Corbin Seat

So I purchased a used Corbin seat on Craigslist. Payed $225.00 and it is as close to perfect as it could be. This is for my wife's Swing and we got it because she tried one out years ago and it let her put both feet on the ground. She loves it so far but it is really heavy and the stock strut will not hold it up. Has anyone found a stronger strut and maybe a little longer. The stock strut will not allow the seat to open very far either. Any and all help would be appreciated. Thanks Tom

My Corbin included a replacement strut. Even with the stronger strut the seat does not open as far as OEM. I might consider using a long 1x1 as a seat open support and eliminate the strut completely.
I'm not sure if Corbin offers a replacement strut for their seats but mine is definately heavier.

Good luck

I ordered this strut off Amazon earlier this year.  I think I had to drill out the eyelet a bit, but it works fine and is a higher weight rating than the original.   It should work for your new seat. And its pretty cheap too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PP32B2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

EvilTwin wrote:

I ordered this strut off Amazon earlier this year.  I think I had to drill out the eyelet a bit, but it works fine and is a higher weight rating than the original.   It should work for your new seat. And its pretty cheap too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PP32B2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The eyelet was a problem for me with the Corbin. I couldn't use a cotter pin.. Ended up using a very small nail.

Best solution=paint mixing stick as prop.

EvilTwin wrote:

I ordered this strut off Amazon earlier this year.  I think I had to drill out the eyelet a bit, but it works fine and is a higher weight rating than the original.   It should work for your new seat. And its pretty cheap too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PP32B2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the heads up, I just ordered one.

I'm looking for a Corbin. Anyone know of a used one not being used?

Thanks,

Pete

I found one on Craigslist is Milwaukee a few months ago.  Sadly it is no longer there.

Try searching for "Silverwing Corbin" on craigslist for the larger cities.  I haven't found a way to search all CL's nationwide.  I bring up the larger cities individually, then search.  Look for way to expand search to nearby areas.  Casts a very wide net.

Good luck!

www.searchcraigslist.org/ is your friend, though it isn't always purged of old posts

How is it compared to the stock seat for longer trips? Silly question maybe, but some time what's seems amazing for 30 minutes isn't good for 8 hours and vice versa. Next summer the wife and I are planning a trip to a metal concert in Sweden... 1,300 miles each way!

gavinfdavies wrote:

How is it compared to the stock seat for longer trips? Silly question maybe, but some time what's seems amazing for 30 minutes isn't good for 8 hours and vice versa. Next summer the wife and I are planning a trip to a metal concert in Sweden... 1,300 miles each way!

I went so far as to buy a CTX 700 because the swing seat was terrible after 45 minutes.. CTX wasn't any better but a friend advised me to drop some coin for a corbin for the silverwing

I'm glad I did.. have a backrest also... 1100 miles last week and nary a issue with my back...

I had a Corbin seat on a previous Silverwing. Very nice looking, excellent workmanship and comfortable. Unfortunately the price of them has risen since then by quite a bit. Now it costs around $800 for the seat and backrest. Too bad for $500 I'd get another one but $800 is pretty hard to justify.

"I had a Corbin seat on a previous Silverwing. Very nice looking, excellent workmanship and comfortable ... Now it costs around $800 for the seat and backrest. Too bad for $500 I'd get another one but $800 is pretty hard to justify."

Agree on all counts. Plus add tax and if memory serves, they hit you for $65 shipping. That's approaching $1,000.00.

On the other hand, I wouldn't own a Wing without one. The stock seat is uncomfortable and it only provides proper legroom if the buttrest is removed (I like to stretch out). Happily, I have a '12 Silver Wing with 8k miles that I plan on riding for years.

You get what you pay for. I believe it's worth it.

It's interesting reading about Corbin seats and that some members consider them essential, and it seems to be almost entirely an American thing too, as I've never seen a UK or European Silver Wing fitted with one before and after my eight years on one.

The prohibitive of cost of importing one may be the reason, more likely it's that Silver Wings are just like any other scooter, a means of transport, and in a lot of European cities they're likely to be parked up outside in all weathers, all year round.

Corbin Europe is in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Here's the Silver Wing page on their website with online custom design ....

https://www.corbin-europe.com/dual-saddle-for-honda-silverwing.html

Still expensive in any language at 682 Euros (plus backrest ... tax ... fees for Prince Andrew's Royal Underage Ladies Defence Fund, etc).

$800 seat on $2000 used scooter, does not make sense in my book. Standard SilverWing seat just fine in my experience...over 90,000 mile on 2 new SilverWings----think the people who complain most about seats, ride the least!

Delray wrote:

Corbin Europe is in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Here's the Silver Wing page on their website with online custom design ....

https://www.corbin-europe.com/dual-saddle-for-honda-silverwing.html

Still expensive in any language at 682 Euros (plus backrest ... tax ... fees for Prince Andrew's Royal Underage Ladies Defence Fund, etc).

Yes I've looked at the page, although I've no need for one. I stopped using a Airhawk seat cushion years ago simply because it was completely unnecessary. In fact even earlier when I had a 650 Burgman with a much firmer seat than the Silver Wing.

Personally, if I was looking for a used Silver Wing or any other maxi scooter, items like a garish custom seat and an aftermarket exhaust with a big logo stamped on it would put me off. That's just me, I like a scooter to look like they're more or less bog standard.

The Corbin seat I had on a previous Silver Wing was very discreet with a very small logo. I tend to put useful, not flashy aftermarket stuff on my bikes and never had a buyer complaining, most liked what ever I'd done to the bikes. My big mistake was to sell the scooter without putting the original seat back on it and keeping the Corbin. But then I wasn't planning on getting another Silver Wing at that time.

"The Corbin seat I had on a previous Silver Wing was very discreet with a very small logo ... My big mistake was to sell the scooter without putting the original seat back on it and keeping the Corbin."

Agree. I had Corbin put a black logo on black matte side panel so it's essentially invisible. Also had them eliminate the cheesy scooter artwork that's part of their scooter logo (I work in advertising and have certain standards). I have my stock seat stored in case in case I part with the bike. I'd either put it on a new Wing or sell it -- much easier to find a buyer for that than a stock seat.

"Personally, if I was looking for a used Silver Wing or any other maxi scooter, items like a garish custom seat and an aftermarket exhaust with a big logo stamped on it would put me off.

Agree. No matter the performance of an Akrapovic exhaust, there is no universe in which I would ride with their oversized, garish logo visible.

Don't know if you have Corbin in mind when you say "garish custom seat," but I think their designs are clean and stylish (mostly). That aside, it's really about spine support and comfort. Like the Mississippi Delta's own Howlin' Wolf sang, "I'm built for comfort, baby I ain't built for speed."

When I purchased my first Swing, I didn't know anything about the Corbin seat. My used 2002 Swing came with a Corbin seat. I felt the seat was too hard and didn't like it. When I got a new crated 2013 Swing, I liked the OEM seat so much that I sold my 2002 Swing with the Corbin seat. I think that it was more that I didn't have any meat on my butt and it caused my cheek bones to hurt after a short ride. I did use an Air Hawk seat cushion when the wife and I rode 1100 miles up into Canada and back to Idaho this past July on my 2004 Swing with the OEM seat.

"My used 2002 Swing came with a Corbin seat. I felt the seat was too hard and didn't like it."

My first experience with a Corbin seat was on my 2013 Burgman. The red seat on the white bike for sale outside the dealer's front door stopped me in my tracks. It was gorgeous. When I sat on it, I told the sales guy, "It feels like a wooden park bench." Really hard. He explained that Corbin seats have more padding made of more resilient material.

So while the padding on a stock seat starts to sag after a few hours (which reduces support for your spine), the Corbin stays firm with full support. That's what your spine wants. After three Corbin seats and hours of riding, I've never felt sore once (other than the normal, stiff, 65-year old guy sitting in the same position for hours kind of sore).

The sales guy also told me, "the longer you ride, the more comfortable it is." Apparently, like Birkenstocks (which I'm also loyal to), the padding molds to your butt.

The sales guy told me the truth.

I think the whole seat complaints thing about SilverWing and other maxi scooters is caused by the feet forward riding position and the direct loading it places on your spine. As I have done over 400,000 miles on these things, I find best way to stay all day comfortable is: every 50 miles or one hour, whichever comes first, stop/get off bike/walk around a little=keeps you comfortable all day long.



Another thing on custom seats....they usually have needle marks on the top surface=really great places for water to seep in. After seat is wet, every time your sit result is wet butt!.

"I find best way to stay all day comfortable is: every 50 miles or one hour, whichever comes first, stop/get off bike/walk around a little"

I always do this when riding for multiple hours. Keeps me sharp, like every time I start out again it's a fresh ride. You obviously don't want to be daydreaming or losing focus on two wheels.

I marvel at riders who do 70+ mph on interstates for hours. I never feel like the Wing has enough heft for that. On the other hand, I like doing 65 or 70 on long, empty stretches of US-1. That's because I can stop on a dime if I need to. I always ride with three fingers curled over the left brake grip. I love that feature (linked brakes on the left grip). It's endlessly reassuring.

It's not the speed that bothers me. It's the lack of freedom to slow down or even stop if I feel uncomfortable ... buffeting winds ... rain ... heavy traffic and aggressive drivers ... or, sometimes, just feeling mildly freaked out that I am hurtling over concrete at 70 mph with nothing between me and the hard ground but air.

It depends on what you're riding. Two friends and I rode our Goldwings from Medford, OR to Calhoun Georgia for a Goldwing gathering. It took us four days without feeling like we were pushing hard. That's an average of 600+ miles per day. On the way back we took a more indirect route along the Southern coast riding further and stopping here and there, that run took about six days.

I rode from Stockton, CA to Tacoma WA one nasty, windy and rainy day. That's about 780 miles. I was going to stop halfway but the next day was supposed to be as bad, and I was riding comfortably in my rain gear so I just kept on.

I like riding on the Silverwing and liked the BMW 650 scooter as well. I don't mind highway riding but I'm not going ride 500 miles in a day on one. Part of that is increasing age but there's a BIG difference riding a 900lb, six cylinder Goldwing with an engine that's nearly silent and doesn't vibrate at all. Electronic cruise helped too.

"there's a BIG difference riding a 900lb, six cylinder Goldwing with an engine that's nearly silent and doesn't vibrate at all."

I'm hip. That would make long interstate rides a lot more palatable. When Honda introduced the Gold Wing with DCT, I went to look at it. It's a dream machine. Although it can't touch the Silver Wing for boppin' around town, which is most of my riding.

The one thing I didn't like about the Gold Wing was not being able to stretch out your legs. That would seem especially uncomfortable on the long trips the machine is designed for. The sales guy explained the engine was too wide for floorboards, but I could add foot pegs. I'm spending $25k for a long distance bike and I have to pay for foot pegs? Insane.

I like the scooter much better for short rides and around town. On the Goldwings I've owned, which is all the models except the DCT I did put rider's pegs forward on the crash bar. It's indeed the width of that opposed engine that keeps the foot position too close. It's difficult to put a six cylinder engine on a bike any other way without the bike becoming too long. After enough time on a Goldwing one begins to walk like a Texan.

Maybe the seat had already molded to the original owner. For me, it was very uncomfortable. Rode it for two years to and from work. Maybe the OEM seat was built for Japanese riders like me, cause I really like the OEM seat. Just my 2¢.