New seat for a MkIII. Corbin Gunfighter or...........?

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I almost ordered a Corbin Gunfighter yesterday until I saw the measurements of them. 12" wide by 17" long. 12" in width seems pretty wide to me. I don't think all the extra food I ate at X-mas will even help me fit onto that thing.

Are there any other options for different than standard seating for a MkIII? I don't think I can afford a custom option right now, but those Evan Wilcox alloy seats at $750 - $900 are really working for me although they don't look very comfortable for long rides.

Anyone know of a Manx style seat that fits a 76 Commando?
 
Coco said:
I almost ordered a Corbin Gunfighter yesterday until I saw the measurements of them. 12" wide by 17" long. 12" in width seems pretty wide to me. I don't think all the extra food I ate at X-mas will even help me fit onto that thing.

Are there any other options for different than standard seating for a MkIII? I don't think I can afford a custom option right now, but those Evan Wilcox alloy seats at $750 - $900 are really working for me although they don't look very comfortable for long rides.

Anyone know of a Manx style seat that fits a 76 Commando?

I find the Corbin seat very comfortable but it is pretty wide at the back. Some people find the Corbins too hard. You need to take seat width into consideration in terms of height of the bike relative to the length of your legs. For reference, I am 6 feet 1 inch and have a 32 inch inseam. When my feet are down, only the balls of my feet are completely on the ground. I can't remember for sure, but I think I had more of my feet on the ground with the standard seat. So depending on your height and inseam, the Corbin may be a litle tall. If you really like the Corbin, you could lower the frame like CNW does for some of their bikes.
 
tpeever said:
For reference, I am 6 feet 1 inch and have a 32 inch inseam. When my feet are down, only the balls of my feet are completely on the ground. I can't remember for sure, but I think I had more of my feet on the ground with the standard seat. So depending on your height and inseam, the Corbin may be a litle tall. If you really like the Corbin, you could lower the frame like CNW does for some of their bikes.

I don't think the hardness of the Corbin would bother me but the height and width would as I am only 5 foot 9 so that might be too much as I can just put the balls of my feet on the ground now with the stock seat.

I looked into lowering but it is an expensive and intensive process so I canned that idea. I might just have to go with a seat from Evan Wilcox, if I could only get a hold of him. :cry:
 
Corbin

I think the corbin seat was one of the best things I have done for my Commando. You feel that you are part of the bike rather than sitting on it.

It is pretty easy to switch seats every now and then if you need a change.

Regards,

Jerry
 
Re: Corbin

Jerry Doe said:
It is pretty easy to switch seats every now and then if you need a change.

Regards,

Jerry

True, but due to the $500 CDN price tag of a Corbin and around $600 - $950 CDN or so for the Evan Wilcox (depending upon which one) I only want to do this once.

I was all hot and heavy on buying the Corbin but I think the 12" width will be a problem. The stock seat at 10" in it's widest area is plenty wide already.
 
Re: Corbin

tpeever said:
My Corbin was only around 300 US

Up here they are $350 US plus shipping and exchange so more like $530 CDN up here by the time it is all said and done.

Tobin, does the Gunfighter sit you lower than the standard seat? It looks like it would drop your body down a few inches over the stock seat, as the Gunfighter appears to be cut away. It is hard to judge just by looking at pictures on the internet.
 
How hard is it to mount that Corbin to a MKIII anyway? I believe something has to be done (modify or remove) to the seat hinge mechanism to be able to mount it, correct?
 
Re: Corbin

Coco said:
tpeever said:
My Corbin was only around 300 US

Up here they are $350 US plus shipping and exchange so more like $530 CDN up here by the time it is all said and done.

Tobin, does the Gunfighter sit you lower than the standard seat? It looks like it would drop your body down a few inches over the stock seat, as the Gunfighter appears to be cut away. It is hard to judge just by looking at pictures on the internet.

It might be a bit lower but remember that it is significantly firmer than the stock seat so I am not sure what height your butt would be at on both seats. As someone else mentioned, the Corbin makes you feel like you are part of the bike rather than perched on top of it and I agree. I really like the Corbin a lot but haven't had it all that long yet. Maybe 1000 miles of driving.

Are there other folks your height on this forum with Corbins? You said you were 5 feet 9 inches tall correct? I am 6 feet 1 inch and do not have a problem touching down with the Corbin.

Do you want me to take some measurements of seat height for you? I know it is tough to visualize the height, width etc. without actually having one on the bike. Let me know.
 
Coco said:
How hard is it to mount that Corbin to a MKIII anyway? I believe something has to be done (modify or remove) to the seat hinge mechanism to be able to mount it, correct?

Not sure if seat mounting is different for a MkIII but mounting on my MkIIa was very easy and slick. Very minimal modification and I think the original seat will go back on with the Corbin adaptor still attached. Never tried it!! My MkIIa seat didn't have any hinges. Just the tabs off the seat pan that sit under the alloy knobs attached to the rear frame loop. Corbin sent all the mounting hardware with the seat and mine mounted flawlessly.
 
All you should need to do is unbolt the seat hinge from the frame. The Corbin mounts to the shock mounts like the earlier models.
 
Re: Corbin

tpeever said:
Coco said:
tpeever said:
My Corbin was only around 300 US

Up here they are $350 US plus shipping and exchange so more like $530 CDN up here by the time it is all said and done.

Tobin, does the Gunfighter sit you lower than the standard seat? It looks like it would drop your body down a few inches over the stock seat, as the Gunfighter appears to be cut away. It is hard to judge just by looking at pictures on the internet.

It might be a bit lower but remember that it is significantly firmer than the stock seat so I am not sure what height your butt would be at on both seats. As someone else mentioned, the Corbin makes you feel like you are part of the bike rather than perched on top of it and I agree. I really like the Corbin a lot but haven't had it all that long yet. Maybe 1000 miles of driving.

Are there other folks your height on this forum with Corbins? You said you were 5 feet 9 inches tall correct? I am 6 feet 1 inch and do not have a problem touching down with the Corbin.

Do you want me to take some measurements of seat height for you? I know it is tough to visualize the height, width etc. without actually having one on the bike. Let me know.

I know the stock seat is pretty firm and does not even give under my weight so I have no problems with ride height right now. My forks and rear shocks hardly compress as well under my weight but that will change once the new shocks are on the back and I rebuild my forks completely and put in the new springs.

A quick seat height measurement would be very appreciated Tobin, so thanks. Don't go out of your way or anything but a quick measurement fro the lowest point on the seat (or actual seating area) to the ground would be excellent. Thank you for the offer.
 
Re: Corbin

Coco: I still owe you some seat height measurements and haven't forgotten about. Sorry it's taken me so long. Should get them to you after this weekend.

Tobin
 
Thank you Tobin. Like I said, don't go out of your way as I'm in no rush. I'm still trying to get ahold of Evan Wilcox as he makes some nice aluminum solo seats as well. That fellow is hard to track down as e-mails get bounced back to me and no one ever answers the phone for the number he has listed on his web site.
 
For what it's worth, I just received an email from British Bike Connection and they are offering a 15% discount on all Corbin seats purchased throough them...not bad! Try <www.britishbikeconnection.com>

Best,

Frank
 
Coco said:
I almost ordered a Corbin Gunfighter yesterday until I saw the measurements of them. 12" wide by 17" long. 12" in width seems pretty wide to me. I don't think all the extra food I ate at X-mas will even help me fit onto that thing.

Are there any other options for different than standard seating for a MkIII? I don't think I can afford a custom option right now, but those Evan Wilcox alloy seats at $750 - $900 are really working for me although they don't look very comfortable for long rides.

Anyone know of a Manx style seat that fits a 76 Commando?

Coco: Finally measured up my Corbin seat for you. Sorry it took so long. Seat height is 33 inches at the front sloping back to 31 inches in the middle/rear of the seat and the seat is 11.5 inches wide at the widest point. These measurements were taken on a 74 Commando with 19 inch stock Dunlop chrome wheels and Dunlop K81 tires front and back. As others have mentioned, these seats are quite firm but very comfortable (very ergonomic) and you don't feel perched on top of the bike. Hope this helps.
 
I recall seeing an Interstate version of the Corbin gunfighter seat, but I cannot see any reference to this on the Corbin site. Does anyone know if such a seat exists, or am I making things up again?
 
They do (or did) exist and look something like this.
New seat for a MkIII. Corbin Gunfighter or...........?

Not sure how it works now but when i bought they were only available from Dougs Nortons (Doug Macadam ex CNW, sorry if i have misspelt his surname again) But i think i read somewhere a while back that he was not continuing with them?
 
Lovely Norton!
I found a phone number for Doug's Nortons, will call today, thanks.
 
Well I have decided not to go with the Corbin. I think it will be too wide for my liking since It is wider than stock, and the stock seat is almost too wide but not bad.

I finally got a hold of Evan Wilcox so I'm getting a custom, one-off solo type aluminum one made. Life is good.
 
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