I know some of you have shared my pain when it comes to the stock CB1100 seat, and some of you are made for torture who don't notice that you are slowly being divided by two, the hard way.
Every year my dad and I plan a long ride, friends usually join us, and we all just pick a place on the map. The rules are this, we have 9 days..... yup that's it. What route we take, how long we ride each day, where we sleep and what we eat is all unwritten chaos, we wouldn't want it any other way. Each day usually starts by looking for squiggly lines on a map and connecting them together with random gas stations and local fair.
The last time we did this I was on a 1981 CB900C. What a strange and wonderful bike, definitely regret that sale. Shaft drive with air suspension front and rear. Those of you who have dealt with early 80s Honda inline fours are, no doubt, familiar with the character of aluminum puck carburetors. One of the places that bike excelled was the comfort of its seat! Not the best seat I have ever sat on nor would it win any beauty contest but 7 hour days weren't a big deal. The CB1100 in contrast will KO my legs 30 seconds into the first round.
So in preparation for this years ride I had a few ergonomic issues I had to take care of if I were to ever want to walk again. My main issue is simple, the bike was not built for a person with my height. I am 6' 2" with a 34" inseam which puts me out of most marketing target demographics of motorcycles. I felt very cramped in the cockpit with the pegs too high and my tank was starting to ask me where this relationship was headed.
I thought about the Corbin seat and even called them up to price one, but ended up giving Rich's a call. I have heard great things but was always warned that "it isn't cheap". So with a jar full of saved up pennies I scheduled a fitting nearly 7 weeks in advance, I think this is the norm. The day came last Saturday and the weather man told me that it would be wet, he was right. I jumped on the early ferry to Kingston Washington after riding an hour in a very determined rain. About fifteen minutes off a twenty minute ferry ride and I was at Rich's shop. A metal building tucked back in a small industrial park with a well manicured landscape and a trove of interesting projects.
I was greeted by Rich and his crew and was one of six bikes there to get a new seat fitted. The process started with Rich walking around asking us why we didn't like the seat we had. It was a mix bag from, I want to add a two up seat to my custom ironhead, to my R1200RT seats aren't good enough for me and my wife to tour the country on. I explained how my seat thought I was a wishbone and desperately wanted it's wishes to come true. Pepper obviously thought my bike was the coolest one there.
Each bike had a attentive sculptor that stripped their seat and started the magic potion boiling.
Off comes the cover!
Kelly (the artist) comes down stairs and offers advice on color and style. She has the eye. By practice I consider myself conservative when it comes to style, a less is more kinda man. However, Kelly was better dressed than I was so I took her advice.
After several test fits of Bubba shaving foam and me sitting on it or taking a short ride on it we had a shape. Bubba put a jell pad into the foam that I must admit, resembled what I think a silicon implant would look like. Then sent the seat upstairs for a cover. All in all the process took about 7 hours to complete! The conversation was good and Rich's shop was comfortable with lots of car seats sitting around to lounge in and a warm room with the game on. When my seat was complete I handed them my jar of pennies and caught the ferry back home.
And here is the finished product, it is by far the most comfortable motorcycle seat I have sat on, it is cosmetically bold for my taste but it is growing on me. It was about $200 over what a Corbin seat would have cost me by my calculations. Was it worth it? I think so, comfort is top notch as well as the materials. The attention to detail that Rich's team puts into the seats is worth a bit to me. However, you can make that decision yourself if you are in the market. I do recommend Rich's if you are in the northwest and want a custom tailored seat to fit your needs.
Every year my dad and I plan a long ride, friends usually join us, and we all just pick a place on the map. The rules are this, we have 9 days..... yup that's it. What route we take, how long we ride each day, where we sleep and what we eat is all unwritten chaos, we wouldn't want it any other way. Each day usually starts by looking for squiggly lines on a map and connecting them together with random gas stations and local fair.
The last time we did this I was on a 1981 CB900C. What a strange and wonderful bike, definitely regret that sale. Shaft drive with air suspension front and rear. Those of you who have dealt with early 80s Honda inline fours are, no doubt, familiar with the character of aluminum puck carburetors. One of the places that bike excelled was the comfort of its seat! Not the best seat I have ever sat on nor would it win any beauty contest but 7 hour days weren't a big deal. The CB1100 in contrast will KO my legs 30 seconds into the first round.
So in preparation for this years ride I had a few ergonomic issues I had to take care of if I were to ever want to walk again. My main issue is simple, the bike was not built for a person with my height. I am 6' 2" with a 34" inseam which puts me out of most marketing target demographics of motorcycles. I felt very cramped in the cockpit with the pegs too high and my tank was starting to ask me where this relationship was headed.
I thought about the Corbin seat and even called them up to price one, but ended up giving Rich's a call. I have heard great things but was always warned that "it isn't cheap". So with a jar full of saved up pennies I scheduled a fitting nearly 7 weeks in advance, I think this is the norm. The day came last Saturday and the weather man told me that it would be wet, he was right. I jumped on the early ferry to Kingston Washington after riding an hour in a very determined rain. About fifteen minutes off a twenty minute ferry ride and I was at Rich's shop. A metal building tucked back in a small industrial park with a well manicured landscape and a trove of interesting projects.
I was greeted by Rich and his crew and was one of six bikes there to get a new seat fitted. The process started with Rich walking around asking us why we didn't like the seat we had. It was a mix bag from, I want to add a two up seat to my custom ironhead, to my R1200RT seats aren't good enough for me and my wife to tour the country on. I explained how my seat thought I was a wishbone and desperately wanted it's wishes to come true. Pepper obviously thought my bike was the coolest one there.
Each bike had a attentive sculptor that stripped their seat and started the magic potion boiling.
Off comes the cover!
Kelly (the artist) comes down stairs and offers advice on color and style. She has the eye. By practice I consider myself conservative when it comes to style, a less is more kinda man. However, Kelly was better dressed than I was so I took her advice.
After several test fits of Bubba shaving foam and me sitting on it or taking a short ride on it we had a shape. Bubba put a jell pad into the foam that I must admit, resembled what I think a silicon implant would look like. Then sent the seat upstairs for a cover. All in all the process took about 7 hours to complete! The conversation was good and Rich's shop was comfortable with lots of car seats sitting around to lounge in and a warm room with the game on. When my seat was complete I handed them my jar of pennies and caught the ferry back home.
And here is the finished product, it is by far the most comfortable motorcycle seat I have sat on, it is cosmetically bold for my taste but it is growing on me. It was about $200 over what a Corbin seat would have cost me by my calculations. Was it worth it? I think so, comfort is top notch as well as the materials. The attention to detail that Rich's team puts into the seats is worth a bit to me. However, you can make that decision yourself if you are in the market. I do recommend Rich's if you are in the northwest and want a custom tailored seat to fit your needs.
