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Seat Options

SethInIllinois

SethInIllinois

Member
Member
I'm feeling a bit like Goldilocks, and curious about seat options. My bike came with a later-model (~2002-2005) Corbin, which looks really nice, but is as hard as a wooden church pew. It's honestly not bad for a couple hours, but starts getting old after that. I picked up a mint-condition stock 94-up seat, which I recently tried out, but it's as soft as a soggy marshmallow, and I feel like I'm sinking into mush. The seats on all my past bikes (and current 600) are somewhere in between, and that's really what I'd like. I have an early (probably 1990-ish) Corbin for my ZX600-C, and that's really more my liking. It's firm, but not as stiff as a board.

What are some middle-ground seat options? Are the older Corbins softer, more like the one I have for my 600? They definitely changed the shape at some point, as the one that came with my Connie has a rider's butt cup that's 2" longer than stock with a relatively flat pillion, vs photos I've seen of older ones that appear to match the shape of the 94-up OEM seat more (except for the soft foam, the 94-up Kawasaki seat sure looks like a rip-off of the older Corbins, including the one for my 600).

I really only do one multi-day long-distance trip a year, so I don't need ultimate RDL kind of comfort, but some kind of middle ground between squashy and rock-hard would be nice. Should I look for an older Corbin? What are the Sargents like?

BTW, I did just buy a nice Alaska Leather sheepskin that fits the rider cup of my Corbin beautifully, but I haven't had a chance to ride it yet.

PS, I haven't weighed them, but the Corbin has got to add something like 5-10lbs to the bike. The OEM seat feels like a feather in comparison.
 
Figured I'd give this a bump in case anyone has been bored this fall and has some thoughts.

Anyone got an easy seat alternative somewhere between the squishy marshmallow stock seat and the wooden chair Corbin?
 
I have an older model Corbin on my C-10.
It's firm but not as hard as the one you have.
** (I had 1 (newer design) on my other C-10. IT was hard/like the one on your bike and I got rid of it)

The older style can occasionally be found on Ebay, but finding one in usable condition is rare..

Ride safe, Ted

Here is one that appears to be the older style.
Note that this one is vinyl and mine is leather covered.

www.ebay.com

1986 86-92 Kawasaki ZG1000 Concours Corbin Double Seat Front Rear Backrest Pad | eBay

OFFICE USE: LTR-DH 86KAWIZG1000-501401. ITEM MUST BE FULLY INSPECTED AND YOU MUST TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY/Liability before installation.
www.ebay.com

Ride safe, Ted
 
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My wife won an Airhawk seat pad at the national rally. It helps my stock 06 seat tremendously.
Maybe your Corbin with an air hawk might work out for ya.
 
Thanks for the wisdom, guys. I really need to get to a meet-up where other folks have some seats they would let me try out in person.

I've been interested to try an older-style Corbin. I have one for my ZX600-C, and it's definitely softer and a better compromise than the new style one on my Connie now.

I did get an airhawk last summer and tried it out a little, but haven't gotten used to it. The corbin is a solid base for it, so I may continue experimenting with it and bring it on long trips for something different to swap out.

I got an Alaska Leather shorn sheepskin pad that I've been trying lately on the Corbin. It doesn't make it much softer, but it does cut down on the sweaty butt feeling, so it is an improvement. I'm currently experimenting with some 1" upholstery foam under the sheepskin. I have some 44IDL foam now, which still seems too soft (it squishes down almost fully with my butt on it), so I think I may try some stiffer foam and see how that goes.

I know the best answer is a custom saddle (RDL or the like), but I can't bring myself to spend that much (yet, anyway).
 
Try a thermarest seat cushion under the fleece. They operate like the self inflating sleep pads and can be adjusted on the fly.

I used that combo quite successfully on both my ZG1200 Voyager Corbin and C10 corbin. The C10 seat was replaced with a RDL quite some time ago.

If you try the other Corbin model with the inevitable cracking due to age you could do what one of the guys here did. He put an aftermarket seat cover designed for the OEM 2nd generation seat over his Corbin and it looked good. Can't remember who at the moment.
 
I really like my AirHawk cushions. Don’t overinflate it, use just a tiny bit of air. You can let it out while you sit on it if you feel like you’re sitting on a beach ball.
 
Seth, the 86-93 OE seat is more firm than the later one; it's also flatter, which sums people prefer that shape.
They're out there. That might be the sweet spot.
 
Ted's listing from Ebay was almost exactly what I used as changed from stock on an 87, I did not spring for the backrest because mine came with factory backrest and rack. The Ebay price seems stiff, but I priced a new Corbin at $660 sans backrest today.

I gave about $220 in 1990, and never regretted it. I drove it over 90K miles 1993-2003. Daily commutes were 20-30 minutes, but I did one-ups for about five hours, and two-ups for up to three hours. Wife never complained, it was just us spending time looking at stuff. Max duel trips were 6-7 hours a day. We might have been younger and had more muscle than fat on our asses, but I would back that seat as a worthy purchase right now.

Kawasaki has changed the seat vinyls over the years; but the pans all work on a C-10 from 1997 to 2006 ---RIGHT??? My new to me 2004 has factory seat with more foam than I have legs, and that Corbin is shorter on foam. I can deal with the church pew concept to gain height on my legs, but I need to know if my assumption on the pans is correct.

My latches on my 2004 must match the pan, whether on an old flatter Kaw seat or the Corbins.

Anybody got advice?

I missed out on checking Ted's example in WV due to my kid's school schedule and Dorm move-in.

Schep
 
This looks like an original Corbin seat that's been recovered (and needs a new cover again). If the foam isn't destroyed underneath, that might be an affordable one to start with. https://www.ebay.com/itm/296034414255 What do ye think?

Although the Corbin fiberglass pan is a HEAVY beast. I kind of feel bad adding more weight to the top of this bike, lol. That makes me intrigued to try customizing a stock pan with some stiffer foam.

I wonder if there's a good way to secure the cover without staples so it's easy to make adjustments to the foam while experimenting?
 
You are correct Seth.

Sadly the other way is to have several pans, a buddy that knows foam and shaping, and play experiments. This way you can truly build test seats to fit ass and legs -- a bit of an overkill.

I worked at a place where Industrial Design students routinely had to build and argue why their office chairs were a superior model.

I got lucky and found my original 1987 seat with pan. But when I bought the now lost Corbin, I realized the u-hooks that bolt to the pan want with the old (now VERY gone) bike.

Now if I want to test my different seat designs, I need more of those Kawasaki bolt on U-clamps.

Murph set up a limited new production of front bars; I doubt he wants to copy and sell those pan clamps. How do we find them for my idea?

If my butt sits lower to the ground, I will deal with the extra pan weight of even my old Corbin. I was taller 23 years ago.
 
Seth;
For $28 and shipping, it would be an ideal way to experiment with seat design.
Additionally, the foam under this seat may be the same foam that is in our older Corbin model seats.
So it may be exactly the firmness you want.
Note that it has the rear mounting brackets on it.
On the seat you're looking at, the material was attached to the seat pan with screws.
(You wouldn't want to do it to many times) but for experimentation this seems an option to attach the material.

nshep; the only way to get those mounting brackets is to buy another seat or C-10, or find someone in the club willing to sale one.
 
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