Corbin seat - about to pull the trigger

[deilenberger]

I got myself a Sargent seat. Had to wait five weeks for it. I am very happy with it. I popped it right in. No problem. Very comfortable. I can do miles and miles on it. I did not order the back seat as i always ride solo.

I thought Sargent was not ready to take orders for our bike until later this year.
So you are saying we can now order a Sargent Seat?

When did you order?
How long did you have to wait?
Did you have to send them your exisitng seat?
Which model did you order?
Any Pictures?

Yes lots of questions, but all good...

Thanks

Michael - Sargent has always offered the redo the stock seat option. Someone posted here recently that they were planning on making an off-the-shelf replacement seat. I got excited and asked them, and after about 4 canned "We received your message" responses, I finally got this:

Hi Don,
Here is your non-canned reply.

We do not have plans to make a complete off-the-shelf seat for the R1200R.

Scott
Sargent Cycle Products
800-749-7328

So.... either the person posting here was mistaken, or Sargent doesn't know what they're doing.

Personally - I won't do the modify the existing seat thing with them. I did it on a K75S seat, and was very unhappy with the results (looked wonderful, but changed a 2 hour seat into a 10 minute one), and after ditzing with it twice with no improvement, they basically told me to go pound sand - it was mine and I should sell it on Ebay. So I did.

The only custom seat builder I'd trust to do a good job on the stock pan (they have for me twice now) is Russell Day-Long.. but I just can't bring myself to do that to the Roadster.

[michaeljp]

All of you looking to Sargent for the R1200R.

I just got of the phone with the research and development dept at Sargent. This is what they laid out.

There will be NO complete sport seat for the R12R , now or in the foreseeable future. There is foam and cover convertion schedualed for release late this Septmber 08. Your pan is to be stripped bare and a complete build from there. They do not have enough interest in the R12R to retool and fabricate the pan.

Sargent is preregistering for the convertion now with an email notification and discounted price apon release. At this time there is a 5-6 week laed time. That will drop to 3-4 weeks in October and 2-3 weeks in the off season winter months.

Cost of the convertion and cover is $350-370 . There are no photos posted as of yet but was told that the pans and susequently look will be similar to the F650GS.


Here is a look at the simular F650GS



Unfortunately this does not help me as i do not want to build on my warped rick mayer pan, maybe it works for some of you.

[deilenberger]

Michael, thanks for the clarification.

Doesn't help me either since I will never ever again buy a "custom" seat from Sargent. Their satisfaction policy on rebuilt seats is no better than Corbin or Rick Meyer.. it's a you buy it you own it policy. BTDT, cost me a lot of money. I'd take a chance on a complete new seat if they offered it - since that does have some satisfaction guarantee.

[Bill Stevenson]

This thread contains quite a tale of woe for a lot of people. Over the years I have had my innings which more or less parallel the entire spectrum of the experiences of everyone who has contributed to this dialog. Over the years I have to say that there is one path that has been satisfactory to all who have followed it. It all started with Bill Mayer Sr. from whom I bought my first custom saddle back around 1970 or 1971 for an R75/5. It was a milestone saddle. As many of you know, Bill Sr. eventually sold his company to Russell. Somewhere along the way, he taught his son Bill Mayer Jr. how to make saddles and run a successful business too. I have never met anyone who bought a saddle from either Russell or Bill Mayer Jr. who was not satisfied. Earlier this year when I bought my R1200R, Bill Mayer Jr. built the new saddle for it as he had done for the previous R1150R. The saddle was sent to him since I am in Florida and he, of course, is in California. Initially the new saddle was not quite right. Rocky (Bill Mayer Jr.) called me while he was himself on holiday to discuss the problem and had me send the saddle back immediately. It was fixed and returned promptly (turn around in 1 day) and is satisfactory. This was done without expense to me and cheerfully. Right over the phone Rocky was even able tell me what they had done wrong after I explained the symptoms. He made no excuses. In short, his company knows not only how to build a great saddle, but they know how to treat their customers. Again, Russell does too, from all accounts. Such is the legacy of Bill Mayer Senior.

It would always be best if you could go to the saddle maker and have your new saddle fitted while you are there, but that is a luxury only available to those close enough to the shop to make the ride. Short of that, I commend either BMS or Russell to your attention.

One last thing. There has been some discussion of the merits of using the original seat pan, versus buying a new saddle with a separate seat pan furnished by the saddle maker. I have done it both ways and must say that without exception, the custom saddles built up on the original BMW seat pan have invariably fit better, worked better, and looked better than any that came on an aftermarket pan.

Regards,

Bill

[deilenberger]

Bill, I agree entirely.. if it only wasn't for the wings..

[Bill Stevenson]

Don,

Re. the wings. That is why I have a BMS.
In fairness, though, you can't see the wings whilst riding the bike, and Russell saddles sure are mighty nice to sit upon.

One thing I forgot to mention, leather is a whole lot nicer than vinyl because it breathes. I think you mentioned that is not an issue if you ride wearing something like an AeroStitch. True enough, but my one piece 'Stitch sits in the closet for all but the coolest winter days. Down here in South Florida, jeans are dress up. Even the cops wear short sleeved shirts. I went to a motorcycle skills class last weekend and half the class were wearing shorts! No joke. Of course it was 95 degrees and humid. But sheesh!

Anyway, leather saddles make a huge difference in hot weather.

Bill

[amr122]

Is the BMS leather slippery (such that you slide around in the seat)? I had a Corbin leather seat for my old Honda Nighthawk 750 which felt great, but I slid forward and backwards a lot with acceleration and braking. I understand that the leather will be more comfortable, but wondering if the vinyl might prevent sliding around more.

thanks

[outnabout]

Does anyone know if any of the seat manufacturers are going to have osterich or alligator covers available for the R? I saw one on a bike and it looked hot

[OlyVR]

Does anyone know if any of the seat manufacturers are going to have osterich or alligator covers available for the R? I saw one on a bike and it looked hot

I'm pretty sure Corbin would. They list a bunch of choices under materials and I have seen ostrich and gator on some of their seats for HD.
I didn't consider it for my seat as I just don't know how well exotic leathers hold up for a non-trailer-queen bike.

[Bill Stevenson]

Adam,

You asked "Is the BMS leather slippery (such that you slide around in the seat)?" Yes, the leather is somewhat slippery. I am not sure if vinyl is any less slippery, though. If I could figure out how to attach a photo, I would be glad to post one if that would be of interest.

Bill

[deilenberger]

If I could figure out how to attach a photo, I would be glad to post one if that would be of interest.

Bill

Bill - go to www.photobucket.com - create a free account, upload the photos, and just copy and paste the provided links into a message here. Voila! Photo will show up..

[Bill Stevenson]

<a href="http://s526.photobucket.com/albums/cc34 ... tevenson1/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc34 ... 00R001.jpg" alt="Billstevenson1" border="0" /></a>

[OlyVR]

<a href="http://s526.photobucket.com/albums/cc34 ... tevenson1/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc34 ... 00R001.jpg" alt="Billstevenson1" border="0" /></a>

I think you have to redo the link, but it does look nice.
Cleaner lines than the Corbin.
Do you have a gap to the back trim piece, or does it just look like it b/c of the angle?
Here is Bill's picture

[deilenberger]

<a href="http://s526.photobucket.com/albums/cc34 ... tevenson1/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc34 ... 00R001.jpg" alt="Billstevenson1" border="0" /></a>

Bill, you want to use the one that starts with [IMG] on Photobucket.

[Caroanbill]

Trigger pulled - but 6-8 weeks wait to cross the south seas ... 100% standard in case it doesn't work out ..

BTW, how may seat threads is too many ... ?

[michaeljp]

Seat Searchers,

I just wanted to post on this thread as well as "corbin for R12R" Just received the Corbin And love it.

Ordered the seat 2 weeks ago and was given an Oct.26th production date . I was very surprised to find a box from them today 4-5 weeks early.

Sergio, Corbin's sales manager, Was a pleasure to deal with and was confident that they could help fit my 6'4" size. Said that they had redone the mold for the pan on the R1200R due to problems with the fit as spoken of on this thread. Corbin moved it up 1.5" and back 1".

The seat was packaged well not just stuffed in foam scraps like the Rick Mayer hemeriod donnut. The craftsmanship is excellent As my Harley riding friends assured me it would be.

The fit to the bike is snug and snapped in when I pushed the seat firm to the tank. No washers and no GAPS.

With the system cases on it looks good with them off it looks great!

But it is in the ride and the feel right? Well they hit it right on . After a spin on my own it felt good with room to move and and a good center of gravity as the BMW engineers intended. My 12 Year old son tested the back pillion with me and was excited that his butt no longer fell asleep after a few miles. My eldest son who's passion is the Triumph speed triple is impressed as well.

I am grateful that this worked out as it was tough selling my wife on another $470 for a seat . Corbin with a long history and proper company structure has proven to be a good bet as apose to that hotheaded hack Rick Mayer.

This leaves me with a loaner seat for any one not wanting to park their bike while a costom is being built.

Michael

[fixinbones]

Can anyone with the corbin seat comment on the height/ reach to the pegs of this seat vs the std BMW seat. Corbin states that its taller than the low seat but how does it compare to the std bmw seat

[grapeman!]

Can anyone with the corbin seat comment on the height/ reach to the pegs of this seat vs the std BMW seat. Corbin states that its taller than the low seat but how does it compare to the std bmw seat

I bought TexasMule's old one and found that I sit (is) slightly taller then the stock regular seat. I also found that my butt sits a couple of inches further back. This put's a little extra strain on my wrists. This could be corrected by a pair of riser/back's. But I decided to pass on the seat and have put it up for sale.

[Caroanbill]

Corbin finally arrived last week. My expectations were low, and I'm not disappointed ...

FIT is a "fail"- wouldn't latch. 5mm rubber spacers on the catch fixed that problem, and maybe it'll bed in. At the very least Corbin should ship with a second, longer set of bolts (I just happened to have two to fit) and a couple of spacers.

HEIGHT is a "fail", too. Minus is that it puts me quite signficantly higher than my low seat and I can't come close to flat-footing: definitely not as advertised. One plus is that it un-bends my knees a bit (but a stanard height OEM seat would've done the same). Since I couldn't get much of a ride in, I don't know whether it's too high to keep or not. I'l definietly be swapping to the OEM low seat for round-town work.

QUALITY is a definite "fail" - but I guessed it would be so-so going in. Flaws and gouges in the pan all over the place. Rough underside fit and finish. These folk have zero pride in their product: a quality maker would never ship something that looks like this. Still, at 2/3 the Sargent price (if Sargent made one), it' s overpriced poor quality but not perhaps a total rip-off. Corbin will get negative recommendations from me on quality, though, whenever anyone asks.

LOOKS - hmmm - conceded pass. It would look odd without the rear rack / topcase, but suite the biek as I have it set up. A bit bulky and out of style with the clean tank lines, but not offensively so. Overall, OK. The Sargent would've looked good

COMFORT & RIDE - awaiting time for a decent test run, so that's a deferred result. I can sit quite a bit further back, so as long as I don't slide back inadvertently, more wriggle room is an advantage. Feels hard initially, but I know that break-in will affect this, and anyway I care how I pull up aftre 4 hours, not how it is at first sit. Pillion seat is a definite improvement - higher and flat: it's seat, not a styling exercise like the OEM pillion perch.

.. maybe a long test will cure my blues ...

[lewellen]

\ Still, at 2/3 the Sargent price (if Sargent made one), it' s overpriced poor quality but not perhaps a total rip-off.

I'm not sure I understand the price comment...?

A Sargent "Premium foam conversion" without the heater option, costs around $400 according to their website.

The Corbin costs around $440.

So the total price is actually pretty comparable - neglecting any discounts and additional features etc. you might toss in.

Good roads,

- Lewellen