CORBIN SEAT FACTORY - Hollister, CA

Took a drive from Sacramento to the CORBIN Seat Factory in Hollister, CA yesterday. All I can say is WOW, VERY impressive. Two of my riding buddies had ride in appointments where CORBIN will custom fit a seat for your bike and will trim it to the shape of your rear/to your liking. The seat gets put on your bike with no leather cover on it, just the foam. You take the bike for a spin and come back and let the Corbin Techs know where they need to trim or add foam for your comfort. They will do this all day long until you are satisfied. Once you are happy, the seat does get covered with your choice of leather or whatever.
My buddies (R1200RT and K1200S) had a seat as well as a "Smuggler box" installed. The smuggler is a fiberglass piece which is installed instead of the rear/passenger bench and functions as a storage compartment, similar to a glove box in a car.Unfortunately they do not produce those for my bike, R1150RT, but I was very impressed with the look as well as functionality of this product.
If you have the chance to make a "Ride in appointment" with Corbin, I would highly recommend it as the price for the custom fitted seat is identical as if you would buy it on line.
Check out the smuggler box as well, I tink you will like it.

Like Jochen states, getting a seat made at the Hollister facility is not only a great experience, it's fun as well! After your personal seat maker gets all the details dialed in, you're free to wander their very impressive showroom full of bikes that all have custom saddles and sit in a couple of Corbin's three-wheel motorcycles. And don't forget their excellent cafe'! :eat

I've had two saddles made there for my GS's and I've even dropped in for a bite to eat and visit with the staff - they're a very friend bunch of craftsmen! You can also take a self-guided tour of the production floor, just follow the blue footprints! :dance

[QUOTE=JochenWoern;573277]Took a drive from Sacramento to the CORBIN Seat Factory in Hollister, CA yesterday. All I can say is WOW, VERY impressive. Two of my riding buddies had ride in appointments where CORBIN will custom fit a seat for your bike and will trim it to the shape of your rear/to your liking. The seat gets put on your bike with no leather cover on it, just the foam. You take the bike for a spin and come back and let the Corbin Techs know where they need to trim or add foam for your comfort. They will do this all day long until you are satisfied. Once you are happy, the seat does get covered with your choice of leather or whatever.
My buddies (R1200RT and K1200S) had a seat as well as a "Smuggler box" installed. The smuggler is a fiberglass piece which is installed instead of the rear/passenger bench and functions as a storage compartment, similar to a glove box in a car.Unfortunately they do not produce those for my bike, R1150RT, but I was very impressed with the look as well as functionality of this product.
If you have the chance to make a "Ride in appointment" with Corbin, I would highly recommend it as the price for the custom fitted seat is identical as if you would buy it on line.
Check out the smuggler box as well, I tink you will like it.[/QUOTE]Does the smuggle only work with a Corbin Driver's seat? I thought I read that on their site somewhere.

[QUOTE=bobnmona;573842]Like Jochen states, getting a seat made at the Hollister facility is not only a great experience, it's fun as well! After your personal seat maker gets all the details dialed in, you're free to wander their very impressive showroom full of bikes that all have custom saddles and sit in a couple of Corbin's three-wheel motorcycles. And don't forget their excellent cafe'! :eat

I've had two saddles made there for my GS's and I've even dropped in for a bite to eat and visit with the staff - they're a very friend bunch of craftsmen! You can also take a self-guided tour of the production floor, just follow the blue footprints! :dance[/QUOTE]

You know, that doesn't come through when you're doing business by phone. In my experience, Corbin didn't care diddly after the sale. I cobbled together something to make the seat fit, but Corbin offered no advice or input. It's an OK seat, but rides too low and offers no adjustment. I wish I had spent the extra $100 and bought the Sargent product.

[QUOTE=36654;575173]You know, that doesn't come through when you're doing business by phone. In my experience, Corbin didn't care diddly after the sale. I cobbled together something to make the seat fit, but Corbin offered no advice or input. It's an OK seat, but rides too low and offers no adjustment. I wish I had spent the extra $100 and bought the Sargent product.[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry that your experience ended like that. I've never seen that side of Corbin's, but I've never dealt with them on the phone. Which perhaps brings me to a point that it's better to get the saddle fitted and made at the shop. I know it's not something everyone can do, since there aren't motorcycle seat shops in every town, but I couldn't guarantee that I would have had anything close to the experiences I did if I did it all by phone. A seat is a lot like a custom tailored suit... you get a better fit when you're part of the process of making it.

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I have a Smuggler's Trunk on my R12RT and love it.[/FONT]

my experiances with corbin were more like 36654's after buying 6 seats from them and having to have 3 recovered by local upholsterers because of the rain and sun rotting (not fixable by corbin without paying full price of new seat) then my last set just didn't fit (vtr1000) I took it to the Daytona shop and they refused to fix it so I've been using Sargent ever since.

[QUOTE=bobnmona;575302]I'm sorry that your experience ended like that. I've never seen that side of Corbin's, but I've never dealt with them on the phone. Which perhaps brings me to a point that it's better to get the saddle fitted and made at the shop. I know it's not something everyone can do, since there aren't motorcycle seat shops in every town, but I couldn't guarantee that I would have had anything close to the experiences I did if I did it all by phone. A seat is a lot like a custom tailored suit... you get a better fit when you're part of the process of making it.[/QUOTE]

In the way back machine......I dealt with Corbin in 1987 for a dual canyon seat for my 1986 K75c and was well pleased. The product fit the bike, the cover wore like iron (the old basket weave vinyl, similar to mid 70's VW Beetle upholstery) and my rear end was happy on long rides. So, I do know that Corbin can do good work.

[QUOTE=36654;575173]You know, that doesn't come through when you're doing business by phone. In my experience, Corbin didn't care diddly after the sale. I cobbled together something to make the seat fit, but Corbin offered no advice or input. It's an OK seat, but rides too low and offers no adjustment. I wish I had spent the extra $100 and bought the Sargent product.[/QUOTE]

I'll bet you were dealing with the Florida store.

While there SHOULD not be a difference and there is NO excuse for their attitude, the California Factory is an entirely different experience.

HexST's comments also support this. The Florida facility is basically a STORE. They do very little work there. All the seats are built in Ca. I'm not even sure if they do repair there.

The California factory will recover for less than half the cost of a new seat with ANY material or color that they have. Had an old ebay torn vinyl black Dual Canyon recovered in real leather with red piping and the motorsport slashes for $175 WHILE I WAITED on a Saturday morning. Two months later, they readjusted the foam on it for FREE WHILE I WAITED.

The workers and the atmosphere when visiting the factory is the FRIENDLIEST that I have ever experienced at a large business. Go wherever you want in the factory unescorted. Stop any worker in the middle of their task and they will explain the processes. Watch the seamstresses sew YOUR seat. AND a free meal in their own 50s style diner if you're having a seat done.

And this isn't just for the customers. The first time I went to the factory, I just did it as a place to ride to. I toured the factory and the lobby with around 30 really cool bikes and bought lunch. It's a great place to stop!

Sorry to hear your experiences with the Florida store was bad. I'm not even sure Mike (Corbin)owns that one . It might be some kind of franchise thing. I've met and talked to Mike at the Ca factory and can't imagine he would tolerate that kind of piss poor service from some one representing him. You might want to write him a letter AT THE CALIFORNIA address describing your experiences.:deal You never know what might come of it. At the least it might give the Florida store a wake up call.

My wife and I LOVE our CORBINS!:heart:heart



:dance:dance:dance

[QUOTE=AKBeemer;575304][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I have a Smuggler's Trunk on my R12RT and love it.[/FONT][/QUOTE]do you have a Corbin seat or does it work behind the stock BMW Driver's Seat?

In the past couple of weeks I just bought a Corbin seat for my R1100r online from Corbin. Had a couple of phone calls back & forth to make sure everythng was OK prior to the order being finalized. Everything went well and I had no issues.

I've only ridden a couple of hundred miles on the seat but already it is much better than the stock. Mine is leather covered.

One interesting side effect. I had bar backs on the bike and had lowered the pegs. I've since removed the bar backs and am probably going to remove the lowering kit. With the new seat I don't need the barbacks any longer and it is my view that I probably won't need the lower pegs. The reason is the Corbin seat. Its much better shaped and keeps your weight further back, supports your thighs more so I don't think I'll need the lower pegs.

I'm not a big fan of their products, I did have three different Corbin seats, two made at the Hollister shop. The ride in experience is a one of a kind experience. They really make you feel like a king, service is top notch. None of that changes the fact for me the seats were very heavy and poor fitting, regarding rubbing on parts of the body work etc.

Why did I do it twice? At the time, only Corbin offered a removable back rest.