An
E-mail exchange between a customer and Corbin. |
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To Whom It May
Concern;
I recently received
my saddle at my dealer, [Name] in [City].
This was the second time it had come as the first saddle had a cut in
the leather on the underside of the seat.
The first saddle also cut into the underside of the driver's thighs
while stopped. It was sent back and the
foam trimmed in the thigh area and the cut fixed. It now looks flawless and fits perfectly. Though it took some time to get to this
point, I couldn't be happier with the fit and finish.
There are, however,
some significant problems that have surfaced since riding on the seat. First, it is extremely slippery. I have heard this could be a problem, but
was assured by one of your sales staff that the 'accent perforated' leather I
specified minimized the problem. I
thought of putting something 'tacky' on the seat to help with the problem, but
surely this would get messy, clog the decorative perforations, and collect dirt.
Secondly, the design
of the seat gives the driver a little too much room. The vertical portion of the dished out driver’s area is a bit far
back as to create an extensive reach to the bars, even for a 6' rider such as
myself. This also considerably takes
away passenger room and thus comfort as well.
Furthermore, this fact combined with the slipperiness means one is
constantly sliding fore and aft in the saddle during accelerating and braking
to the point that it makes controlling the motorcycle safely difficult.
Compensating by
gripping the tank with the knees and/or gripping the bars harder defeats the
point of buying an aftermarket saddle that promotes comfort since it does just
the opposite.
In my opinion, the
best way to solve the problem would be moving the driver's portion of the seat
forward slightly. The most comfortable
area for the driver's butt is back against the vertical area of the dish, it
just needs to come forward about an inch with maybe a little bit of foam going
up the tank area as well. This would
mean the seat would hold the driver in place thus solving the sliding problem
and also give the passenger area more room thus living up to the claim of
better comfort. Please let me know your
suggestions and ideas.
I hope this can be solved
as I think this can be a great saddle.
However, as it is the stock saddle is better for both driver passenger
comfort and safer due to the fact the riders do not slide around on it. If you feel these problems cannot be solved
please let me know how I can return my saddle and backrest.
Sincerely,
[Customer Name]
HSTA
RAT
Triumph List
Sprint ST List
Ducati List
ST2/4 List
[Customer Name],
I've talked to our service dept.,we could
move the seating position
forward which will in
turn give the passenger a little extra room.What they
will also do is build
up the front of the seat and recontour the seating
area in order to keep
you from sliding forward.There will be a fee involved
in doing this work
however,at this time i'm not exactly sure what it will
be.If that is
something you would like to pursue let me know.You can e-mail
me or call me at
(800)538-7035.
Rolando
Rolando,
Thank you for your
quick response to my inquiry. Your
Service Department's suggestion of moving the driver's seating position forward
slightly, building up the front of the seat a little, re-contouring the
seating, and giving the passenger area more room sounds like it may solve the
problem. I object, however, to paying a
fee to have this done.
From my perspective,
I paid a premium price for a seat (and backrest) that promised increased
comfort for passenger and driver. The
seat not only does neither as is, but is in fact a safety problem due to the
fact that it makes controlling the motorcycle difficult. Please let me know if you would like the
opportunity to correct the seat.
[Customer Name]
Honda Sport Touring
Association
Riders Association of
Triumph
Triumph Internet List
Sprint ST Internet
List
Ducati Internet List
ST2/4 Internet List
Honda Riders Club
AMA
[Customer Name],
Being it was sent once before and it was
modified at that time,that leads
us to believe that
you had the opportunity to try the seat before you sent
it in.If that was the
case,we would have been able to modify the saddle at
that time.With the
modifications you are requesting,we would have to put a
new seat cover on in
order for the lines of the material to look correct.If
you would like to
continue in getting the seat altered,let us know so we can
give your dealer an
RA# to have the seat returned for the rework.
Rolando
Rolando,
Months after ordering
the seat, the seat came in. The seat
was boxed up to be sent back immediately after it was received because it was
shipped from you defective. It had cuts
in the leather right out of the box! I
did not ride with the seat at all! It
never left the dealer's showroom and was only installed on a showroom bike for
five minutes where I sat on it briefly.
On Corbin's recommendation, the seat was call tagged without me riding
on it as to not cause further damage and tearing of the leather. The process of getting a call tag for the
manufacturing defect, sending it in, repairing it, and finally getting it back
was another month long process.
The problems we are
discussing now could only be known after riding on the seat. Yes, I would like to either have the seat
modified or return the seat and backrest.
As I have stated, I paid a premium price for a seat (and backrest) that
promised increased comfort for passenger and driver. The seat not only does neither as is, but is in fact a safety
problem due to the fact that it makes controlling the motorcycle difficult. Please either issue a Repair Authorization
for the seat to have it modified or a Return Authorization for the seat and
backrest to [Dealer] in [City, State].
Thanks for your help.
[Customer Name]
Rolando,
Any decision on this?
[Customer Name]
Rolando,
Are you sending an
R/A to return or have my seat fixed?
[Customer Name]
Rolando,
I sent you an e-mail
on the February 10th asking for an R/A for the seat to either be repaired or
returned. Also sent e-mails following
up on that e-mail on February 14th and 16th.
None have been returned.
I will ship the seat
and backrest back to Corbin to your attention next Wednesday. I expect you will either contact me to get
the details on making repairs to the seat, or you will give full credit for the
seat and backrest to [Dealer] in [City].
I ordered this seat
back in November '99 and with February '00 coming to a close I'd like to either
have a seat that works or the money back to do something else.
[Customer Name]
[Customer Name]
I've explained your dilema to our service
manager.He continues stating
that there will still
be a recovering fee involved.If you want to have the
seat modified,have
your dealer contact us for the RA#.Only a rework will be
authorized through
them at this point.I'm sorry that i didn't get a response
to you sooner,been
tied up with other business.
Rolando
Rolando,
I appreciate the
effort you put in, but I would just like to return the seat and backrest at
this point. Please issue the Return
Authorization to [Dealer Owner] at [Dealer] in City, State. Phone]. I will get my credit through them. Thanks again.
[Customer Name]
No Corbin response or
R/A ever came again. The seat was not
sent back. Essentially, I have adapted
to the seat, adjusting riding style to minimize the seat defects. It still allows movement fore and aft in the
saddle, but is ok when touring. I would
never buy anything from Corbin again.
Obviously they are more concerned with electric cars and making
furniture out of old cars than with servicing motorcyclists. Call Sargeant!
After reading the
above information, another lister wrote the following:
I read your piece on the Hinkley page and thought somebody
had been following
me around and decided to print my experience with
Corbin. Mine has been back
and forth three times and I'm done with them. I'm
6'4" and might seat sits
back about 2-3" too far on my 98 Sprint Ex. They
must have test the original
pattern on a 7' rider or a guy laid down over the tank.
I think it's the best looking seat I've ever seen but I'll
get one next time
that somebody will work with me on to get a good fit.
And hopefully not have
to go through the cuts and seam tears. I call it my
$565 lesson. I too have
the backrest and not enough room for my passenger while I
slide around in the
big bowl in front.
Maybe I'll put the seat up for sale.