Today was the day ( PICS ADDED!!)

[Randy B]

Well I went down to Hollister last week and unbeknownst to me I needed and appointment, so I made one for today. I kept it, but dang it, wouldn't ya know it that it RAINED for the first time in MONTHS today? Not a drizzle, but not a downpour, but man did I get SOAKED.

So....I had a Corbin seat made today and I took pictures. They let you wander the floor and look around while they work. As a customer It was nice, but dang if I had to work like that I think I might just loose my mind.

Pictures to follow.

P.S. OMG my bike is DIRTY!!!

 

[Houtman_imp]

When I worked at the winery on the Biltmore Estate we always had people watching us, I kind of liked it and saw some beautiful girls !

 

[The Spaceman_imp]

That's incredible, the dealers here either won't let you near the shop, or at best let you watch through a big window like a hospital maternity wars In old movies. They claim it's for insurance reasons, but I suspect they'be hit other reasons as well. You know, like not having customers hear the techs screaming curse words as the break off the fourth head stud in a row on somebody's supersport.

 

[Randy B]

Sorry guys, I fell asleep. My sleeping schedule has been nothing short of a disaster and trying to straighten it out has not been easy. I'll get to the pics ASAP.
Ok so they told me to arrive between 8 and 10 AM and the earlier the better due to it being first come, first served. They don't do appointment times, rather just a date and whomever gets there first, gets out sooner. I won't say in first out first because they do some pretty cool custom work and will mold a custom seat pan for you right there on the spot (you'll see )

So I left the house at about 7:10 this morning and it was raining....quite steadily I might add....and my leather jacket is now 65 pounds heavier for it (figuratively of course). I pulled up at Corbin at about 7:55 and saw no other bikes and still in a light drizzle and when I pulled up to the door.....IT OPENED!!! WOOOT!!! I pulled in and parked.

My first ride in the rain on the 1100...no better than the last time I did it....yuk. My jacket was soaked clear through and will probably take a week to dry out.

The bike is DIRTY!

A little motivation for the workers

Here is the sewing area that is right off of the area where I parked.

They have a showroom of sorts with a few bikes in there so a snapped a few shots.

This is a land speed record holder for electric motorcycles.

Outside of the building

This is the start of the custom seat pan

Mr. Corbin showed up in this thing. Apparently it is an electric car that had a short production run in the 90's and they are trying for a comeback and are having him test some new batteries for viability.

They were supposed to have the seat pan ready when I got there, but no dice, so I had to wait for half an hour for them to make it. Not a big deal really.

Further back beyond the sewing area.

OK...finally starting on my seat!!

A little glue

A little added foam

A little trimming

And shaping

Test fit to see how the butt likes it

This is how they make the patterns

Now she transfers them onto the leather

Then I went and ate breakfast and missed some of it.

So now we pick it up with the stitching

And now the installation of the cover on the foam

Attaching the cover

Awaiting final prep

A little deeper into the factory

FINISHED!!

Here is more on the custom seat pan

This pulled in while I was waiting

This is the guy....Electric Terry....Apparently the bike hods some world records for electric motorcycles/vehicles. He has added not only the cowl and faring, but extra batteries and chargers. He says it will go 300 miles on a charge and it only takes 45 minutes for a full recharge. The bike came with 9 KWH of power and now sports 21 KWH. Pretty impressive.

My guess is that it started out looking like this (his has red rims)

 

[Houtman_imp]

Very interesting ! and thanks for the pictures.
I love the Corbin seats and have the higher version coming any day now.

 

[Razor]

Randy, thanks for the details & photos. Let us know how the seat works out for you after you get a few miles on it.

 

[emptysea]

Nice peek into how the sausage is made. The extra half hour for he seat pan gave your jacket a little drying time. Hope your return trip was dry and your new seat comfortable.

 

[CIP57_imp]

Randy,

Very interesting and surprising they let you in the back of the shop. Like ES said a hope your ride home was dryer and more enjoyable. It looks like you have a few hours of clean up scheduled for today.

 

[Rocky_imp]

Excellent post. The pictures are great
I've used Corbin products in the past, but have never seen pics like you posted. Thanks for posting them.

 

[The Spaceman_imp]

And I'd thought all this time that Corbin saddles started with poured concrete. Foam? Who knew?

 

[Randy B]

And I'd thought all this time that Corbin saddles started with poured concrete. Foam? Who knew?

Ya know I might be with you on this one, but time will tell.

My immediate observations are it moves you further away from the tank fro the stock seat, by quite a bit, and that changes the riding position. I'm not sure how well this will work out for me, but time will tell. I had them add an extra piece of foam to try and minimize this (see pics), but I'm not sure if it was enough.
He had me do a quick little test ride before covering it out in the parking lot and the foam felt really nice so I went ahead and told them to cover it, but the seat feels completely different once covered......like harder....and that surprised me a bit. I'm hoping that it breaks in and loosens up.
It was a good experience though to see how they do this stuff.
And the clean up will most likely happen tomorrow because there is still a chance for rain again today, but with my luck it won't...oh well.

 

[Cormanus]

Great post. Thanks Randy. Hope the Spaceman's wrong and the seat works out for you.

 

[tintoy_imp]

And I'd thought all this time that Corbin saddles started with poured concrete. Foam? Who knew?

Quote:Ya know I might be with you on this one, but time will tell.
I have a Corbin and it took about 2 months to break in, but now it is just great.

 

[Pauley]

And I'd thought all this time that Corbin saddles started with poured concrete. Foam? Who knew?

Ya know I might be with you on this one, but time will tell.

My immediate observations are it moves you further away from the tank fro the stock seat, by quite a bit, and that changes the riding position. I'm not sure how well this will work out for me, but time will tell. I had them add an extra piece of foam to try and minimize this (see pics), but I'm not sure if it was enough.
He had me do a quick little test ride before covering it out in the parking lot and the foam felt really nice so I went ahead and told them to cover it, but the seat feels completely different once covered......like harder....and that surprised me a bit. I'm hoping that it breaks in and loosens up.
It was a good experience though to see how they do this stuff.
And the clean up will most likely happen tomorrow because there is still a chance for rain again today, but with my luck it won't...oh well.

Ya know I might be with you on this one, but time will tell.

My immediate observations are it moves you further away from the tank fro the stock seat, by quite a bit, and that changes the riding position. I'm not sure how well this will work out for me, but time will tell. I had them add an extra piece of foam to try and minimize this (see pics), but I'm not sure if it was enough.
He had me do a quick little test ride before covering it out in the parking lot and the foam felt really nice so I went ahead and told them to cover it, but the seat feels completely different once covered......like harder....and that surprised me a bit. I'm hoping that it breaks in and loosens up.
It was a good experience though to see how they do this stuff.
And the clean up will most likely happen tomorrow because there is still a chance for rain again today, but with my luck it won't...oh well.
How are you getting used to the riding position?

 

[Randy B]

I haven't ridden it all that much yet so I really can't tell you.