Re: Mayer's and Russell and Corbin... Oh My!

[Ben Barkow <dr.ben@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2005 22:27:45 -0400
> From: "John Laughter" <jflaughter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> I have had three Corbin seats and a Meyers.  I didn't particularly  
> like the
> Bill Mayer's seat.   The Corbin seats were a little wide in the saddle  
> and
> made it a little difficult to reach the ground.
> snip

>  and tend toward the slightly
> sportier ride and am afraid that the Russell might anchor me in the  
> saddle
> too much.  Non-the-less, my main concern is for comfort.

Every person is the world's leading expert on their own body needs (as  
it should be, of course). But, I tell my clients, "I can give you the  
'textbook' answers and then you decide what works for you." For  
deciding what seat helps you best reach the ground, there is no  
"textbook" answer.

The general rule for sitting comfort and health is to maintain your two  
back curves in their proper curve - neither more nor less. Since  
gravity, esp. acting on large tummies, tends to accentuate the lumber  
curve, you need to ensure you are countering that force. Did your  
pelvic tilts today? Do them while riding for relief. Obviously, proper  
riding position (footpegs, kneepads, grips) has a lot to do with  
keeping that lower curve where it belongs, along with a suitable  
saddle.

A seat that looks like a tractor seat, with a bit of lower lower back  
support often makes the most sense; Corbin seats have that kind of  
horse-saddle shape.

As I say with all mods, DO IT YOURSELF. No magic to taking your seat to  
a local car seat shop and telling them what you want. Bring a picture.  
BTW, I find my early-R1100S seat (first year had longer, springier  
front struts that prolly broke often) pretty good, esp. with a large  
shaggy sheepskin for long day-long scoots.

The place to begin addressing riding comfort is through being fit  
including range-of-motion flexibility and more specifically lots of  
pelvic tilts.

I find ventilation a key aspect of touring comfort. The Corbin leather  
is remarkable for breathing yet durable in the bike environment (please  
excuse a second plug for Corbin, not intentional); the stock  
deep-textured covering isn't too bad. Nothing beats shaggy sheepskin;  
if NASA invented the same thing today and called it "SpaceSkin," it  
would be hailed as a brilliant invention.

Shortly, a little write-up I did centered on ergonomic questions (AKA  
comfort and health) esp. related to the throttle will appear at IBMWR.  
If you are in a hurry to see it, ping me off-list.

Only 14 weeks left to the Toronto riding season this year.

Cheers.

Ben                                                                      
                                               
Ben Barkow, Toronto... 39 seasons on Beemers, 44 as a biker

1961 R69s/rod, 1967-1999... really sup'ed up and fast

1984 R80RT/rod, 1998-2005  5 extra peak ponies in a wider flatter power  
band,
   much modified 2-into-1 exhaust, CR 9.5, Keihin PJ 34mm oval carbs,
   Uni filter, dual-rate springs with cartridge emulators, BT45/S11,  
Saeng fairing

1999 R1100S, 2004- Leo Vince exh, JetHot coatings, Techlusion 1031,
   large sticky foam filter, TB balance tube, 26 inch windscreen, air  
horns, Diablo Stratas

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