Corbin seat not fitting

[karuzo]

Hi everyone,

I don’t think I’m being anal about this. I owned my 1993 st1100 since October of last year, and I think I would noticed that before. It came with a Corbin seat, and one day I noticed one side is more ‘elevated’ than the other side. See the couple of photos here. The first photo is of the right side where it looks ‘normal’. What do you think?
Thanks.

 

[kiltman]

Looks like it’s not lining up properly with the pin latch. It’s also possible the front metal hook is not engaging under the tank forcing the back end to be higher.

 

[karuzo]

Looks like it’s not lining up properly with the pin latch. It’s also possible the front metal hook is not engaging under the tank forcing the back end to be higher.

I was under the same impression. I can’t really tell, but I think they are all aligned, especially since I think it was fine before, not sure what happened.

 

[sirbike]

It’s a Corbin.
I had a pretty significant asymmetry across the top of one of my ST1100 Corbin seats.
Take a good look to see if it is on the bike correctly, however, it may be that the seat is not perfect.

 

[karuzo]

It’s a Corbin.
I had a pretty significant asymmetry across the top of one of my ST1100 Corbin seats.
Take a good look to see if it is on the bike correctly, however, it may be that the seat is not perfect.

Interesting. I want to say I recall it was not like that when I got the bike. This just visually bothers me, other than that, I don’t mind it much like that. Surprised to hear that a brand like Corbin might just be doing this, assumed Corbin is a reputable brand.

 

[Sadlsor]

As I never saw it prior, I cannot say with certainty.
What I AM sure of, is Corbin makes very nice saddles, but they are not always perfect.
Sadly, I have read of several riders who were not able to persuade Corbin to stand behind a defective seat, or to make it right, even with blatant fitment concerns, misaligned stitching, and other woes.

 

[ST1100Y]

IIRC was there an issue with a too long seat-lock loom, leading to the full weight resting on the lock-casing, instead having the rubber grommets sitting on the frame...

 

[jfheath]

Check out the latching loop. Over the years, it gets bent and fails to seat under the latch. It needs taking off and hammering back into shape. I also had to put a couple of washers under the bracket so that the loop extended further under the latch.

Also check the round rubber cushions ether on the seat or on the seat frame tubes.

Perhaps remove the latch loop on the seat to get the seat sitting evenly on the frame first, then add the loop back into the equation.

 

[Roger]

Are all the rubber blocks in place? .....And which side do you keep your wallet?

 

[Sunday Rider]

Make sure you don’t have anything on the tail section sticking out that impedes the proper placement of the seat. You may not have noticed it before as there were other aspects of the bike that you were in awe of.

 

[Erdoc48]

Was it fitting appropriate originally and the seat was taken off? Then I would make sure up front the seat is engaged in that metal piece that faces backwards from just below the tank cover (don’t know what it’s called, but if you can pull up the front of the seat a bit, it’s not engaged properly). Are the 2 side bars at the front of the seat underneath the plastics on the side? Sometimes one can line up over the plastic and it’ll affect how the seat fits. It should always be a nice place and click to install it. No banging on anything to get it to latch- that’s how some of these parts get bent or break.

 

[karuzo]

Was it fitting appropriate originally and the seat was taken off? Then I would make sure up front the seat is engaged in that metal piece that faces backwards from just below the tank cover (don’t know what it’s called, but if you can pull up the front of the seat a bit, it’s not engaged properly). Are the 2 side bars at the front of the seat underneath the plastics on the side? Sometimes one can line up over the plastic and it’ll affect how the seat fits. It should always be a nice place and click to install it. No banging on anything to get it to latch- that’s how some of these parts get bent or break.

I will check. Thanks.

 

[MidLife]

.....one side is more ‘elevated’ than the other side. .....

What about the top area you sit on: is it square or also tilted?

 

[karuzo]

What about the top area you sit on: is it square or also tilted?

I can’t tell to be hugest. It feels ok while sitting on it.

 

[Upt' North]

I presume it's a corbin base rather than oem.
Either way take it off and put some grease on the seat base rubbers.
Affix and remove and see if it's resting correctly.
Now do the same sitting on it.
This will at least give you a start on seeing if it's sitting right or not.
Upt.

 

[Larry Fine]

I can’t tell to be hugest.

Now you're just bragging.

 

[SMSW]

@Larry Fine, I think the word is 'honest'. Hugest was a typo...maybe made by Otto Kerreck.

@karuzo, first thing to do is take the seat of and put it back a few times. We all often repeat our mistakes. Maybe even have a friend or son take it off and put it back, before digging out the tools, grease, etc.

 

[karuzo]

@Larry Fine, I think the word is 'honest'. Hugest was a typo...maybe made by Otto Kerreck.

@karuzo, first thing to do is take the seat of and put it back a few times. We all often repeat our mistakes. Maybe even have a friend or son take it off and put it back, before digging out the tools, grease, etc.

Will do. Yes, a typo. I hate auto correct.

 

[STRider]

Let me start by saying I LOVE my Corbin seat for my 1100. I would have anything else on it. At the same time this is not the most sophisticated production operation in the industry, They use - and are proud of - their fiberglass seat bases. Their dimensional tolerances - in my experience - are on the order of fractions of an inch, like a quarter inch (6.5mm to you on the other side of the pond). Newer products might be improved, but seats from the ST1100 era likely don't benefit.

I had three different Corbin saddles on my 1100, three different ones on my Concours that preceded it, and have a rider's seat for my 1300. For the 1100 and the Concours I had two seats in my possession at a time and no two were the same regarding the location and number of bumpers or other under eat hardware (don't get me started on stowable the bungie hooks on the 1100's seat!). Slight variation in the shape of the base was also apparent. Were these product improvements or production variation? It was hard to tell, but I suspect the later. They all look like they were made in your local fiberglass repair shop. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if your seat is exactly how Corbin made it.

 

[STRider]

Not to mention that the fiberglass base make them heavy af. Mike will say this is "to make them stiffer than OEM or the competition, which makes them more comfortable." BS.

He's too cheap to pay for the injection molds to make well fitted bases. Laid up fiberglass is way cheaper in the short run. Yes, fiberglass is more cost effective for short runs, I'll admit. But my Sargent saddle on my 1300 with its injection molded, plastic base is more comfortable than the Corbin on the same bike.