Replacement seat to fit my '86 K75C

So... I have a low Corbin saddle on my K75 that I would like to replace with a standard BMW saddle. The Corbin locks me in one spot rather than allowing me to move around a bit, which gets tiresome after an hour or so (in addition to wanting to sit a little higher on the bike). I don't have any problem with reach to the ground, and could easily handle another inch or more of saddle height and still be able to stand flat-footed at a stop.

I much prefer a bench style saddle. The stock saddles look to be pretty flat. I saw this one on eBay, but not certain if it would fit my K75C. I've been watching the classifieds here and IBMWR, and a few reseller's sites. Is there anything I should be aware of when hunting for a seat in terms of fitment restrictions to specific models, best year ranges for K saddles, etc? Advice appreciated...

Jim,

The mounting hardware between a low seat and a standard seat is entirely different.

The low seats are a lift off design and the standard seats are hinged. They use different locking mechanisms. The low seats do not use battery side covers. The standard seats are designed the be used with battery covers.

The price of the seat is only about half of the total cost of coverting from low to high or vise a versa.

As 98Lee alluded to, I think your best bet is to find someone that is looking for a low seat and trade all the parts...

You might watch for a BMW factory made "comfort seat". I found one for my hack and of the stock seat, Corbin and the comfort seat, it's the most comfortable for long days (800 mile plus).

Need pick of your bike. Do you really have a "low" seat configuration, or do you just feel the corbin is low?

I don't like the corbins either. Lower than stock and lock your butt in one spot. The stock K75 seat is much better. Gotta get a newer one though. Foam gets bad after a decade or so.

Thank you for all of these comments!

98lee said:

The mounting hardware between a low seat and a standard seat is entirely different. The low seats are a lift off design and the standard seats are hinged. They use different locking mechanisms. The low seats do not use battery side covers. The standard seats are designed the be used with battery covers.

Click to expand...

mlytle said:

Need pick of your bike. Do you really have a "low" seat configuration, or do you just feel the corbin is low?

Click to expand...

Interesting... maybe I don't have a low seat after all. Mine does hinge and uses the factory latch. But it does sit very low, and after a few years of trying to get used to it, I give up- it just locks me into one spot with no option to move around. Time to try something else. I've attached a pic of the bike (I've since removed the backrest and tail rack). If I read Lee's message correctly though, this might be good news as I may not have to replace quite so much stuff when replacing the seat.

6322 said:

You might watch for a BMW factory made "comfort seat". I found one for my hack and of the stock seat, Corbin and the comfort seat, it's the most comfortable for long days (800 mile plus).

Click to expand...

OK, good information I had not considered- thanks! I'll keep an eye open and see what I can locate. I sure wouldn't mind trading the Corbin, as drneo66 suggested.

If it hinges it is not a low seat. (Forget my PM).

If it has a front loop to engage a latch, and has two slots to engage hooks at the rear it is a low seat.

I have a few of each.

That is not a Corbin low seat.

While it MIGHT have originally been a Corbin seat, somebody (not Corbin) has severly modified it and recovered it. That is why you have that locked in feeling.

This is what the stadard Corbin seat for a K75 looks like: http://corbin.com/bmw/8696canyon.shtml

I really like the Corbins on my K75Ss.

Not a low seat bike. You can use a stock k75 seat. You will be much happier.

Even a normal Corbin is almost an inch lower than a new stock seat.

Ok, thank you all. A couple of additional pictures.

.

This is starting to make sense at this point. I always thought it was an odd looking Corbin compared to others I'd seen.

Another question: are there big difference between years or models that I should be aware of? If I found a 90's seat, or one from a K100, would those fit? Or should I restrict my search to a limited number of years/models?

Standard hinged seats for any K75, '86 or newer K100, and some K1100 seats (not the comfort seat) will fit the bike. K1100s use different hinge pieces, so your K75 hardware would need to be transfered to the seat.

Just remember, we're talking 30 year old seats, so there can be a huge variance in the condition of the vinyl or leather cover and the internal foam. Vinyl tends to get hard and brittle. Seams get fragile. Foam gets compressed or less compliant.

Just because a seat fits the bike, doesn't mean it will fit your butt. Seat comfort is a very individual thing. BMW thinks their seats are comfortable, tens of thousands of owners disagree. Mike Corbin once told me that BMW has singularly kept him in business.

98lee said:

Standard hinged seats for any K75, '86 or newer K100, and some K1100 seats (not the comfort seat) will fit the bike. K1100s use different hinge pieces, so your K75 hardware would need to be transfered to the seat.

Just remember, we're talking 30 year old seats, so there can be a huge variance in the condition of the vinyl or leather cover and the internal foam. Vinyl tends to get hard and brittle. Seams get fragile. Foam gets compressed or less compliant.

Just because a seat fits the bike, doesn't mean it will fit your butt. Seat comfort is a very individual thing. BMW thinks their seats are comfortable, tens of thousands of owners disagree. Mike Corbin once told me that BMW has singularly kept him in business.

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Ok, thanks Lee- I appreciate that info! I would try a Corbin (I see one for sale in the marketplace for a reasonable price), but I'm leery of the dished shape of the rider's section locking me into a single position again... I do move around quite a bit on my other bikes with the bench style seats.

I suppose another approach might be to have the one I have currently modified to better fit me... I'm not new to old seats (car or bike) and would be open to replace the foam and recover it if I see a good option to do so.

jad01 said:

Ok, thanks Lee- I appreciate that info! I would try a Corbin (I see one for sale in the marketplace for a reasonable price), but I'm leery of the dished shape of the rider's section locking me into a single position again... I do move around quite a bit on my other bikes with the bench style seats.

I suppose another approach might be to have the one I have currently modified to better fit me... I'm not new to old seats (car or bike) and would be open to replace the foam and recover it if I see a good option to do so.

Click to expand...

I would check with local upholstery shops to get a quote. Find one that has done bike seats, or the one that the local hot rodders use. A good shop will slap a new piece of foam in the drivers area and whittle it down until it feels right for you. They can duct tape a piece of vinyl over it so you can test ride until it's right!

Yep, no end to seat info on BMW motorcycles. Stock, oem, low seat, reupholster, Corbin, other aftermarket. I bought a like new '87 K100RT. It came with the stock oem seat, and an aftermarket Corbin solo gunfighter seat. The first owner was 6'4" . He could never fit the oem seat, so he had the Corbin custom seat made. The 2nd owner was short and he used the oem seat. Like the First owner, I could never ride the bike with the oem seat. I used the solo Corbin seat. I later had a Corbin Canyon dual sport made to fit me and a riding partner.
A buddy of mine has a early 90's K75s. His bike had a Corbin seat that was pretty tattered. I took my oem seat over; it fit his bike perfectly. I think Gene is about 5'9" and the seat was perfect for him.
I'm not proficient in moving photo's around the site. I do have some pics on my thread. Mid-South ride, eat and meet under the Club, Regional South. This thread is a little lengthy. Pics # 2087, 2088, 2074, 2075, 2278 are the pertinent ones. Might help you.

Well, I thought I would check back in on this. Thank you to Ron, a member of the MOA local to me that reached me via PM with a stock seat that fit my year/model and is in excellent condition. I picked it up, installed it, and it is a huge improvement. It is a little bit taller than my modified Corbin, which is good, but more importantly, it allows for some room to move around and is a little less "firm". Looking at my old seat, Lee was right that it was heavily modified (by an upholstery shop in Oregon). They did good work (the cover is really nice), but the result was made for someone else and sure didn't fit me... glad to have this factory replacement. It is a major improvement, based on my initial ride.