Anyone repad a Corbin seat?

[canuguzzi]

I have two of them, both a seriously hard. They are in good shape but after 10 minutes I wish I had taken the Norge with its gel seat instead.

What foam did you use to soften it up? I can sit on the Norge all day and never become uncomfortable, the two Corbins are just rocks.

[PJPR01]

How old are those seats Pilot?  I've got almost 5 years now on my Corbin for the NOrge and still very good.

I do massage leather cleaner into it by hand every 6 months...self absorbing type of cleaner, in fact, the same one I use on the seats for the Rover...the seat is still nice and soft.

Are you having trouble with the outside leather or the actual padding itself?

One way around it to make it even more comfortable, I have recently installed a King of Fleece rain cover, and put a sheepskin under that...even more plush for all day riding than the plain Corbin.

[canuguzzi]

The leather is good, not super soft but supple. I tend to sit forward on my seats, the one that bothers me most is a Gunfighter, thing is like a block of granite but doesn't seem compressed.

It could be as old as the bike , a 1991 but I have no idea how old the seat really is. The other is a 1986 again, no idea how old the seat really is.

[Arizona Wayne]

Corbin seats aren't made to be soft like other seats.  The foam they use is sprayed on and then carved to shape, then covered.  The idea of the Corbin design is spreading your body weight out to more parts of your seat for comfort.   I have 2 Corbins over 15 years old and I can still ride all day on them.

[kingoffleece]

I've dealt with dozens of Corbin owners.  it's love or hate-almost zero in between.
Try an Airhawk on it.  We can also rebuild the guts on Corbin seats.
KoF

[Rallo]

An AirHawk seat pad may work really well with the flat firmness of the Corbin. 

[canuguzzi]

I've dealt with dozens of Corbin owners.  it's love or hate-almost zero in between.
Try an Airhawk on it.  We can also rebuild the guts on Corbin seats.
KoF

I'll keep that in mind. I think a restuff is the solution, I tried an Air Hawk on the Norge and just couldn't get comfortable on it. I tried various pressures including where there is just enough air to hold shape but it just wasn't for me.

The Corbin cover is so nice it's worth a rebuild otherwise I'd sell it off.

[Waltr]

I love the Corbin I have on the Norge.  It is a heated seat and could possibly be that having the heat element allowed the seat to contour better.  The first ride was horrible but soon broke in to fit, or maybe I did.   

[twowings]

I've dealt with dozens of Corbin owners.  it's love or hate-almost zero in between.
Try an Airhawk on it.  We can also rebuild the guts on Corbin seats.
KoF

Can you work your Norge seat magic on a Corbin base?  I liked that seat you posted a while back....

[kingoffleece]

Yes, but it will look the same from the outside.
The cover gets removed, the magic happens inside, and the cover is reinstalled.

Corbins are expensive to work on, though, as the rivets need to all be drilled out.

KoF

[tpeever]

What about a Beadrider? Spread your weight around a bit more.

[canuguzzi]

Yes, but it will look the same from the outside.
The cover gets removed, the magic happens inside, and the cover is reinstalled.

Corbins are expensive to work on, though, as the rivets need to all be drilled out.

KoF

Sure enough, lots of rivets. They are aluminum though, I got one of them out  with a good bit.

It has that comfort cell foam, I guess I'm just not heavy enough to compress it. The rear shock s set n the middle range and I can tell it's working. Maybe I need to put on a few pounds.

[krglorioso]

The new Corbin "CalVin" dual seat on my 03 Stone Touring is typically hard, but I fitted an Alaska Leather sheepskin pad to the rider's seat and it works fine.   Personally, I much prefer a seat a bit too firm than a bit too soft, and Corbin does get the shape right.  I don't weigh much--136#--and it may be years before the "Comfort Cell" foam adapts to my bony protuberances.  Also, in hot weather the sheepskin is very nice.

Ralph

[kingoffleece]

To hard usually better than to soft.
Corbin foam is closed cell foam.  It doesn't break in.  Over time the cell walls rupture and it starts to conform.  It's one way to do it.
A lot of us prefer open cell.

IMO that's the reason it's such a love/hate thing with their stuff.  It's well made and if the shape happens to line up with the owners' anatomy it's a good fit.  If not, well, I ship covers all over the world to custom seat owners and the feedback I get is 50/50 love it or sell it.

[rbm]

I have a Corbin on the BMW and had it recovered as part of my restoration project.  The foam Corbin uses is a closed cell polyurethane that is sprayed into a form to give the seat its shape.  I had the upholsterer use a 1/4" smoothing foam between the seat and cover, and that has tamed the rigidity of the seat.  Also, I used real leather as the covering which may also have contributed to the improvement in comfort.  I find my Corbin comfortable when riding for long periods, but its width at the nose makes putting both feet down at a stop somewhat of a stretch.  This could be a BMW motorcycle issue though.
Before reupholstering:

After reupholstering:

[kingoffleece]

Wonderful work there.

I really like all leather seats.  They look so "correct".  Just be sure to protect it from the rain.  No matter what is done to the leather the stitching can be a point of water entry.