CORBIN SEAT: leather vs vinyl.

[Bbref36_imp]

All I need some feedback. After viewing post on this site about the Corbin seat, I'm curious to gather input about leather seats vs vinyl. I have never had a leather seat.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks

 

[rboe]

I did a custom seat a while back and had the same question. Went with vinyl because it ages better (in Phoenix). Modern vinyls go a long ways to look and feel like leather so maybe your choice is not as difficult as you may think.

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

Bbref,

The leather seating surface is a large part of what makes the Corbin seat comfortable for many hours. You have sat on leather seats in cars and you have sat on vinyl seats in cars. The leather seat is far more comfortable. I don't know exactly what dynamic makes it so but it is more comfortable. When I hunt I wear leather gloves all day comfortably. There is no way I could keep vinyl or rubber gloves on for even two hours. Try wearing vinyl boots all day, you can't because they don't breathe at all. The downside of leather is that it absorbs moisture and requires more care. For a bike left out in the rain a leather seat is a poor choice. When I wash my CB11 I take the Corbin off and put the stock seat on when I hose the bike down. The only part of a Corbin that is leather is the seating surface. The rest is vinyl.

The bottom line is, if you store your bike indoors and don't do a lot of riding in the rain, leather is the way to go. If your bike sits outside a lot and you ride in the rain often, leather is a poor choice. I love leather seats in cars and on bikes. My only 4 wheel vehicle without leather is my CJ-5 as it has no top. Cheers.

Chip

 

[Houtman_imp]

I have had vinyl Corbin seats on my CBX for nearly 25 years and they still look as new.I have never had a leather seat on my bikes so I can not comment on the heat issue but I believe the leather might be more comfortable on very long days.I just use the Honda Polish on my Corbin seats and I like the water proof properties of the vinyl.
I love the Corbin seat on my CB1100

 

[oldgoat01_imp]

I will be spending my day sitting in a chair gazing out the window watching, waiting, rocking slowly back and forth patiently waiting for the FedEx truck scheduled to deliver my Corbin seat today

I went with leather because I want comfort (went with the std version instead of the aesthetically more pleasing Beck spec for that same reason). My experience with vinyl versus leather is the same as Chip's. Living in the humidity of the South only reinforces my desire for leather. Of course, I may get it and hate it.

Wait, gotta run, nope false alarm not the FedEx truck... back to my rocking.

 

[Mike Bee_imp]

I will be spending my day sitting in a chair gazing out the window watching, waiting, rocking slowly back and forth patiently waiting for the FedEx truck scheduled to deliver my Corbin seat today

I went with leather because I want comfort (went with the std version instead of the aesthetically more pleasing Beck spec for that same reason). My experience with vinyl versus leather is the same as Chip's. Living in the humidity of the South only reinforces my desire for leather. Of course, I may get it and hate it.

Wait, gotta run, nope false alarm not the FedEx truck... back to my rocking.

I too am waiting for the Fed Ex truck with my new Corbin seat. I ordered it with grey leather seating surfaces, black leather sides, and snake skin (gray) welts. I've owned a couple of Corbins before - a solo seat on a Harley Sportster, and another one, a BMW 1150 sport tourer.

Zowie - the Fed Ex man just delivered my seat... I'm outa here!

The Bee

 

[the Ferret]

Cmon Bee,its been a couple hours. Installing a seat takes 2 mins max. We need ride report and pictures!

 

[silascopathic_imp]

I'm with The Ferret on this one! +1 ^^^

 

[Mike Bee_imp]

I'm with The Ferret on this one! +1 ^^^

Corbin knows how to pack things securely that's for sure. Had to sit on the passenger end to get the seat to lock down - after a dab of white grease on the mechanism. She's a beauty! Have to go pick up a new lawn mower - save the test ride for later. Maybe some pics if I can figure out how to upload them. Stay tuned folks!

The Bee

 

[oldgoat01_imp]

I'm with The Ferret on this one! +1 ^^^

Corbin knows how to pack things securely that's for sure. Had to sit on the passenger end to get the seat to lock down - after a dab of white grease on the mechanism. She's a beauty! Have to go pick up a new lawn mower - save the test ride for later. Maybe some pics if I can figure out how to upload them. Stay tuned folks!

The Bee

Corbin knows how to pack things securely that's for sure. The Bee
Tell me about it. And to make matters worse, about an hour after I got the Corbin on, I finally got my Hepco Becker c-bow mounts . Step 1: remove the seat. Bent the %&!*# key trying to get the thing back off. Had to use a screwdriver to get enough leverage on the little lever behind the helmet lock to extricate the seat. Haven't had a chance to ride it (busy cussing at the c-bow mounts) and tomorrow looks like solid rain, so who knows when I'll get a chance to ride. I did sit on it while on the center stand and initial thoughts are 1) it is hard, but that's OK 2) is concave instead of convex so should do a much better job distributing weight and 3) leans away from not towards the tank (trust me a very positive attribute). I think I'm going to be happy with this purchase. I'll try to post pics on this and the Hepco Becker setup.

 

[the Ferret]

Bent your ignition key..aarrrggghhh thats not good.

 

[oldgoat01_imp]

No problem, I 'unbent' it, so it works ok, sort of. If it gives me any trouble, I'll get another made with my good, second key.

 

[the Ferret]

Most of the ST guys that break them off bend them in the gas cap, and break them off in the ignition. Keep a close eye on it.

 

[oldgoat01_imp]

Trust me, it's something I am apt to do...once that metal gets soft, it seems like it is only a matter of time. I may just go ahead and get a new one but then no one would learn what to do when you break the key

 

[flynrider]

No problem, I 'unbent' it, so it works ok, sort of. If it gives me any trouble, I'll get another made with my good, second key.

You're lucky. I bent mine when I lifted the bike onto the center stand while the key was in the helmet lock. Oops. I bent it back and it would work the helmet lock, but wouldn't work in the ignition (actually got stuck in there for awhile). It took a few weeks for the locksmith to get the proper blank to make a new one.

 

[Houtman_imp]

On any new car or bike the first thing I do is to get two extra keys made and I use them .The two original ones I keep as spares to make more copies if ever needed.

 

[Mike Bee_imp]

[attachment=355][attachment=355][attachment=355]

Cmon Bee,its been a couple hours. Installing a seat takes 2 mins max. We need ride report and pictures!

OK Ferret, a ride report and pictures. I've taken three local rides totaling about 1.5 hrs. and can already tell you this seat is a big improvement over stock as far as comfort goes. It's very firm but is shaped to comform to the human bum. Corbin says break-in time is about 2000 miles, so it will get better. Past experience with Corbin saddles has been positive - the butt will weary to a point on long rides, but will not get painful as the miles accumulate. I bought leather as it is cooler (actually & figurativly) [sic] and since the covers are stitched, they'll need to be treated to keep moisture out of the foam underneath in any case. Both vinyl & leather will last longer with a little spritz of Lexol, neatsfoot oil, ArmorAll etc. This seat is 100% leather - even the piping.

The second thumbnail most accurately shows the color - the rest show the gray several shades too light.

 

[oldgoat01_imp]

Just took my bike out for about an hour on the Corbin, dodging raindrops. First impressions....Hard? Yes, but certainly not like the vinyl covered 2x6's on most dual sports. The good news is that it clearly distributed my weight better. I did not feel the pain that was kicking in after about only 20 minutes on the stock seat. I did not slide forward but could move fore or aft on the seat and stay there... no slow march toward the tank. The positioning felt pretty much the same to me.

The really good news is that it is much better out of the box than the stock and I know it will only get better with age. Although, I'm thinking I got a different seat than Mr. Bee as mine only needs about 1000-2000 MILES to break it in. I'd hate to wait 2000 hours. I figure that is between 80 and 100,000 miles!

 

[Mike Bee_imp]

Just took my bike out for about an hour on the Corbin, dodging raindrops. First impressions....Hard? Yes, but certainly not like the vinyl covered 2x6's on most dual sports. The good news is that it clearly distributed my weight better. I did not feel the pain that was kicking in after about only 20 minutes on the stock seat. I did not slide forward but could move fore or aft on the seat and stay there... no slow march toward the tank. The positioning felt pretty much the same to me.

The really good news is that it is much better out of the box than the stock and I know it will only get better with age. Although, I'm thinking I got a different seat than Mr. Bee as mine only needs about 1000-2000 MILES to break it in. I'd hate to wait 2000 hours. I figure that is between 80 and 100,000 miles!

I just edited my post - changing hours to miles.

 

[the Ferret]

Cool..grey top like an old Triumph. Piping looks wild.