A New Corbin Seat For the Long-Term Indian Scout

WRIST: Brian Hatano
MSRP (2015): $11,299
MILES: 6,049
MPG: 41
MODS: Corbin Brave seat

Gen Xers know that back in the pre-digital age, you could modify a motorcycle from wheel to wheel by flipping through a bike magazine to get ideas from the variety of colorful ads that once populated the pages of this and other publications. The millennial method is more efficient. Open a browser, type in "motorcycle seats" (or whatever you want to search), and your choices are displayed in the palm of your hand. I've adapted, of course, but I still tend to flip through a magazine and look for stuff, which is how I stumbled onto this new seat for the Scout.

I've been preparing to bob the Scout's rear fender by taping lines and trying to envision the final look before making any actual cuts. I don't want it to look like I just lopped off a chunk of metal. And that's when the Corbin ad in a recent issue of Motorcyclist caught my eye. It was the photo of its new Brave Solo saddle ( corbin.com; $493) on an Indian Scout.

The Brave saddle is designed after Corbin’s popular Gunfighter that has been around since 1982. But what I saw in that ad was a seat that resembled the tail of a café racer. Although I was totally happy with the Indian reduced-reach seat/Trask handlebar combination, I knew I had to try the Corbin because I figured that by cutting the fender around the tail end of this seat, I could end up with a whole new sportier fastback look.

That’s the theory, anyway.

So I contacted Corbin and placed an order for a Brave, all black. (I was planning to reupholster the Indian seat in black, so this saved me the trouble.) Like all Corbin seats, the Brave seat can be ordered in a variety of color combinations and textures. I neglected to ask if I could get a reduced-reach version, so after installing the new Corbin, I’m back in the original position that requires me to lean forward a little more to reach the Trask handlebar. Not a deal-breaker.

The padding is firm, just like the Corbin that I have on my Kawasaki ZRX1200R, and the 6-inch rear bolster that tapers back over the Scout’s rear fender offers some back support and forms a nice pocket with the slightly wider seat section. The feel is more sport-touring than cruiser comfy. And just like I expected, the new Brave saddle changes Scout’s tailsection lines dramatically, and I haven’t even bobbed the fender yet.

A 6mm Allen wrench is all that is needed for the seat swap (to remove the stock seat post). You can purchase the Corbin chrome thumb screw ($20) to fasten the new Brave seat to the fender, or you can do what I did: just use the M8 Allen bolt from the seat post. It works perfectly once you add a washer, and it won’t be as easy for somebody to remove it.

I’ll be getting into that fender bob soon enough, but coming up next, I’m heading over to Motorcycle Service Centers in Camarillo, California, where the Scout will get K-Tech Suspension’s Tracker drop-in fork cartridges and Bullit nitrogen-charged springless rear shock absorbers.