I've recently acquired an 85 K100 RT after not riding for nearly forty years. It came with a stock seat and an aftermarket Touring Corbin. The Corbin is more comfortable, but it only allows the tips of my toes to touch the ground unless I lean to one side or the other. I found it too hard to control the bike that way and put the stock seat back on. That one lets the front halves of my feet rest on the ground on both sides, but, I still find situations that are hard to handle. I've lowered the riding position as much as I can with the rear shock, which is OK because I'm not the featherweight I once was. Has anyone found any solutions to lower the riding position still further? I talked to Corbin today, and they said they could customize their Sports Saddle seat by shaving it down an inch, and narrowing it some; the Sports Saddle is already lower than the Touring Saddle, so, that's one route, but I'm wondering if anyone has found other solutions? I'm not sure how willing Corbin is going to be to accommodate me if I need further adjustments, so I'm trying to find options.

I would be cautious about just lowering the rear - you will change the steering head angle and therefore the handling. I'm not familiar with the RT, but you may be able to drop it an equivalent amount by raising the forks in the triple clamps.

My girlfriend has been looking at this on her RS. We are going to a very highly regarded local seat refitter who can customise as required. I would recommend that as a cheaper option over buying a different seat, but of course if the Sports Saddle has a noticeably different frame, buying a new one might be more successful!

The final option is, of course, buying a different bike. I only point it out it for the sake of completeness.

Did you use a shorter rear shock? This plus moving the fork legs 'up' into the triple clamps can make a difference, but sidestand and centrestand functions can be reduced slightly if you go too far, not to mention cornering clearances if a good lean angle is required in your style of riding. My seat is a leather Corbin and it too has a forward edge which doesn't allow a particularly easy reach to the ground for my 82cm/32" inseam, but I manage alright with my proper riding boots.

I have, unfortunately, a 19mm shorter rear US-made Works Performance shock on my K100RS, and 'dropped' the fork legs in increments until I was satisfied with steering effort and stability. I've no need to use the shorter shockie but got it on eBay as the original length version, new in the box, but in fact it was the shorter version and there was no easy returning it to Daytona BMW across the ocean. So I used it and it works well.

'One of these days' I'm gunna buy a Ram rear shock in the proper length and slide the fork legs back to stock. The shorter Works shock will then be sold to someone who needs it. It's in good nick.

Jhepburn wrote:I would be cautious about just lowering the rear - you will change the steering head angle and therefore the handling. I'm not familiar with the RT, but you may be able to drop it an equivalent amount by raising the forks in the triple clamps.

I'm talking about the stiffness adjustment - nothing else was done. I understand there are shorter shocks you can install, but I wonder if lowering the riding stance with suspension adjustments can lead to problems with dragging things like the kickstand. I'm not a super aggressive rider, but I've still managed to catch metal a time or two...

Jhepburn wrote:My girlfriend has been looking at this on her RS. We are going to a very highly regarded local seat refitter who can customise as required. I would recommend that as a cheaper option over buying a different seat, but of course if the Sports Saddle has a noticeably different frame, buying a new one might be more successful!

The final option is, of course, buying a different bike. I only point it out it for the sake of completeness.

I think the seat option will be my best solution. I can probably sell the Touring Corbin for pretty decent cash given what I've seen them going for on eBay - mine is in practically new condition as the previous rider only put a couple of thousand miles on it, and I've not used it hardly at all. Previous rider bought it new.

Different bike is not on my list right now. I think I can find a solution with this one, and I really like the bike in most other respects.

I'm looking for a reasonable corbin for my 1985 K100RT if you get to that stage. Just let me know and we can maybe work something out. Thanks!

I had a problem with the Corbin Gunfighter seat that came on my bike,I'm 6'1 and 200#'s and kept catching my leg on the rear of the seat when I went to get off. I had a local trim shop cut 3" off the rear section after the portion that I sit in and tapered the cut to the rear of the seat where it meets the cowl. It works great for me now,no more catching my heel and feeling like the bike is going to fall over.

That is a very good looking seat! Unfortunately, they don't make it for the '85 K's...

I have a 85 K100 RS that the seat is on,I not sure about the model breakdown,but that is what is on the title. Mine also has the special cowl piece to fit the Corbin seat.

OK - I was just going by what's on the Corbin website. I've been told several times that the mounting for the '86 and up K bikes is different than the '85 model year... Maybe you have a discontinued item, or maybe someone managed to modify it to fit your bike, or....

http://www.corbin.com/bmw/kmenu1.shtml

If you click on the "Gunfighter" link from the above page, there's a really nice picture of the Gunfighter - does yours look like that? I just saw a "Gunfighter" for sale on some page I browsed to, and it looked quite different.

Thats it,it you notice the tail piece is cut differently than on the dual seat, it slants up where the normal seat slants back.

Does this mean that the tail piece is included with the seat?

I don't think so my tail piece has all of BMW's info on the inside, the underside of the seat says manfactured for BMW by Corbin Corp.

A co-worker has an '87 K100 RT so we were comparing them today. The tail piece on his bike slants up, like the gunfighter one does. On my '85, the tail piece runs straight back. That's the difference between the '85 and all future model years. If you have an '85, and your tail piece angles up, then, you've either got a modified model, or the year is listed wrong on your paperwork, or something similar... It's too bad, because I'd love to have a seat like that on my bike - it looks like it's nice an low and plenty comfortable

I think we're beating a dead horse,my vin matches the title and it says 85,someone may have changed the seat and tail piece,a lot can happen in 25 plus years.

The very early K100 models, through the end of '85, had the passenger's grab handles on the seat where on the later models they're built into the cowling.

Two Wheels Better wrote:The very early K100 models, through the end of '85, had the passenger's grab handles on the seat where on the later models they're built into the cowling.

OK, That's the first time I'd heard that. That would explain everything. Thanks...