. The seat pan is so rigid there does not seem to be a possibility to set the front higher and the rear lower by forcing the seat to fit like you can the OEM seat. Not sure if this is a downside, but compared to the OEM seat set in the middle position at the front and the low position at the rear, this seat (set on the middle position F&R) is noticably taller than the OEM. Combined with the additional width, it's a longer reach to the ground at stops. I'm not quite flat footing it anymore :eek: . I may end up changing to the low position if this bothers me.

So it seems that a couple of issues I was having with the stock seat are being addressed by the Custom Corbin (recall I had the front area built up a little compared to off-the-shelf). The padding is quite firm, as is Corbin tradition, so the jury is still out on that :confused: . Longer rides needed!

[crinteastwood]

Jeff: I have about 7000 km on my Corbin solo now - still feels stiff and I still get some butt burn - although not nearly as much or as bad as the stocker. I feel this was a good investment (especially the price) - just came back from a trip to the west coast and two of the days were 14 hour stretches of riding that I know I couldnt have handled with the stock saddle. I have mine set in the top at the front and middle at the rear - hard on the hand to pound it into position, but it can be done - helps with the tank slapper syndrome somewhat, but a bit more of a "scoop" is in order to truly fit it to my butt, and to eliminate the pelvis tilt as well.
Just my .02
Mick :04biker:

[wjbertrand]

Jeff: I have about 7000 km on my Corbin solo now - still feels stiff and I still get some butt burn - although not nearly as much or as bad as the stocker. I feel this was a good investment (especially the price) - just came back from a trip to the west coast and two of the days were 14 hour stretches of riding that I know I couldnt have handled with the stock saddle. I have mine set in the top at the front and middle at the rear - hard on the hand to pound it into position, but it can be done - helps with the tank slapper syndrome somewhat, but a bit more of a "scoop" is in order to truly fit it to my butt, and to eliminate the pelvis tilt as well.
Just my .02
Mick :04biker:

I was thinking about "Dremmeling" out the forward ends of the adjustment slots in the mid and high adjustment settings to let the seat move far enough forward to set the back of it down one or more settings lower. Maybe some custom replacements for those slotted plates would work?

[Highrider]

Jeff

I have had my Corbin solo on for 2000 miles during the last 6 weeks. That was the first farkle that I implemented. When I ordered the seat I asked for the softer padding, and I think this combination is perfect for my rear end. I have a 02' ST1100 with a full Corbin and it is very hard, so I investigated the options before I ordered. I still like the feel of the 02' seat but is has a lot more surface area to spread the hardness than the 05' design. Give yours a few thousand miles to get used to and settle in. If you still don't like it, Corbin has indicated they would make the adjustment at no cost. If you ordered standard padding, there is an option to go softer.
You're right, the first thing I noticed was the Corbin established a seating position more so than the OEM seat. It also eliminated the feling of sliding forward. That was the worst aspect of the OEM seat.

Ride Hard! Ride SAFE !! :biker:

[NewsMag]

Hi Jeff,

Before you fire up the Dremel, you might try setting the tab of the Corbin ABOVE the forward seat adjuster. Don't know about the Solo, but it works great for the standard Corbin seat. I ended up reinforcing the space above the tab against the seat (for peace of mind - the tab is leather-covered metal, but only held by 2 rivets) . I also wanted a bit higher seat position, and found it still worked with the forward seat adjuster in the mid position. Only problem, you hit a bump and the adjuster pops into the low position - can be quite startling. :eek: I now use a heavy duty zip tie to secure the adjuster in the mid postion, and put the Corbin tang on TOP of it - there is enough grip from the tank to hold the seat quite securely.

Hope it works for the Solo as well... :)

[NormanPCN]

Another problem with the OEM seat that I was having is that I think it was tilting my pelvis in such a way as to cause some lower back pain

It most definetly did tilt the pelvis which in turn makes your shoulders want to rotate and thus puts more pressure on your hands and your neck area. For me the Sargent, which has a very neutral platform, completely eliminated sore palms and the odd sore shoulder/neck thing. The taller you are the more pronounced the shoulder effect due to the pelvic tilt.

[wjbertrand]

I thought it might be intereSTing to see Jeff B's new Corbin and my Rich's together to see the diff's
BTW, my Rich's has about 51K miles on it.
http://image57.webshots.com/57/3/80/71/418638071VkEYOz_fs.jpg

http://image51.webshots.com/51/6/19/44/419361944yZdHeV_ph.jpg

No pictures Don, just the dreaded little box witha red "X" in it!

[wjbertrand]

Hi Jeff,

Before you fire up the Dremel, you might try setting the tab of the Corbin ABOVE the forward seat adjuster. Don't know about the Solo, but it works great for the standard Corbin seat. I ended up reinforcing the space above the tab against the seat (for peace of mind - the tab is leather-covered metal, but only held by 2 rivets) . I also wanted a bit higher seat position, and found it still worked with the forward seat adjuster in the mid position. Only problem, you hit a bump and the adjuster pops into the low position - can be quite startling. :eek: I now use a heavy duty zip tie to secure the adjuster in the mid postion, and put the Corbin tang on TOP of it - there is enough grip from the tank to hold the seat quite securely.

Hope it works for the Solo as well... :)

Thanks for the tip Steve, I've accidentaly done this with the OEM seat and had it pop down like you describe going over a bump. I thought something serious had happened until I noticed the seat was kinda wiggly. I think the best advice might be to put a few more miles on it before getting too dremmel happy. With only about 150 miles on the seat so far I'm finding my impressions are evolving a little.

[dond]

No pictures Don, just the dreaded little box witha red "X" in it!
Shoot.they were there yesterday in living color. I pulled them from webshots community too.