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[LateLifeCrises]

Has anybody got there new seat and if so how do you like it as far as comfort and looks.

I have had my 2015 Zero S for a year and it is a great bike except for one thing -  the seat. After 2 hours I feel as if I have been on a horse all day. Recently I bought a Corbin seat but unfortunately it was no improvement. It looks nice but the widened seat area is much further back and I have to lean forward quite a bit to reach the handlebars. Adjusting the handlebars didn't help. The place where I sit is just as hard as the stock seat. I met a guy that has a Honda Goldwing and he replaced his seat with one made by "Ultimate Seats". Very comfortable seat but I don't think they make any for zeros.

[JaimeC]

Check with Russell Day Long.  They'll build a seat on your stock seat pan (which means you won't have a seat while you're waiting) to your specification.  I've always thought they look WEIRD but the people who have them swear by them.

I don't have any issues with the stock seat myself.  I don't ride the bike continuously long enough for it to become an issue.  I MIGHT consider the Corbin if for nothing else, a styling thing (since it can be ordered in whatever color combination you like at no extra charge).

[Kocho]

Do you feel the widened part is flat enough to not cause you to slide forward? The wide part of the Zero seat I find quite comfortable, but it is angled forward and I can't really sit there - I keep sliding forward.

Where are you located? If anywhere near the DC area, I'd like to try your Corbin. For me, being quite tall, I would love to be able to sit more towards the rear...

[Gimli1844]

My Corbin seat has been a godsend to me and my over sized back side.  But I do not have an issue reaching my handle bars.  My only grip is the Alligator pattern of the leather on the seat has stretched out to the point it is almost gone.  If could do a do over I would pick black snake to match the sides or gray snake to create some contrast and reduce radiant heat build up.

[JaimeC]

I learned my lesson YEARS ago.  I find gray leather is the best surface for the area you actually SIT on.  Light enough to reflect most of the sun's heat, dark enough to hide the dirt, and (unlike vinyl) the leather breathes to help prevent "swamp butt."

[NanoMech]

The original seat angle also bothered me. I was always sliding into the tank, and missed the raked-back or bucket seats of my other bikes.

I had this seat made of ostrich skin (to mimic the painted fish skin), and you can see it is more of a bucket. It's far more comfortable although, a 6' 1", I'd prefer the seat moved back several inches, if it was possible.

[Electric Terry]

I've got over 10,000 miles on my Corbin seat now and its broken in perfect and it makes my rides every few weeks to Los Angeles and back to Northern California on my Zero so easy.  Mine I can slide forward at stop lights or slow speed riding around town, but when getting on the highway I slide back all the way, put my feet on the passenger pegs and Charger actually slides back too and lays down.

Here's a pic I got sent to me a couple days ago (although the pic is 3 months old) with me sitting in the middle of my available range.  Can slide back more or go forward.  The Corbin is great!  But it's a little hard to start from what you expect. 

But its supposed to be that way.  It's like a properly sized helmet will feel like it's too tight and uncomfortable for the first few weeks, until eventually it fits the shape of your head perfect.  Just so you don't plan 1000 mile trip the first day you get it.  Lots of small trips the first couple months will prepare it for that Iron Butt attempt. 

The last pic is me picking up a friend from the airport a month ago.  So I slide forward, and it leaves room for a passenger.  But when riding alone it offers a huge range of mobility which is how I ride most of the time.  If you are well under 6 feet you can get Rox risers for your handlebars so you can reach them easier while sitting all the way back.  Once you have these choices you'll really appreciate it more if you ever have to ride a stock seat again.  Sort of like those of us who didn't mind the Fast Ace suspension at all, until we rode a 2015 and 2016 for a while with the Showa suspension and then we went back to a 2014 or earlier for a short ride and were like "Woah!  Where did all the bumps come from in that road??" 

[PL3]

Are the torx fasteners for the seat inch or metric?

[mrwilsn]

Are the torx fasteners for the seat inch or metric?

Metric...5mm I think. My 2014 Zero S is Allen head though, not torx. Not sure if they changed it for 2015 or 2016.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Shadow]

Are the torx fasteners for the seat inch or metric?

""Replace the seat and tighten the T-45 Torx bolts 16 lb-ft (MY2015+) or 5mm socket head bolts 16 lb-ft (MY2013/MY2014; extras are provided) back in through the rear rack frame.""

Source: http://zeromanual.com/index.php/Common_Modifications#OEM_Top_Rack

Everything I can find is metric and the torque is specified most commonly in lb-ft (not Nm nor kg-cm).

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

After installing my Corbin on my 16 DSR, I have a small gap on the tail between the frame and the seat (about 3/8").  Do others get a tight fit on the tail after install?  I can't find anything binding...

Same, but I thought the gap was smaller, under ¼" but enough to see a sliver of daylight through.

Update: the seat sits better now in the tail that I've been using it for a while (3000 miles or so at this point) and there's no apparent wear from that. I do make sure to avoid using the seat bolts regularly; basically I optimized around the issue.

The seat still tends to feel firm but my circulation is great even after a long time in the saddle, so it's doing its job. Honestly, it's a great seat and hopefully the fit issues are just an initial distraction.

[Electric Terry]

Yes Brian the Corbin seat is great and I love it.  After we had a chance to talk to him, I am surprised at the fact he seemed to indicate such a small number of them have been ordered.  Since we were hoping he could make a fairing that would hopefully close to double the highway range, which all of us would like, I'm curious to hear from those that didn't get the seat what your reasons were.  He's afraid there aren't enough Zero's out there to support the time to design a mold for a fairing.  The seat mold only cost $5000 to make the fairing will be $50,000 or more to make.  And he says not enough people bought the seat to make it look like it is going to even break even?

To get him to feel like there are enough of us out there that like to make mods to our Zero's it would help to post about the seat if you got it and love it, and if you were thinking about it, to read some reviews here and order one yourself!

Hopefully that will change his mind and he will start working on a bolt on fairing that fits the 2013-2016 bikes perfectly.

[DynoMutt]

I just bought a seat and indicated that I would be interested in a fairing.

[PL3]

The seat is GREAT!

I would love to see ideas for a bikini faring.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I am surprised at the fact he seemed to indicate such a small number of them have been ordered.  Since we were hoping he could make a fairing that would hopefully close to double the highway range, which all of us would like, I'm curious to hear from those that didn't get the seat what your reasons were.  He's afraid there aren't enough Zero's out there to support the time to design a mold for a fairing.  The seat mold only cost $5000 to make the fairing will be $50,000 or more to make.  And he says not enough people bought the seat to make it look like it is going to even break even?

To get him to feel like there are enough of us out there that like to make mods to our Zero's it would help to post about the seat if you got it and love it, and if you were thinking about it, to read some reviews here and order one yourself!

Hopefully that will change his mind and he will start working on a bolt on fairing that fits the 2013-2016 bikes perfectly.

It can't just be Corbin with that concern: although $50,000 sounds high, just from the amount of time involved, the Supercharger clearly cost more than that to develop, just made as a labor of love partly to keep the overhead low.

For reference, OEM development probably would cost 5-10x what a third party can get away with, because the vehicle manufacturer has to test everything for the US DOT and the EU and any other regulator which has a lot of overhead, AND they have to eat the marketing issues that come with changing the shape of the vehicle that might make all their sales plans much riskier than they wanted.

From my outlook, Corbin seems like the most promising lead for this community to get a range improvement that's better than the Power Tank and doesn't require spending a summer project doing DIY fabrication and fitting, and that means we have to be worth the investment.