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Corbin seat, MRA screen review 2019 GT


gerrychuck

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I have now had the MRA Vario screen on the bike for a few thousand km, as well as the Corbin seat, and feel I can make some meaningful comments about them, as well as comparisons to the stock pieces.

Let's get that last one out of the way quickly; there is no comparison between the stock gear and either of the aftermarket additions.  None.  The stock windscreen produced terrible buffeting.  I put a cheap aftermarket spoiler on top, which made a significant difference, but wobbled like crazy and eventually broke. When I removed it halfway through a ride, I was immediately reminded of how much of a difference it made when I accelerated up to speed and was reacquainted with the deafening stock buffeting.  The weak points of the stock seat are well documented here, and it really bears no comparison to the support of the Corbin, so might as well move on to more detailed comments.

First, the MRA Vario screen.  I am 6'3" with a 36" inseam, so much of my height is in my legs.  Nevertheless,  my head sits up higher than most.  The MRA with spoiler at full height makes a huge difference in the smoothness of the airflow.  If my head was 2" lower it would be dead quiet; at my normal riding height there is wind noise, but very little buffeting.  Unless....there is any significant crosswind component. The MRA is a relatively narrow screen (as are the majority of screens that will fit this bike) which does mean that crosswinds can sneak around it and up the db count significantly.  Riding for a full day in a gusty crosswind on my 2700 km trip this summer was not fun (it was also 37C that day) and I did get bopped around quite a bit, but never had any ringing in my ears or any residual dulled hearing when I got off and pulled my earplugs out.  Overall, the screen performed very well over my 5 days of riding on freeways and twisting mountain 2 lanes, and I really don't like thinking about what that ride would have been like with the stocker.  My only real complaint with the MRA is that full lock turns of the front wheel cause the hand guards to hit the screen, which is mildly annoying when maneuvering the bike around the garage or backing out of a parking space. Never happens at all under power, just when wheeling the bike around in tight spaces. Other than that, I'm very happy with the screen.

Now the Corbin. At the end of 5 days and 2700 km of riding, averaging about 6 hours/day on the bike with temperatures over 30C every day, yes, I did have monkey butt, but I think the only way that could have been avoided was to be on one of the many pirate ship cruisers I saw with yard-wide saddles covered with fluffy sheepskins. The Corbin, within the confines of what can fit on the Tracer, was wonderful.  Weight is much more evenly distributed than on the stock seat, and nothing ever went numb.  No tendency to slide forward either.  In recent years I have usually worn cycling shorts with their "chamois" pads for longer rides, but with the Corbin I think they actually increase weight concentration over the ischial tuberosities (your "sit" bones), so I left them in the bag after the first long day and let the excellent design of the Corbin saddle work as intended.  This also allowed the seat to properly mold to my butt, as the dense foam of Corbins is designed to do, so comfort actually increased over the course of the ride. The only slight negative is that, as a tall, very long-legged rider, the Corbin does move the rider slightly forward compared to the stock seat, but this did not require any change in bar position or any significant increase in knee bend etc. I just got used to it very quickly and forgot about it.

So overall I am very happy with both the MRA screen and the Corbin seat. They basically eliminate the two significant weak points the Tracer GT has as a tourer and allow all the other excellent qualities of the bike to shine.  Speaking of those qualities, I genuinely love the bike more after this trip than I did before. The engine always gave me exactly the power I wanted or needed in any particular situation, it was quiet but the sound still had character and never got annoying or developed a resonance that would drive me nuts, the handling was spot on (I just increased the rear shock preload 3 clicks from standard to compensate for the extra luggage weight and never felt the need to touch it again), the fuel economy was outrageous (4.4 litres/100 km, aka 64 mpg Imperial or 54 mpg US) and I really loved the cruise control on the open highway legs. For baggage I just added a Nelson-Rigg tailbag.  Carried my jacket liner (boy did I not need that on this trip), rain suit, and heavier gloves in one side case, and tool kit and windshield care items, as well as a pair of shoes in the other, with all my clothes, etc in the tailbag. I need to be able to figure out how to pack my mesh jacket as well; as it turned out I probably could have just used that one on this trip and I really wished I had it nearly every day. Next time.

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Good information, thanks for posting 

1970 DT-250 / 1972 250MX / 1973 360MX / 1974 250MX & 1974 CZ 400 Red Frame & SC 500 / 1978 YZ 250 / 1979  YZ250 / (2) 1980 YZ 250 / 1986 YZ 490 / 1989 YZ250 WR / 1994 YZ 250 / (2) 2002 YZ 426 / 2007 YZ 450 / 2007 DR 650, 2015 FJ 09 / 2020 YZ 250

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