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Seats: Corbin vs Sargent, Leather vs Vinyl

29K views 46 replies 26 participants last post by  TripleKing 
#1 ·
I've decided to upgrade the seat on the '15 V650 LT. Engine vibration at highway speeds is the main complaint, along with too much pressure on the private parts due to both the forward lean and the shape of the seat. I think getting some of the pressure off of the midline will probably reduce the amount of vibration, too.

I'm 90% certain I'll go with either Corbin or Sargent, though the price is leaving me sympathetic to going with Seat Concepts.

First question then is whether anyone has ridden both brands on a V, and what differences did you find?

Have you noticed any big reduction in engine vibrations with either brand? Corbin says their pan rides on rubber bumpers, which sounds like a good thing.

Corbin comes standard in leather. Any reason not to go with leather? I use the V in good weather around town, plus commuting to work where it might get some rain while parked, and would be in the sun all day 2 or 3 days each week at work. Basically if I use some leather conditioner will that be enough, or will the leather degrade in sun and rain quickly?
 
#2 ·
IMO Corbin only makes one sitting position which is a cruiser position. I haven't personally sat on a Versys with a Corbin, but have sat on sport touring bikes with Corbin seats.

When sitting in the bucket Corbin creates, I couldn't reach the grips without leaning forward. Just felt strange for a sporting bike. The Versys is a sporting bike, and your legs engaged on the sides of the tank is what keeps you from sliding forward.

There best seat I had on the Versys was the Terry Adcox flat seat. Gave me plenty of room to move around on a long ride.
 
#3 ·
Heres a Terry Adcock Flat Seat in case you were curious....


IMG_1493 by weljo2001, on Flickr
 
#4 ·
I haven't tried both, but I wouldn't say my Corbin saddle puts me in a cruiser position. It's comfortable too.

My leather Corbin saddle started pulling apart at the seams when it was about three years old. That was four years ago and the splitting has stopped, so I haven't got around to getting it recovered yet. When I do, I'll use leather again, knowing I might have to do it again in a few years. Although I treat it more kindly now, because it's no longer parked outside in the Florida sun all day every work day. Now it's in a covered parking garage all day.
 
#5 ·
I used Lexol leather cleaner and Lexol conditioner on my leather motorcycle seats and it worked great...:smile2:
 
#7 ·
I have a Corbin on my 15 LT and it is amazing. It does not feel like a cruiser at all. It sit you perfect with the handlebar height IMO. I have the carbon fiber leather and it looks and feels great. The Corbin is a frim seat but the feeling when you first sit on it is the feeling you will have 10 hours later when you get of the bike. I have hardly and aches or sores from the seat. Only gripe is that it is very very hard to fit on the bike. It actually cracked my tiny plastic piece beside the seat, only visible on the inside, but for the money it should nnot have happened.

Long story short, highly recommend the Corbin in leather.
 
#10 ·
#14 ·
This is one of the most subjective buys for a bike (simply because everyone's got a different ass). So, take this with a grain of salt:

I had a Corbin two bikes ago, on an FZ6. It was a plank. If you like hard seats, go with the Corbin. I wasn't impressed.
I put a Sargent on my last bike, a V-Strom.... fell in love with it. It had its own storage underneath, and was actually comfortable as hell.
Soooo... I put a Sargent on my current V650 2015. Love it. It's the standard version, because I'd rather lower the bike, than the seat (that way the leg geometry and ergos remain the same). It does away w/ tank crunch due to forward lean of the stock seat, and it wears like iron (its not leather, but, I prefer non-leather, due to better weather resistance).

The V650 Sargent doesn't have the room for the storage underneath, like the Strom's Sargent, however, it's a solid baseplate, and very well constructed. I'll be happy to post pics, if you like.
 
#20 ·
I have a Seat Concepts on that I've put about 5k miles on so far. I'm liking it. The foam is firm but still has some give. Two longest days were at about 550 miles. I had brought a combination memory foam/gel pad with on that trip and found I was more comfortable without it. Now that is broken in, it seems to fit my butt contour just fine. I'm liking it, and the purchase price worked for me. $2-500 difference is a lot of tanks of gas.

It's not a Russell Day Long, but it's not $700 either.

As an aside, I must really like this Versys. I've put on about 7500 miles since mid December. Yeehaw.

Later.

On temporary duty hammering on the Versys in Arkansas.
 
#23 ·
I had a Corbin in my Nighthawk 750, while it was way better than stock, I felt like it was too stiff. I get that it was meant to be supportive, but it had 0 give, and was just plain uncomfortable after long rides. Maybe I didn't break the leather in proper, but I'm fairly certain I won't be buying one for the Versys.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
 
#25 ·
I'm 90% certain I'll go with either Corbin or Sargent, though the price is leaving me sympathetic to going with Seat Concepts.
1. Corbin vs. Sargent - my vote is Sargent if the pick is between these two only. I've owned both and the Sargent was way more comfortable than the Corbin.

2. Leather vs. Vinyl - I'll go with vinyl every time because you don't have to worry about the saddle getting wet.

3. Other options

a. I see that nobody had mentioned Laam Saddles. I know several folks who have them and they all rave about their comfort and looks. I believe Seth Laam used to work for Russell saddles, the folks who make the Russell Day Long (the king of saddles for long distance riding).

b. Use an Air Hawk with the stock saddle. This is what I'm using right now and it's a huge improvement over just the stock saddle alone. I like the Air Hawk because of the perineal channel that runs right down the middle of it. The cushioning also makes it a lot more comfortable on my aging ischium bones.
 
#32 ·
b. Use an Air Hawk with the stock saddle. This is what I'm using right now and it's a huge improvement over just the stock saddle alone. I like the Air Hawk because of the perineal channel that runs right down the middle of it. The cushioning also makes it a lot more comfortable on my aging ischium bones.
Is there a certain model of airhawk to use on the Versys? With a quick search, there seems to be several types to choose from?
 
#26 ·
I've decided to upgrade the seat on the '15 V650 LT. Engine vibration at highway speeds is the main complaint, along with too much pressure on the private parts due to both the forward lean and the shape of the seat. I think getting some of the pressure off of the midline will probably reduce the amount of vibration, too.

I'm 90% certain I'll go with either Corbin or Sargent, though the price is leaving me sympathetic to going with Seat Concepts.

First question then is whether anyone has ridden both brands on a V, and what differences did you find?

Have you noticed any big reduction in engine vibrations with either brand? Corbin says their pan rides on rubber bumpers, which sounds like a good thing.



Corbin comes standard in leather. Any reason not to go with leather? I use the V in good weather around town, plus commuting to work where it might get some rain while parked, and would be in the sun all day 2 or 3 days each week at work. Basically if I use some leather conditioner will that be enough, or will the leather degrade in sun and rain quickly?

I called seat concepts today and I have an appointment for next week. They take walk-ins with an appointment. They also give a discount if you pay cash. They said the install takes about 30-45 minutes. I will report back with my experience.
 
#28 ·
When you get it done i want to check out your seat. I had one on the V-650 and liked it...
 
#31 ·
I have about 1000 miles on the seat concepts and so far so good. I just bought a Sargent modular for my 2017 Concours. I just sat on a friends Sargent modular on his BMW rt1200 and it was very comfortable. No slope and had good back support.
 
#33 ·
Fly-Sig,
Coming a bit late to the conversation and you may have already made a decision on a seat but...I have to second weljo2001's Terry Adcox (Terry's Custom Seats, Manchester, TN) suggestion. Attached is a photo of one of his that came with my "09. Also came with stock low seat. No comparison. Sold the stock one and never considered anything else. It has fantastic fit, function and craftsmanship
 

Attachments

#34 ·
They are good about emailing back. I was in contact with them and they take all of June off to ride. Sounded like they were backed up a few months. When they are ready, they will request your seat pan. Sounds like a great seat, but you have to be patient.
 
#38 ·
Also a little late to the party, but my only experience with another seat is a Corbin on my '07. Very happy with the craftsmanship and the comfort. The price for a new one was high, but I found a used one in great condition for a decent price.
 
#39 ·
I did 150 miles today. After about 70 miles my butt was going numb.

Same thing happened on my CTX so I bought a Corbin Standard. Love it! But after reading through these posts I'm thinking a Sargent would be the choice to go for my Versys.

So the question is...should I get the Standard or Low? With my current stock seat, unless way forward, I'm not 100% flatfooted. (I have about a 31" inseam) But I'm afraid the Low would give me too much of a lean-back.

What's everyone's thoughts?
 
#41 ·
I don't know my inseam but I'm 6'1" and have a regular Sargent. Very comfortable, but I'm not 100" flatfooted either. Just to add, the seat fits perfectly... unlike the Corbin for my SV650 which scratched the **** out of the tank and took hours of tinkering to sit right. So uh... screw Corbin :grin2:
 
#43 ·
I just got my seat back from Terry Adcox and love it so far! Haven't done any long rides yet but I can already tell this is gonna work for me. He builds a bucket style seat to your specs ( height, weight, riding position). My brother has a Russell Day Long on his BMW and Iv'e always wanted one but didn't want to shell out $800. Terry built my seat for $275 and it feels just like the Russell. It's worth every penny! Check him out at https://www.terryscustomseats.com/
 
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