Best looking Interstate seat?

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EstuaryBoy said:
I see the Vietnamese offer Corbin knock offs on ebay....
Will admit I'd gravitate towards your second example if the interstate tank was a must, though these things need to be seen 'in the flesh' and in their correct environment for a proper appraisal, IMHO..
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I bought a Vietnamese Interstate seat and it does not fit properly, the indent for the rear guard is not deep enough (rubbers fitted to pan) . I could make it fit with a couple of small cuts but that's not really the idea is it. I emailed the seller and he intimated that I was telling porkies, although why I would is beyond me. I then got a small hump Interstate seat from Burton bike bits that fits and looks great, and it's what I should have done to start with instead of trying to save a bit of money.
 
I agree that the chopped down Corbin looks out of place with an Interstate. Many years ago a friend of mine took a different route. He moved the mounts on a Corbin farther forward and relieved the base so cleared the fender and fit full length with the I-state tank. It looked great, but forces the riding position quite far back. He is well over 6’ tall and with low bars it worked well for him, not for everyone.
 
Anglophile said:
How about the two-up Interstate Racing seat: https://www.accessnorton.com/attachments/img_3813-jpg.75835/
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I think that's similar to the first one I posted although the hump is higher on yours.

https://www.britishbikebits.com/dual-cafe-racer-seat-norton-commando-interstate-mk1-mk2

This should be the one. British made so the likelyhood of it fitting is much greater. And costwise it's not much more. I think I'll get this one. Thanks everyone!

Best looking Interstate seat?


Best looking Interstate seat?
 
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YING said:
As of 2 mos.ago Corbin does not offer a cut-down seat for an Interstate model.
Mike
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I understand, I believe the point was made in an earlier response, but a call to Corbin or Sargent would get the definitive answer. The issue then becomes one of setting expectations and dimensions. The local option is probably better as changes can be made on-the-fly and if he brings the bike to them the result should be first rate.

If SD likes the length of his current seat, but would like a different contour or stitching pattern I think his best bet is to find a local upholstery service and get it done there. However, calling Corbin or Sargent and discussing what he wants and offering to send them his seat pan, assuming they agree, is another avenue. The local option will have a quicker turn-around time and is, probably, better suited to implementing the features he wants./

Best.
 
RoadScholar said:
I understand, I believe the point was made in an earlier response, but a call to Corbin or Sargent would get the definitive answer. The issue then becomes one of setting expectations and dimensions. The local option is probably better as changes can be made on-the-fly and if he brings the bike to them the result should be first rate.

If SD likes the length of his current seat, but would like a different contour or stitching pattern I think his best bet is to find a local upholstery service and get it done there. However, calling Corbin or Sargent and discussing what he wants and offering to send them his seat pan, assuming they agree, is another avenue. The local option will have a quicker turn-around time and is, probably, better suited to implementing the features he wants./

Best.
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Although the British Bike Bits seat isn’t currently in stock it’s just what I’m looking for and a very decent price. I’m not in a rush either.
 
I had a fairly long conversation with Matt Rambo about a Corbin seat for my 75' Interstate. He said 1) Corbin does not make an Interstate seat, and 2) if I really wanted the Corbin seat then I would need to send him my tank so he could modify the seat to fit my tank. He said there was too much variation in the size of Interstate tanks to just build a seat that would work across the board.

Given the cost of the Corbin seat plus the cost and risk in shipping my tank to Colorado, I passed. My 69' and 75' Roadsters already have Corbin seats..... so, in the end I was not that jazzed about it. I have a reproduction stock Interstate seat that I plan to modify for the Interstate, if I botch it, not much lost. $0.02.
 
trident sam said:
I bought a Vietnamese Interstate seat and it does not fit properly,... I then got a small hump Interstate seat from Burton bike bits... /QUOTE]
If I may, I'd like to ask you about the weight of those seats? I have a Corbin on my Mklll (although it is older and different to what you think of when talking about a Corbin - - sort of like the old king and queen of the 70's but without the need of a sissy bar). Anyway it is quite heavy... I'm amazed at just how heavy it is... I was recently at a motorcycle junk yard and the seats from newer bikes are so light by comparison. Cj
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Even a stock roadster seat with a fiberglass seat pan is heavy.
 
I posted my seat a while back in this thread because I thought it would either get a laugh or an avalanche of "it's ridiculous". Yes the weight of and size of the standard Interstate is over the top for me due to a small posterior and always riding solo. Not a fan of the big tank either but that is outweighed by heading out worry free in mileage terms.
What you see is a Police seat base with maybe two inches trimmed off the front and two semicircles cut out of the back edge where it meets the frame. The mounts were cut lower too. All these seats have short lives the glass fibre cracking. Did a lot of repair work and had new foam and cover done locally.
Serves me well except that I need to find a way to secure the seat at the nose as under hard acceleration I find the sear rotates back and up!
...does rather make the bike look like a bobber. Very stylish with the hooligan crowd! :cool:
 
trident sam said:
Yep, that top one is the one I have now, bought from British Bike Bits, fits and looks great ( and comfortable)
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If Corbin are right - in that there are a variety of tank lengths - then surely people like Burtons must have issues with poorly fitting seats.
Haven't heard of that though.
Any thoughts?
 
robs ss said:
If Corbin are right - in that there are a variety of tank lengths - then surely people like Burtons must have issues with poorly fitting seats.
Haven't heard of that though.
Any thoughts?
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Corbin (and Matt) want a flawless tight fit. Many, many off the shelf seats out there have gaps. I think that’s the issue.

Its like comparing a tailor made suit to off the pegs sir. And as sir surely knows, a gentleman would never do ‘off the peg’...!

Yours is so good because Matt started with a Roadster seat and cut it down to a perfect fit to your tank.

He did the same for me, but I haven’t progress further with mine since this mock up (but looking at these pics is motivating me to crack on with it):

BD8C6F37-F09A-4EC9-AFF5-894037889106.jpeg
4057A184-9A73-4BBA-BEAA-9A52E5BB3558.jpeg
 
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That was when you had more room in the shed, Nigel.

You would need.to loose those clipons too, eh?
 
gortnipper said:
That was when you had more room in the shed, Nigel.

You would need.to loose those clipons too, eh?
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Indeed it was !

IIRC the clip ons cleared the tank. But it was a while ago, so I might be very wrong!

I just spoke to my painter and I’m back on it now...!
 
Onder said:
Serves me well except that I need to find a way to secure the seat at the nose as under hard acceleration I find the sear rotates back and up!
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Support the seat at the rear not at the front which gives you the option of a small forward tilt.
 
robs ss said:
If Corbin are right - in that there are a variety of tank lengths - then surely people like Burtons must have issues with poorly fitting seats.
Haven't heard of that though.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
As been discussed, Corbin never made a stock seat for the Interstate like he does for the Roadster. Years ago I cut a Roadster seat down to fit just right and then sent that to Corbin to copy and make 10 seats. Started selling these and it wasn’t long before I got calls about a large gap between the nose of the seat and the tank.
So I pulled a bunch of tanks together and started measuring. Found no less than 6 dimensionally different tanks. Of course both glass and steel. The lengths varied as well as the widths.
I decided that it wasn’t worth making and keeping in stock a seat that would only fit some well. The hard nose on the Corbin makes a difference versus those that are soft that will give a bit if pressed against the tank
These days I do offer Interstate seats but they are in fact made to order based on the tank you have.

Matt
 
robs ss said:
If Corbin are right - in that there are a variety of tank lengths - then surely people like Burtons must have issues with poorly fitting seats.
Haven't heard of that though.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I have a Roadster with small hump and an Interstate with small hump, both from Burton Bike Bits and they both fit very well. There is a bit of fettle room on the seat ears and also the front frame tank mounts, it probably adds up to about an inch overall, so a good fit can be obtained. Corbins are bolted solidly to a bracket so can have no forward or rearward bias, consequently they either fit or they don't.
 
Response to kommando: the seat uses the stock ears like all the pre MkIII seats. The seat ends right
there so there is nothing really to secure to. No matter how tight the knobs you are sitting very close
to the rotation point. I think a hook of some sort at the front makes the most sense. But don't want to
lose the quick on off ability of the stock fixing method.
 
cNw said:
As been discussed, Corbin never made a stock seat for the Interstate like he does for the Roadster. Years ago I cut a Roadster seat down to fit just right and then sent that to Corbin to copy and make 10 seats. Started selling these and it wasn’t long before I got calls about a large gap between the nose of the seat and the tank.
So I pulled a bunch of tanks together and started measuring. Found no less than 6 dimensionally different tanks. Of course both glass and steel. The lengths varied as well as the widths.
I decided that it wasn’t worth making and keeping in stock a seat that would only fit some well. The hard nose on the Corbin makes a difference versus those that are soft that will give a bit if pressed against the tank
These days I do offer Interstate seats but they are in fact made to order based on the tank you have.

Matt
Click to expand...
I had a thread here a while ago about the different Interstate tanks. I'm really not surprised that the seats would be an issue.
 
Onder said:
Response to kommando: the seat uses the stock ears like all the pre MkIII seats. The seat ends right
there so there is nothing really to secure to. No matter how tight the knobs you are sitting very close
to the rotation point. I think a hook of some sort at the front makes the most sense. But don't want to
lose the quick on off ability of the stock fixing method.
Click to expand...
This is mine, the ears are in Interpol tank position, and even 2 thick under tank pads do not stop it lifting at the front unless you put a plate between the gusset behind the battery tray for the pads to rest on.

Best looking Interstate seat?


But here is a possible solution, a bracket coming off the back with a rubber buffer as used under the seats. This is on a Harley Sportster seat and the bracket is for a C15 frame.

Best looking Interstate seat?
 
Good ideas. The wheelie strut on the rear looks like it would fracture the seat in short time.

The pad twixt the ears will be attempted. I do like the seat and you save a LOT of weight.
Thanks for the idea.
 
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