sore backside ?
 

Is it just me, or are the seat on ST4s's bloody hard and uncomfortable ? has anyone tried corbin seats and are they worth the money ?

I find mine very comfortable, I've done a few 10 hour days whilst touring with no problem.

I find the seat on my ST2 quite comfy for long trips but as we are all different sizes what is great for one can be literally a pain for someone else.

I have heard good things about Corbin seats and I have one that I shall fit this week, I'll let you know when I have given it a try out.

I did a 3500mile trip last year on the bike,England,Italy,Spain,England. and the only discomfort was caused by the COMFORT kit, goes to show "don't believe what the ad's say" try it out before you do a big trip.

Just got back from Catalunya.......Nice one Loris..... :sing:

The seat on my old ST4 was fine, the one on my 4s is just bloody hard, even after 2000 miles of breaking in. A note about the corbin seat would be good when you have it fitted. who supplied it, and how much was it ?

Roy (999) had a Corbin on his ST4S and loved it. I have just done 2,947 miles in the last 2 weeks on hols with Jo and I don't have any probs with comfort. Jo on the other hand had a sore butt-I have got her a gel pad to try, naturally it arrived 15 minutes after we had left so haven't tried it yet :P.

John

Finding my 4s seat getting worse with the miles, not better. Other than the Corbin (just been charged with grand fraud by the feds, btw, so not sure what'll happen to the seat business), there's a seat maker up near Coventry who's done a few friends' seats - quality of work and comfort is very good.

http://www.motorbike-seats.co.uk/

I tried one by Sargent last summer and returned it pretty soon as (unlike the Corbin seat which I think is a bit more roomy) I found I was very slightly closer to the tank that with the standard seat. Being 6ft 3 this didn't suit me.

Notwithstanding the above, the seat looked to be well made and I couldn't fault the quality. By now my a*se has got used to the standard seat.

You can double the comfort of the stock and aftermarket seats by wearing padded bicycle shorts underneath when you ride.

A VERY short post from Shazaam-but he's right you know, as usual. Considering that cycling shorts can make the plank on my mountain bike bearable think what they could do for a motorcycle saddle.:lol:

John

Difficult choice.
Sore arse or sweaty 'nads..................

I havent had any problems with either the ST2 or the ST4. My passenger doesnt either but then she keeps reminding me that she rides a horse most days which apparently toughens up the old backside!
Maybe you should try that!

Paul.

"... she rides a horse most days which apparently toughens up the old backside! Maybe you should try that!"

Oh right ... and then you'd have half the guys on this board putting thicker shoes on the back trying to tip them on their head to get 'em to corner better ... :lol:

rode one horse power once and never found the brake, well scary it was.
Give me lots of horses and i'm fine..!!

here here!
I too have ridden the four legged versions and would rather have a throttle and brake....and atleast whan you park them up you can walk behind them with gettin a boot up the arse.....well i guess you can if you stay out to long and don't tell the wife!

> Oh right ... and then you'd have half the guys on this board putting thicker shoes on the back trying to tip them on their head to get 'em to corner better ...

javascript:icon(':lol:') ROFL!! a classic response - made my day. My pillion found my 748 comfortable, so is scarcely the person to ask about the 4s seat! OTOH, she has mastered the art of graceful mount and dismount of the (iron) horse when fully loaded with luggage and panniers - left foot on LH footpeg, straighten L leg and bring right over in full highkick. Reverse to dismount. Ballet dancer...

Richard

Took a while for me work it out but thats a very good answer Shazaam!

Paul.
:lol:

Taking the topic back to seats, Ducati Performance catalogue has a very nice replacement ST seat in it. It looks very like a Corbin in style, cost is about £250 inc vat.
Oh and Shazaam, it's not the bigger shoes on the back to get it to tip in you have to worry about, it's when this lot start trying to fit a slipper clutch and carbon fibre saddle..................

John:lol:

....or they try and find the orifice for the 50mmm termis...ouch poor horse:(

Ride a supermoto / motocross and you'll know what a sore backside feels like!

I go on a few supermoto ride outs (the other bike), and it's hilarious to see the 60mph aerobic moves being performed on the fly!!!!!

At leat on the ST you don't get home sick after 30miles :devil:

I know what you mean, my others a ccm r30, but I dont expect to do more that 10 miles without a sore backside on that !!!

Ive ordered the ducati performace seat, Ron parkinsons did me a deal and Im getting it for less than £200. I'll let you know what its like once ive fitted it.

ST Seat
 

I have just ridden from Switzerland to Spain and then up through France into England on to Scotland and back home to Switzerland - seat is fine with me - 73kgs and 1.75m - so it must b down to the individuals body size and weight

Heavier the bum, harder the seat. It's your basic law of physics.:lol:

adamH -

yep, would be interesting to know what the Italian's provide for cush-comfort

I have given the Corbin seat a good try out and despite the good reports, it did not suit me, well actually my pillion complained of sliding about on the leather covering.
I thought it felt firm initially but as the miles mounted it was actually quite good, except that I felt that the seat was made for an American butt i.e more room than I needed art the front, pillion comments apart from being to smooth were very complimentary.

Anyway as I have to travel a lot on the twisty roads here in the Picos with a passenger, I will sell it, but probably not to you guys 'cos you're too far away....unless of course you want to pop down and try it out before buying. Cheers :sing:

I've found that the stock seat is reasonably comfortable for short rides when riding in my leathers but not so when riding in jeans. The reason, I concluded, is that the stock covering doesn't allow heat and moisture to pass through readily, making your butt sweat. But, it's waterproof.

I considered a gel insert of some kind but decided that it presented the same problem with body heat and moisture.

If you remove the stock covering and upholster it in leather it can be made more comfortable. Unfortunately, on longer rides, there's simply not enough foam padding to cushion bumps; so as we all know, your butt gets sore. Eventually, I was in the market for an aftermarket seat.

I bought a used Corbin leather seat off eBay for another $100. I had read warnings about Corbin's weight and relatively poor quality. All true. My Corbin had thick leather that is riveted to a very heavy fiberglass base and fitted-up poorly

For me, the shape of the foam cushion itself is very soft and comfortable, and that's the bottom line with Corbins. The leather that Corbin uses is thick and durable, but for me it was too slippery and didn't fit very well. So I decided to reupholster it.

Suede is just leather with the unfinished side up. You can buy all kinds of leather/suede that is suitable to recover your seat in any color, thickness and roughness (even perforated). Buy the leather and have a professional do it if you're not handy. All that's really needed is some contact cement and scissors. I first tried suede and found it to be too grabby which made it difficult to move around easily (it certainly prevents a passenger from sliding forward under deceleration.) Now my trousers stuck to the seat and I slide inside my trousers. A better solution, I discovered, is a very soft smooth leather.

I reupholstered my Corbin seat in black deerskin and it is ... truly, a luxury. Southern California rarely sees rain during the riding season so a waterproof seat covering isn't needed.

Perhaps try an artificial suede covering for your Corbin, Phil?

As always a good response from you Shazaam, I agree about the weight and the leather is certainly good quality and hard wearing. I did check out artificial suede when I had to remodel the seat from a Mk1 superlight to fit my 750ss, but Alcantara and cheaper alternatives were more expensive than real leather, so I had that done in black automotive quality leather with red contrast stitching.

It is softer than the Corbin leather and is not so slippery, but I can still move around OK.passengers are not a problem on the SS which is now a monoposto. The part of Spain where I live does get rain, I live between the Cantabrian Sea and the Picos de Europa, so dampness is always a possibility especially on the higher passes, maybe I could try a softer leather and see how that goes, Leather is something we are not short of here. cheers Shazaam for the input. Phil :sing:

After 6500 miles on a ST4 & 12,000 miles on a ST4S i begrudingly spent nearly £300 on a Sargent seat.

It's superb. I have done 4500 miles since fitting it with no regrets at all, big improvement over the standard seat including a longest day of 600 miles.

It is very well made and although i am the same height as daveh i have no problems (another mans meat is anothers poison etc).

I had a Corbin fitted to another bike and it was like sitting on the toilet seat locking you in one position. The Sargent alllows you to move around for enthusiastic riding whilst still remaining more comfortable. NO I AM NOT THE IMPORTER!

im still waiting
 

the DP seat still hasnt shown up !!

You see...I said in my very first post that you end up with sweaty pants...Now you've just proven my theory!!!:o;)