KeesH

On 6/23/2021 at 3:41 PM, rlambke19 said:

That's correct - except in this picture, the light on the left that is illuminated is the low beam. High beam is the right side.

Here's picture of mine without the engine running - so you can see both sets of DRLs minus the headlight.

Rob

So I was wondering... do the amber-coloured LED's differ in brightness when blinking? So for example, do they dim during blinking? These indicators are specific for the USA market. I'm located in Europe, and here, we don't have the amber running lights (like on the top picture...).

I disagree partially. It's completely personal (I also know persons who don't have any discomfort with the stocker Tracer 900 and Tracer 9 seats), and also depends on how you use the bike. A ride of just a couple of hours isn't problematic to me (except the 2014 MT-09... that was horrible within an hour), but multi-day tours are a different story. For me, it isn't a problem if I have some discomfort at the end of the day (we ride app. 300 [km] per day - no highways -), but if the discomfort starts in the beginning of the afternoon, it sucks. And important is also that I have to 'recuperate' for the next day, so I don't start the new day with discomfort.

I also experimented with different bikes and seats (Bandit 650 - MT-09 - Tracer 900 (2019) - and now the Tracer 9 GT), there is a huge difference. The ground plate (the way of support) is very important if you ask me, and there is where I agree with the Corbin philosophy. Good support and enough of square inches is key.  What I don't like at the Corbin seats, is the shape of the seat.. The only way to shift is front - back, no sideway shifting. The Sargent seats look in that way better to me, but unfortunately, they don't have a seat for the Tracer 9 yet.

On 6/27/2022 at 12:23 AM, KrustyKush said:

In answer to KeesH: there are actually several positions possible with the Corbin, same as with the stock saddle. It is true that the widest area of the Corbin is all the way back, and that this pulls me farther away from the bars.  If I am pushing my tush all the way back, I will lean forward and keep weight off arms by supporting torso with torso muscles, not with arms as in front-leaning rest. I will also slide forward at times. There is plenty of room there but less side support.

I like to push all the way back into the saddle and lean an arm on the fuel tank, lowering my head behind the windscreen, so as to reduce turbulence on my head. I find this an extremely comfy position that I can maintain, with frequent modification, for long spells. Modification by shifting butt side to side. Arching back. Tilting pelvis. One leg out into the wind. Then the other leg. Etc.

Very happy also to be back on a bike with foot pegs in such position that rider can stand up on them while riding. Nothing helps an aching butt better than one or two minutes standing up!

The saddle is breaking in well. I’m back to riding after having half my left ear cut off 10 days ago due to skin cancer. I modified an older helmet so I can ride, and have been gingerly taking the bike out in the cool of mornings the last three days. I noticed that at no time now does the saddle call attention to itself. Unlike the stocker! Taking a week off the bike seems to have helped take my mind off the saddle. I’d say it is broke in, at around 700 miles. It will continue to soften and form, but probably is 90% broke in. 

Maybe I reflect it upon my own situation, but I like wide saddles with plenty of supporting square inches. Looking at the shape of a Corbin seat, the position fully back is the one with the best support. I conclude that if you do, your arms are too short...

I think that you need a relaxed position, not a forced one. A forced position is one to go for a couple of minutes, but not for the long haul. I'm 'blessed' with very long arms, but I like sitting upright too (and shifted the handlebars back to the original position after I went to the upholstery shop).

On 6/23/2022 at 3:48 PM, Korak said:

Took a 1600 mile trip to the Smokey Mountains and the Tail of the Dragon.  First half of the trip used an Air Hawk along with the Corbin seat.  2 hours was enough time in the saddle before I had to start squirming.  The Smokey Mountains and the return trip home used the Corbin alone.  A better ride because I could now use the entire seat to slide up and back.  The seat is hard and in about 2 1/2 hours it was time for relief.  I did not wear bike shorts this trip, which I may try next trip.  I am still going to order the Russell Day long.  

Overall the Corbin is much better than stock, I have it in the high setting with the Seat Slope MOD installed. So, no sliding forward into the tank. For me personally, I still need a taller seat as my 36 inch inseam causes knee issues.

I have the same inseam. So do you recommend a higher seat, made to order @ Corbin?

On 6/23/2022 at 4:28 PM, KrustyKush said:

I've had my new Corbin on the bike for a couple of weeks' riding, maybe 500 miles or so during that time, before ear surgery temporarily stopped my riding last week.  The 500 miles made a huge difference in the saddle.  I also found that "comfort" required a movement of the handlebars back towards the rider, just a bit.  I bought a HeliBar adapter, and it made a lot of good diff, but I could still use another few mm of rearward movement.  In the near term I am going to keep it as it is because I generally prefer to "break me in to the bike rather than break the bike in to me."  The riding positions are so close to perfect, I don't believe I would achieve much by going to all the trouble it would require to install new handlebars.

The saddle itself is as good as any Corbin I've owned in the last 25 years, and that is several of them.  Maybe a half-dozen.  Build quality on every Corbin I've owned has been top notch.  Each has taken a thousand miles or more to get well broke in.  No Corbin I've owned has been comfy on Day One.  But after a few weeks and a thousand miles, they will settle down to sweet.

I had to install a couple washers on the saddle's latch bracket to get it tight, but now it appears I will have to remove the washers.  I reckon the seat pan adapts to the curvature of the bike's mounting location over time.  

The pics were taken with the saddle in "new" condition.  After a few hundred miles, the imprints of my butt are more noticeable.  I chose gold colored piping, trying to bring out the gold in the forks.  That didn't work out as I expected, but it still looks great on the bike.

Thank you. It looks to me that the Corbin seat positions the rider more to the back than the stock seat. It also seems to me (and that's also my experience with a Corbin seat on a 2014 MT-09) that you can only sit on the Corbin comfortably in just one position: fully at the back of the seat. This indeed says something about the position of the handlebar (that needs to move to the rider..). Do you have a picture of the HeliBar?

What is you complaint with the comfort of the Corbin for now? Why isn't it comfortable at long rides for now? I know that is has to break in, but what is the physical sore?

I went to the local uphostery shop with the stocker...

So gentlemen... how is the experience with the Corbin seat now? I'm curious..😀

21 minutes ago, tclhb said:

Corbin had emailed me and asked if the spacer worked with their seat. He also said that I should form a spot with my butt where the seat will keep me in place better. 

Form as in.... in a matter of time that the seat will break-in to the shape of your butt?

2 hours ago, tclhb said:

The Corbin seat works better with the spacer. I’m still trying it out. Overall I’m definitely disappointed. The biggest issue being the forward slant of the stock seat, and to still have it with the Corbin 🙄 All I did yesterday was a series of short rides trying the height adjuster in different positions, upper and lower slots, then comparing with the stock seat in high and upper slot as per Yamaha. 
I’m riding a couple hours tomorrow and that should give me a better idea how I like it. 

Okay.. That seems to be a pity. But indeed ride a couple of hours to get a better idea. Maybe the seat has to break in..?🤔

And? I'm a bit curious... 😃

I should be careful to use the JK3D spacers with the Corbin seat. Make sure that all the rubber bumpers contact their opposite points (subframe etc.). Otherwise, you can damage the glasfiber baseplate I guess, due to incorrect weight distribution, especially riding through bumps.

10 hours ago, tclhb said:

I’m 6’1”, 34” inseam. I wish I had good news. I just got back from a short 20 minute ride, and the Corbin is every bit as bad as the stock seat for crunching up your manhood as you slide towards the gas tank. Zero improvement. Towards the back of the seat where it’s wide seems like it might be a comfortable place to sit. As soon as I roll off the throttle or apply the brakes the only way to stay there is putting hard pressure with my forearms against the handlebars. My opinion that’s a dangerous way to ride in case I need to swerve suddenly. So I mostly just rode up towards the tank and not enjoying life. I’m going to put the 3D printed spacer kit back on and see if I can get the Corbin mounted on the bike with that in place. I hope to have the time later this week to do that. For my short commute tomorrow I’m just putting my stock seat back on. I guess it’s time to read the fine print on Corbin’s return policy/guarantee. 

Sorry, overlooked this post.. but most of my questions above are not yet answered. Regarding the sliding problem... is the leather op top maybe slippery? It can be the first time..

What also can help is to wear leather pants... when I wear textile pants, I slide more forwards instead of wearing leathers... despite the anti-slip stripes on the back off the textile pants..

10 hours ago, tclhb said:

 

Looks cool, and congrats it fits now. I've read the fitting instructions of Corbin, and during the coming months the rubber bumpers will break in and then you can probably remove some washers...

What material did you choose for the seating panels?

And how does the seat feel comparing to stock? I mean, it:

• looks nearly flat to me..
• looks that it is in the upper position. Is it, and how does the height feel compared to stock?
• looks that the horizontal distance from seat to handlebar has increased, probably because the vertical support of the rider seat is shifted more backwards.. looked at the rear cowling beneath the seat..

Looking forward to your comments... will help me a lot

Greetz from The Netherlands... 😎

9 hours ago, Korak said:

Looks great!  Is that the Yamaha topbox?  I got the Givi and after the same washer bracket issue, it now locks and comes off fine.

Just to be clear- You added washers to the bracket on the frame that the key works off of, correct? Or are you talking about the bracket on the seat itself?

Yamaha has (here in Europe) a new top box system.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcc-U4KtSBc

1 hour ago, tclhb said:

Please post your findings. I did mention to the tech that another person on the forum is receiving theirs Wednesday. I don’t know for sure and it seems neither did the tech, but I might be the first. At this point I really wish I had waited. No emails or other contact from them since this morning. 

Do you have some pictures of the seat how it looks on the bike?

4 hours ago, tclhb said:

The rear just sits on its own rubber pads. I tried the front in both the upper and lower slot. I tried the H shaped plastic thing in both positions, and even tried removing it altogether. No go any way. I will have some time I think Sunday to play with it some more. Post how you make out Wednesday. 

Don't you have to remove the H-shaped plastic thing while using the Corbin?

I did have a Corbin seat on my 2014 MT-09 (FZ-09). I also agree with the rigid basepan, it will provide a better support than the stocker. While the seat was upholstered with shiny black leather (which I found very ugly, seat was second-hand), I let the seat reupholster in Holland. I drilled out the rivets all by myself, a hell of a job...

The biggest disadvantage of a Corbin seat for me is the price. Not because of I can't affort one (that's not the problem), but more because of the bad selling price when selling the seat. People just don't wanna spend more than 300 euro for a seat. For that price, they go to Bagster or Topsellerie which is a real different quality. 

I also contacted Sargent if they're designing a seat for the Tracer 9, but I didn't get a sufficient answer. I look at the website each 2 months, but there is no R&D for the Tracer 9 on the roll... pity.

The other real option for me is to reupholster the seat. I did also get 2 seats reuphostered in my life: the stocker MT-09 and the previous Tracer 900 (2019). My concern of going that way is that the slope of the stock basepan (which is nicely wide) is very big... anyone who has his Tracer 9 stocker reupholstered?

Hey guys, Kees from the Netherlands here. What made you guys decide to invest in a Corbin seat? I mean, it's a lot of money (here in NL, I pay 900 euro's to get one). Did you experiment with different options? For example, I have a JK3D spacer set to reduce the forward slope, but I didn't drive long trips yet... the season is about to start for me..

On 3/7/2020 at 4:39 AM, 3sum said:

@KeesH, it’s locked in position. 

Hello 3sum,

Could you please verify this for me at your motorcycle? I've looked closely to your and other pictures, and I looks like the rear seat is not engaged properly. Also when I look at this video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTRXrs2IMbY , it looks the bottom of the rear seat follows the fairing quite nice..

Thanks!

Kees

On 10/16/2019 at 1:39 PM, johnmark101 said:

….. Hopefully they can rectify this but in my humble opinion they blew it when they tried to fabricate the Tracer seat from their own FJ-09 seat pan.  It even appears they glued on a couple of black brackets to the rear of the riders seat.....kind of a cobbled up design rather than a properly molded to fit seat pan....

I've compared the Sargent basepan to the stock one…. and indeed the genuine basepan rests on de backside also on the subframe. So it rests on 6 points instead of 4 (what the FJ did). I also noticed the 'black brackets' on the back of Sargent seat (I thought/hoped they were screwed from the inside), and it doesn't seem very rigid to me.. I think you're right. As I said, in The Netherlands will the seat cost me 625 euro's, and for that money, I want a perfect seat. I'm very curious about Sargent's actions in the future. Will they start over with the engineering?

I'm a machine designer myself, and we also reuse components when it's possible. But the end quality is alway by far the most important thing to me. When the end result is not 100%, I will design new parts..

1 thing… I also spotted the Corbin seat for the Tracer 900. The Corbin design philosophy make sense to me, the fitting is also good (high setting only, for me perfect), but the costs here in The Netherlands are 800 euro (due to 175 dollar shipping). Corbin didn't discount me anything, even not during the Daytona Bike Week.🤨

Yeah that was clear to me. I'm live in the Netherlands, and when I decide to rebuild my seat based on the original basepan, I will go to a local upholstery shop. The Sargent will cost me 625 euro, and for that money it has to be spot on..

On 11/23/2019 at 5:32 PM, 3sum said:

@quaxum here it is in the high slot. 

Hello 3sum,

Another question...is the passenger seat on this pictures not locked into place? It looks like the passenger seat is a bit high to be supporting on the subframe...

Like to hear from you soon!

Kees

5 hours ago, 3sum said:

@KeesH those pictures sure look like the low setting to me.

TNX

7 hours ago, 3sum said:

I only called them and ordered it. I didn’t make any special requests, so I would imagine yours would come like this. 

I’m very pleased with mine. 

Could you confirm my opinion about the pictures Sargent sent me and the position of the seat level? I mean: 2 pics of the pictures they say it's the high level seems to me to be the low level...

On 11/23/2019 at 5:32 PM, 3sum said:

@quaxum here it is in the high slot. 

Is this seat modified a couple of times? I mean, it looks decent to me (high setting), but I'm considering a new Sargent seat for my Tracer 900. When I order a 'standard' World Sport Performance Seat, will I get this look 1-on-1?

LOW setting according to Sargent..

For me, the high setting is important while I'm 2 meters tall.. But only the looks of the 2nd picture of my earlier post (high setting) is acceptable while the gap at the fuel tank looks some sort of decent there.