Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Seats

I have an 06 America and I love my bike. The main problem I have is that when I go for a ride of any length (200 miles+), I get the "numb" feeling in certain glutious regions. Also my back starts to hurt something awefull. I am looking at getting a new seat, preferably something with a backrest. I don't ride 2 on my bike, but it would be a future consideration.

I think the Corbin seat looks nice, but they are pricey. Also people that I trust don't have too much good to say about thier Corbin seats, so I was wondering if they are worth it. Triumph has some decent looking seats like the touring seat.

I wanted to get some feedback from you guys as to what seat you're riding on and what you think about it. Is the Corbin seat for our bikes any good? Is the touring seat from the factory good for really long rides? The people on this forum seem very knowledgeable and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not trying to be a smart arse, but (butt) - The most economical approach is to stop and stretch more often. This especially applies if you haven't ridden in a while or are new to it. Sometimes the stops are as interesting as the ride itself whenever you stumble on a Triumph admirer - and you will.

There are two key points concerning the Corbin that I am aware of.
1. They ain't cheap
2. I am.

Here is a cheap fix for the back aches and it works well:

Back-A-Line

I bought the Corbin with the back rest before the major price increase last year. In my experience, the Corbin has eliminated the back pain so I don't use the Back-A-Line anymore, but the seat is so hard, the butt burn is still there. After 6000 miles on the seat it is just starting to break in.

Others say the seat break in period is far less, but not in my case.

One other issue, the Corbin will drop you down and forward a few inches so if you have long legs, you're gonna wish those forward controls were a little farther forward...

I added Bella Corse bars with hiway pegs mounted low to compenste for that one......

Hi Beau,
Welcome to the site, you'll love it here. I'll say this again to the dismay of people who don't know that I know everything: Rick Mayer builds the best seats you'll find until you get to heaven. I swear by the lack of monkey bu++ that you will not find a better saddle. I think I've still got a pic in my gallery, so check it out. My wife's seat is bu++ ugly, but holds her precious little behind as well or better than I could. So well in fact, that I am afraid to do a ride in to Rick's shop for him to do a personal fitting for our next seat.
Keep in mind that with the forward controls, your gonna suffer a little with anything you buy. I've had this seat since the week after the Georgia Rally '06. The first thing we noticed was how much vibration came through the bars and pegs because the seat transferred no vibration at all.
Now, if you want a "stock looking" rear seat, tell him and you will save a little money.
Can't think of anything else to tell you. Corbins are great, when broken in. Mustang has said repeatedly that they have no plans to build a seat for us.
If you've got a bu++, Rick can build a saddle for it.
He requires a picture of you on the bike with feet on the pegs, along with measurements of your upper hip bones point to point (around the back). If you're short, he wants a pic with your feet on the ground too (or as close as you can get to the ground). If you have a regular passenger, he wants their pic and dimensions too.
Even with a custom seat, I want to stretch my legs after 150 miles due to my hind parts taking it all, but my wife will sit on the bike and drink water or occasional other drink while I get gas and pay for it. The girl has ridden with me for over 30 years and will fight you for her seat.
Rick's seats, front and rear, covered in leather compare in price to Corbin.
Hey, where you from???
Remember to Ride Safe - And WELCOME HOME!!!

Hi there Beau and welcome. This is a great site with great people to help you weigh up most of your options with just about any questions you may have. Regards the seat, I understand completely what you're talking about when you refer to a numb bum and the backache. I was in your position about 3 months ago and after talking and listening I decided on the corbin solo with back rest. Here's my thread Now unfortunately I am still waiting for it after ordering it 6 weeks ago but I live in Aus and have to go through a supplier. Anyway,here's the big if on these seats, as you can see, the question on how hard the corbin seat is, continually comes up in discussion. The way I looked at it though was this, most believe the seat does mould to your own butt over time as they use a special type of foam. It will I think soften but it may take time. Then there was my backache. So I reckoned for me the backrest was an essential item in the big picture given one of my lower discs is made of titanium and some of the others aren't too flash either. With this in mind the corbin's was as good as they come but to take full advantage of it, I put on Deuce risers which raised the bars up and back so that I now sit upright not forward. The plan for me is like anyone's, on long hauls we want to be comfortable and for me, this setup will (fingers crossed) give me what I'm after. I hope this info helps but if I was you, I would enquire more about the Rick Meyer suggestion. Corbin's are as pricey as they come and there is still the question on how hard they are butt if you could get exactly what you were after from this bloke at the same price or cheaper, then that certainly sounds like a good option provided a backrest was part of the deal, and it doesn't have a question mark on how hard it is. Good luck buddy and hope you keep us informed on the outcome. I should have mine soon so I'll let everyone know what my first impressions are.

I got the Corbin solo & it really helped out alot. I'm also a smoker so I like to stop every 100 miles or so top off the tank, burn one & hit the road again. Maybe you should pick up smoking. It will help you want to stop more. I love it when I'm cruising down the interstate about to have a "nic fit" & someone in a car lights up in front of me.

Heya Calen... beore you throw lots of money at a Corbin have a quick look at Jim's Spacers which move the bars up and back a little giving you a more natural seating position. I found this eased my back problems greatly.

Here's something I learned while up at the Corbin place in Daytona Friday. If you have a stitched pattern in the seat, any of their seats are much softer and do not require as much break-in. I have what's called the DT Stitch and it was comfortable right out of the box.

I think he should just start smoking. It would be a lot cheaper.

Phil, is this DT stitch the pattern in your photo gallery?...does it cost more?....I'm probably going the Corbin route, as I have some long distance riding to do this year.

Thanks

Yep, that's it. Anything done to the saddles is included in the base price, be it different leathers, stitching, welting, etc.

We got Janet the Smuggler (for the T100) and she got baby gator on the top and ostrich on the sides. Thought it would look weird but he had a saddle for another bike with the pattern on it and it looked really nice. She also is getting stitching in the seat and for that particular seat, it's called tuck & roll. They are also painting the stripes (opal with gold pinstripe) like are on the tank below onto the back part of the seat. All of this included.

I have the Corbin with no stitching, and it's hard. I put it on in early 2005, and my tailbone still goes to sleep on long rides. The thing I like is that the cantel is steeper and firmer than the gunfighter seat that came on my Speedmaster, and it supports my back better. I second everything loco said about the Corbin.

Cody

Thanks for the info Phil...Nice T100

I got the Corbin gunfighter and it has been well worth the money. I have no fatigue and have not had an issue with break in either, as the firmness isnt an issue and the superior support is great.

By the way, I got the baby alligator in the seat area and the the ostrich on the rest of the piece, the comments on how nice it looks surprises me ( I love it, I didnt realize others would ), when I asked Corbin if they had seen that combo, they told me they hadnt at the time, which I though was odd, but refreshing as it wont be commonplace.

Hi Cody, thanks..I'm leaning towards the stitching seat since it appears it makes the seat somewhat softer.

Hi Todd...I was thinking about the Gunfighter as I think it looks better, but will end up going the solo-pillion route so my Wife & Kids can go for the odd ride. The majority of the time, I'll have the pillion off & put on a solo rack. I'll just end up getting a Triumph Pillion due to the cost of the Corbin. Thanks for the input.

I have a corbin, put on the backrest for long trips. One thing that really helped with the monkey butt is wearing spandex bike shorts under my jeans/riding pants. Sounds funny, but it allows for your tuckus to adjust itself and then you don't get the pulling which I think is a major factor in the rear fatigue.

hmmm Benny, you get monkey butt in the pickup?


So who else has the corbin gunfighter? I have been looking at it since its cheaper and we don't ride pillion.

the spandex are really to stop the giggle, lol seriously tho i just sent my corbin backt o be softened up a bit. i am a little nervous how it will turn out but we'll see. the shape of the corbin is great

Frank

Hi Benny..spandex huh?..I'll keep that in mind. Thanks

Don't knock it till ya tried it I want to try some of that under-armor stuff too, but it is expensive. I think the point is anything fairly snug and real smooth so your tush can self adjust rather than friction holding it weird or tristing your cheeks like Yota.

Spandex actually works. It also makes you ride safer & slower in fear of having an accident & having the paramedics get a good laugh !!

Oh... I LOVE MY CORBIN !

If the forward controls are too stretched out for you, get the foot boards, the ability to change your legs positioning around really helps with those.

Well for those without the stitch, it looks like the spandex is the go. Unbelievable though, you spend squillions and its still not right. Wouldn't you think the "Best seat in the world" would just be well, the best seat in the world. Oh no, you've got to get the stitch, or if you were silly enough not to know, do the spandex thing until you need to rebuild the bike. Anyway, I'm hoping Corbin have addressed this problem cos wouldn't you think they were getting just a little bit tired of people returning them to have them softened up? Enough of my whinging, maybe the 07 model is not too hard and not too soft but Just right and even if it's not, no one has mentioned a layer of sheepskin yet. Regardless, the backrest in my case made it a done deal and the rest I'll sort out.

Cody,

Quote:

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I have the Corbin with no stitching, and it's hard. I put it on in early 2005, and my tailbone still goes to sleep on long rides. The thing I like is that the cantel is steeper and firmer than the gunfighter seat that came on my Speedmaster, and it supports my back better. I second everything loco said about the Corbin.

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Calen,
My Corbin saddle is hard with no stitching. I can ride all day and have no problems. I compare it to English v Western saddles on the red-blooded steeds. Soft is fine. Hard is fine. It all depends on the constitution of your backside. I have loads of miles about thirty thousands miles on the saddle and mine has not softened up. With Corbin, you can send the saddle back for a gratis re-work. The majority of first comments about the corbin saddle are, Wow, I am sitting in my bike instead of on top of it.

Now at your stage in the saddle choice, with the flood of after market saddles and such, try borrowing various saddles from your friends. Or attend the GA rally 07 and a plethora of choices will be made available. Good luck with your search. From where do you hail?

PS: Even if you started with a Corbin, your bum would tend to go numb. Adjustment to new positions always take a while. Lynn and I took about 3 thousand miles or so to break ourselves in.

PSS: Take a trip to Alabamy and break some bread with Dennis. He’s got the renegade saddle.

...if I get them...I will indeed ride carefully!!