Seat, Foam Padding

[GeorgeS]

Question: ??? OK, I have a Corbin Seat for my Busa. I like the Shape of the seat, but its just to Darn Hard !! Only good for about 2 hours of rideing ( even at Busa Speeds !! ) I bought it on E-Bay, for a good price, so I don't have a fortune invested in the thing.

 

I'm looking at the seat, and realize it won't be to hard to remove the Cover ( which is very good material ) and Replace whatever padding material is in there.

 

Anybody out there have the Answer as to What type of Material I should try to use to replace the inner padding material with. Foam rubber, ?? What type ?? Where to get it ??

 

Is there a someplace on line that sells Seat padding material ??

 

I'm all Ears, if anybody has any suggestions -----

[donaldj2242]

Talk to Rick Butler, he does a seat mods on the stock seats. He might be able to help you out. you will find his ad in the classifieds

[Mariner Fan]

The funny thing about seats are that everyone had different needs. Hard seat aren't necessarily bad. In fact some people prefer them. No one can recommend a seat that will work for everyone. It's pretty much the shape that works for your backside.

[mtman]

George... I used to work for a mattress maker and they always said the most comforable foam was a tri-layered, with a hard layer between 2 softer ones. I used to get my foam at a foam store and had them order it. It was great for RV mattresses too.

[GeorgeS]

George... I used to work for a mattress maker and they always said the most comforable foam was a tri-layered, with a hard layer between 2 softer ones. I used to get my foam at a foam store and had them order it. It was great for RV mattresses too.

 

Interesting, I was doing web searchs, yesterday, found a couple more companies that do seat mods, and they were indicating the same, as to several layers, of differing density types of material. ??

 

I guess the key here is identifying the " best " types of foam materials. Apparently there are many types of this stuff avialable. Question is, how do I identify the stuff, as to its different qualities. ???

 

Another thought, looking for a good deal on e-bay, on a Large Seat, from some older bike, and gutting that out, to get the material ??

 

Well, I'm going to keep working on the problem, might come up with something.

 

There is always sombody out there that has the answer !!

 

[BoomerCPO]

There is always sombody out there that has the answer !!

 

Yep.....and my vote of confidence goes to Rick Butler.

[GeorgeS]

OK, I think I have found the answer. Maby.

 

The material seems to be " Visco-elastic-Polymer "

 

I found a web site talking about this stuff being used for Seats in Race Cars. Especially for drivers who are driveing with injuries that have not fully healed.

 

I found some pads, ( ie. 14 by 14 inch, for about $60.00) Apparently the stuff is not Cheap !!

 

Best I can find is thats it the stuff in those Fancy memory foam Pillows, that run almost $200. I have one of those, but that stuff is obviously to soft for a seat.

 

So-- Who is the Expert, on " Visco - Elastic - Polymer " Materials ????

 

Question now is, where to get the stuff ??

 

All ears

Edited October 1, 2008 by GeorgeS

[Squeeze]

George, you may talk to Rick Butler, he sure wil have an Answer or a Solution for you.

[bongobobny]

Have you tried one of those seat pads that is made from lamb hyde? You may want to try something like that which is far easier than reupholstering your seat. My tourist and myself use a couple of animal mattresses bought from the pet store and they seem to work out OK but we also have this sheep hyde that covers the whole seat and is super comfy!

 

Your main complaint seems to be sore butt after a couple of hours. Actually I have heard this about Corbin seats from a couple of people wnereas others say they are great. Do you have highway pegs? Changing your leg position occasionally helps out or at least it does for me...

[Rick Butler]

George,

 

My solution on modifying OEM seats is to first reform the foundation foam to more fit the shape of the butt. And I do this by cutting any crown or forward pitch out of the seat and then cutting in a tail bone relief to take the pressure off the tail bone and put it on the sit bones. Then after I get it shaped right, I cover the seat and back with a layer of memory foam (aka isoelastic foam) which really provides very little support. This is what the base foundation foam is for, where the memory foam pretty much compresses down to nothing when you sit on it. However, it does provide a nice cushy surface to down down into and compresses where there is pressure and does not where there is none. the best I can describe it is that it's resistence is not linear like regular foam. But it always plumps back up to the original shape to fill in the cover and I don't think it will ever break down like regular foam does.

 

But enough said about what I do with seats because a Corbin has ALWAYS been a very firm seat. There is no middle ground on a Corbin where you either love it or hate it. And it's the only seat that I have not been into yet. In fact some of the other folks who modify seats WILL NOT even touch a Corbin. However I would love to get into a Corbin just to see how it was made. In fact I have made offers to a couple of Corbin owners to help them out with their seats but I haven't gotten one yet. I really have no problem going into one, where if I got into a seat and didn't think I could improve it, I would just put it back together and not charge anything outside of the shipping.

 

With all of that being said, I think a layer of memory foam over the foundation would help out but that's just speculation until I ever get a hold of one. I also suspect that the cover is glued onto the foundation foam which makes taking the cover off a bit more difficult where you really need to be careful and take your time.

 

Let me know if I can help,

 

Rick

[GeorgeS]

Thanks much for the Info. Your right, my Corbin, has metal a pan ( vrs plastic stock seat ) and the cover is Very High Quality material in my opinion. Material is attached to bottom side with pop rivits. Very well made, seat.

 

The stock seat would be Much Eaiser to modify, so I'm thinking today, when I come up with the right material, I will modify the stock seat first, and also , they are very cheap as throw aways on E-Bay. Stock pan, is just plastic.

 

Anyway, this Sorbothane, ( ie. visco-elastic- polymer ) stuff sounds pretty interesting. If it good for race car seats, an wheel chair seats, there must be something to it.

http://www.sorbothane.com Their website, if you are interested in the product.

 

But the stuff sure is expensive !!!!!!! $$$$$