| Author | Message | ||
     Dannybuell |
When it was revealed that the $150.00 seats came from China everyone realized that the $150.00 goal was unattainable and that we would just run with this idea and see where it goes. We now know the price floor is Chinese and unobtainable. We have also likely found the price ceiling. If you read the recent Corbin seat thread everybody was happy there. Where is the CS issue coming from? Things are looking good Corbin and A-S-B are still in play. I made a few calls and found a Corbin dealer (non BWB sponsor) who said he would be happy to do a group deal. THX | ||
| Dannybuell |
Carmelo123 - supply chain issues: -----Corbin wants to sell to us. They want us to work within their dealer network. In respect to this sites sponsors I have offered the group order to BWB sponsors on this site and to my local HD dealer. I have received the classic HD stone silent response from all. I then asked the group if I could work outside the BWB sponsor constraint. There has been no negative responses to working 'outside the box'. I made a few phone calls last week. Hint: Try vendor zip codes on google maps. Search the result for motorcycles. Lots of little red flags nearby. I am evaluating those webs sites to see how their shopping carts work. -----American Sport Bike Al at A-S-B has asked for time to address this issue. Al has contacted the original Buell comfort seat designer. This is too interesting to ignore. Al has said he will get to us after he finishes his exhaust pipe dyno shootout. Thank you for asking. | ||
| Bigblock |
I don't like corbin seats, never rode one I liked, but I would be in on a group buy from Al. | ||
| Puredrive |
Lets see what Al says. Don't mind the wait. BTW Thanks for all the efforts Dannybuell | ||
| Xbud |
Just a heads up on the Corbin, I finally got mine and custom ordered it with an extra inch in seat height in classic leather top and sides. This is the softest corbin I have ever had, I guess it had to be soft because of the rear mounting points needing to be flexible. It feels good, I have not been able to do any long distance riding with it yet. It is not the hard seat that most associate with corbin, I think you will be surprised if you custom order the seat height. | ||
| Jeepinbueller |
How's the fitment Xbud? | ||
| Xbud |
Good, you have to washer the front brackets in order to get it under the filter cover and adjust the rear brackets a little, but the fittment is good after that. | ||
| Buellerthanyou |
Here's my 2 cents (which is worth at least a penny...maybe two!): I have a Buell Custom Seat on my 1125 and also had one on my XB12R. I have a Corbin on my S2. I have seen and sat on a couple of Baldwins (though I haven't ridden one any distance). The Buell Custom seat is not that much more comfortable than the stock seat. It just has thicker padding, which squashes down after riding on it awhile until it's like the stock seat. After a 120 mile ride this last weekend, my butt was not too happy. The Corbin on my S2 is better. It is hard, but it allows me to ride 500+ miles in relative comfort. I've never dealt directly with their customer service, but I work at a dealership and my Parts Department folks say they'd rather not order from Corbin directly because of previous, shall we say "less than satisfactory" experiences with them. The Baldwins I've seen were very comfortable-feeling for the short time I experienced them and the workmanship was top-notch. If I were to compare those three manufacturers to familiar exhaust manufacturers, the Buell Custom seat would be like a Vance and Hines muffler; nice workmanship with some advantages. The Corbin would be like a Drummer; really nice workmanship from a manufacturer dedicated to making one type of product, with substantial advantages. The Baldwin would be like one of Dean Adams' Keda Design RT exhausts; artisan quality craftsmanship made one at a time and no two exactly alike. As for advantages, I can't say for sure having not spent extended seat time on one, but I have to believe that memory foam and ballistic gelpads are superior to simple foam rubber. Don't know if it means anything to y'all, but I've been considering selling my Buell Custom seat (even though they're like gold) to help finance my purchase of a Baldwin for the CR. I KNOW I'll be getting a Baldwin to replace the Corbin on my S2 (the S1 is a lost cause; you can only make a padded brick so comfortable before you have to give up!  ) Even if Al is able to source a seat from the original designer of the Buell Custom seat, I wouldn't want one unless it had some upgrades like the memory foam and gelpads (which will of course cause them to be more expensive). YMMV HellBuelly J (Wow. That was more like $1.02!) | ||
| Jeepinbueller |
There was a thread up for about 5 minutes from someone at Saddleman ... Danny give them a try. I'm guessing it was taken down because he wasn't a sponsor, but it was around $160 for a recovered seat using your existing seat pans, and that includes a pillion seat cover. | ||
| Dannybuell |
Xbud , Jeepinbueller , Buellerthanyou - It is nice to hear about your personal experiences. It's helping us learn. I have to respect Corbin as they supported Buell with product from the beginning. The Corbin 'flat front' seat design looks well thought out. Corbin does not like Gel, their web site explains why. http://www.corbin.com/funstuff/media/corbin_ecc.sh tml ----------------------------------- Baldwin has quoted with gel. ----------------------------------- American Sport Bike Al has mentioned the Buell Custom Comfort seat designer who will likely have his own ideas on quality and value. ----------------------------------- I have never been on gel and I know we would all like to hear the distance riders ideas and experiences. ----------------------------------- P.S. We are at 53 seats with an email request! (Message edited by dannybuell on May 26, 2010) | ||
| Al_lighton |
I've made some headway on access to seat pans, still need more info from the supplier on exactly how this would go down. A clone of the Buell custom seat is the likeliest outcome, though we might have some covering options. The seat will not be able to have any Buell or Erik Buell Racing markings on it, that I'm sure of. That includes the Pegasus and such. While I probably could put an American Sport Bike logo on to it, I'm not keen on such things and wouldn't. Al | ||
| Hogzilla |
Is the Saddlemen option out of the question? Or was it ever an option. Seats are darn nice looking, good quality and made in the USofA. | ||
| Puredrive |
No markings on it, is fine by me. | ||
| Dannybuell |
I just got an email from an executive at Saddlemen.com. I was told that "We might be able to work out a 150-160 price for you if we can get at least 25 confirmed orders, we will absorb the R&D cost, if it is just 1's and 2's then we would have to consider it custom and the price goes up." The saddlemen seats have a rather unique design and was told that "our new Gel Channel seat for sportbikes gives an option to the HARD seats out there and the stock items" I have asked saddlemen for some details explaining how their basic touring seat would be offered. I also asked what the time line would be from design to shipping. Take a look, Saddlemen makes some nice looking seats. | ||
| Cravacor |
Saddlemen looks like a good choice, if there are enough interested to make the good price. Their seats look great in the photos I have seen. | ||
| Jornum1 |
+1 on a saddleman at that price. Is that with a seat pan or not? I am interested in the "channel" version. It seems awkward, but looks like it would solve the ball crushing problem most of us have. Like another poster, I have ridden a bicycle seal like that and they are great. (Message edited by Jornum1 on May 28, 2010) | ||
| Dannybuell |
Cravacor , Jornum1 - previous post Thursday eve. made mention of; 1. "absorb the R&D " which made me think complete unit. 2. I asked for additional details. I walk by the bicycle parking where the hardcore guys park in the 20 story building I frequent. I see many exotic and less than exotic bicycles with seats that look like the Saddlemen "channel" design. It now appears that with 53 seats +/- we could easily select 2 vendors and have 2 happy endings. THX (Message edited by dannybuell on May 28, 2010) | ||
| Zip88 |
More than just comfort for men, I believe it is a good idea to "keep weight of the midline perineum, away from the urethra, the prostate gland, and the arterial blood supply".I like the saddlemen with the gel channel. American made, $160,I vote Saddlemen. | ||
| Hogzilla |
The $150-160 price is using your seat pan. I emailed them yesterday (previous to this post) if they would offer a seat pan so we don't have to send in ours. Haven't heard back yet. If it added an additional $50-70 it's really worth it considering you'd have to spend an extra $15-20 just to mail them your seat and then you are down for a week or two (probably longer with a big order.) I really like the design of the Saddlemen seats. Very nice looking, quality seats. | ||
| Dannybuell |
Zip88 - Thank you, I appreciate your input. Could you elaborate a bit in layman's terms? THX | ||
| Hogzilla |
From the Saddlemen site: "Our Gel Channel line of seats for sport bikes are designed specifically for the rider that needs a seat that can do everything—canyon carving, track days, or commuting. Features Saddlemen’s Gel Channel (GC) technology (patent pending) that incorporates a split piece of SaddleGel and a channel in the base foam to relieve seating pressure on the perineal area, increase blood flow, and keep the rider in the saddle longer. Saddlemen sport bike seats offer high quality, light weight construction and styling that’s second-to-none." They also offer a matching cover to your passenger pillion. I believe it's part of that price. | ||
| Froggy |
How convenient for you to get an email from Saddlemen after he made several non sponsor posts that I had to remove. Put me down on the list for a seat similar to the old comfort seat, but not if it is made by Corbin or Saddlemen. | ||
| Hogzilla |
If we limit our order to only site sponsors we'll have... well... Al. | ||
| Froggy |
As I stated in an email to Danny when this was first started, it has to be through a sponsor. Doesn't matter wither the sponsor makes them or just resells them. Danny himself cannot do anything more than gathering a list of names. Saddleman still has a chance to become a sponsor, I already offered that to them when I PM'ed him. I don't know why they wouldn't, as the sponsorship costs would pay for itself almost immediately, plus then he can make stuff for other Buell's too. (Message edited by froggy on May 28, 2010) | ||
| Afhans |
Danny, Thanks for work this. I just wanted to post up so you know I'm still watching the thread and still interested. The Corbin sounds very cool to me. Perhaps to make it all cool, the dealer you find would sponsor the site? | ||
| Dannybuell |
Froggy - The whole idea is for the community to realize that from several directions HD was approached and there was stone cold silence. Get used to it folks. This little collective buying experiment has proven that HD has NO interest. HD will likely support up to their legal obligation. Froggy We all respect the BWB crew and all that you do. Without you this would not be possible. Would a 'BWB Buyer's Club' business model work where we make an acknowledgement of your contribution onto each transaction, like paying a brokers commission. This might be better than the current arrangement where as you have admitted, there seems to be some resistance to your current business model. THX | ||
| Hogzilla |
I will give this another week, but I am pretty sold on the Saddlemen option, US made, good materials, proven workmanship and great looking. It's a shame it won't be through a group buy, but it's not looking like that will be the option the group can go with under the current "business model." | ||
| Froggy |
Welcome to 1952. Not much has changed with HD since then.
Badweb isn't a business, but the sponsors pay the bills and keep the lights on. I understand that occasionally the rules can be a little frustrating, but we have to make it fair for everyone involved. If someone was allowed to come in and conduct business without providing the same support to Badweb as another sponsor, it wouldn't be fair to the ones that paid, and they would leave. No sponsors = no badweb. I'm not quite 100% sure what you mean by your buyer club idea, but I think I got the idea. I don't make any decisions for badweb, I just enforce the rules and try to keep everyone happy.  | ||
| D_adams |
If nothing else, I'll try calling saddlemen to see what can be worked out. I'm probably not the best solution for it, but if something like this needs to be channeled through a sponsor, I could do it. I'm not really set up for stuff like this, but if no one else can sort it out, I can at least try. I'd prefer to wait on what Al comes up with, as he's more into the parts line. | ||
| Dannybuell |
Keep the faith people. Froggy - An assessment. Who cares how much $ as long as it makes sense? It is not my fault nor the 53 people that have shown interest in a seat that the saddle industry doesn't like your business model. Only two of your BWB sponsors have shown any interest, American Sport Bike and Keda Designs. If the sponsorship model was working none of us would be stressing right now. I am afraid that if we don't adapt and work together we all lose. ----EVERYONE------ Would you be willing to pay a BWB brokerage fee? A payment to the BWB site for the right to organize a group buy in. I can't see how anyone could complain if the savings clearly exceeded the BWB fee. THX (Message edited by dannybuell on May 28, 2010) |
