Mark O's Corbin seat adventure

[Mark Olson]

Pull up a chair and check this out.

I got a call from George B. about an add for a Corbin seat on craigslist. I check out the pics and call the guy on Wens. He has a faring for a 85 fj1100 and a Corbin seat. Some body is already coming to look and the items on Thursday and they may be gone when I can get there on Saturday. I call the guy Friday night and he still has the Corbin seat that I want , Gunfighter and lady with a backrest for the price of 150 bucks. a smokin great deal.
I make plans to be there about 10:30am on sat. This is going to be about 120 miles each way as I am in Sacramento and he is in Antioch.

Saturday morning comes and I get my 86 fj ready for the fun ride down the 160 river road , check the oil and find low so add some ,check for oil leaks and found my spin on filter trying to spin off. tightened that  down and marked a reference point on it to see if it gets loose again. Check tire pressure and found low so fired up the air compressor and filled the tires, checked the cables ,speedo and lights , all good. put on all my gear and close the garage door and pull the choke and go to start the bike and it just turns over on the starter and will not fire. Check the fuel gauge and it is low but no low fuel light so I recycle the choke and try to start again , no go. I put the bike on reserve and try to start and still just turns over on the starter with no fire. My wife peeks her head into the garage and asks why I am still there. I explain the situation and she tells me to quit draining the battery and go get some gas because it is just low and my reserve is not working. Reluctantly I follow her advice and take the truck and get some fuel in a gas can. I put about two gallons in the fj and try to start but now the battery is dead. I put the charger on the fj battery and go smoke a cigarette at 10:15am. After 10 mins on the charger I pull the choke and hit the starter and the fj roars to life just like it normally does. Mental note: listen to Wife.

I call the guy with the Corbin and let him know I am still on my way and running behind, he understands , I hit the road.  Halfway to the freeway I remember I have to get cash so I find the nearest bank to hit the atm only to find it is out of service so I have to go inside. Now once again back on the fj I decide to make up time by taking the I-5 south instead of the nice sweepy 160 river road ,I figure I can take it on the way home. On I-5 traffic is moving at a great pace of about 80-85mph and I fall in behind three cars that are pretty good rabbits. we are just cruising cruising as the fj does and the next thing I know the cars in front of me start slowing down and pulling to the right, I check the mirrors and see a chp with flashing lights behind me (damn them shitty mirrors on the 86) I move over hoping he wants the guys in front of me but no luck , they had two chp cars and they got us all. penned us in and pulled the whole group over . I stand at the side of the road and dig out my lic,reg,ins. I get the question "do you know how fast you were going?" I reply with 80mph due to my speedo bouncing around after I get over 60 so I was just going with the flow of traffic as to not go too fast. the officer smiles and says "your flow of traffic was 105mph according to the radar and lidar" I reply with omg I don't want to go that fast this is an old bike, wow I really need to get that speedo fixed. The officers take everybody's info and we all wait for the tickets, I am wondering if I am gonna get towed for the over hundred deal. My turn comes as I am the last one to get processed and the ticket is written up for 90mph in a 70mph zone. Now it is 12:30pm. no cell service where I am.

I am back on the freeway after all that and just about getting to my exit when the map and instructions blow out of my tank bag plastic face that I forgot to close when I was looking for the reg for the cop. no place to stop and go back a mile for them so I hit the gas station and call my wife for the info I had written down next to the desk. the phone keeps cutting out so I have to do it all by texting for the directions and addy. I try to call the Guy with the corbin but no answer at 1pm. Undaunted I continue on to the address and he is home and tells from the look on my face I have had one hell of a time getting there,now 1:30pm. I check the seat out and put it on my fj and It is perfect for what I want . We talk fj's and check out the mods on my 86 and talk about his 84 ,wrecks we have had and where to get parts. I had planned to strap the stock seat to the fj and ride the Corbin home but had taken the bungy's out when I was having a starting problem earlier that day , so I left it there with him in case he could use it as I had another stock seat at home already. The Ride home was nice and relaxing with my Corbin seat underbutt and ride position altered It was very clear why everybody recommends them  for long rides and better position for the twisty roads. As I rode my way along the river road I was Quite pleased with myself for not giving up when the morning went to shit. Cruising along in comfort and style on my 86fj all was well until I realized I had missed a turn and was going in circles , Oh well ,just a few more miles . 

Home at 5:30pm. with no further mishaps.
mission accomplished.

Twas an epic journey with a great outcome offset by a donation to the state yet to be determined.

moral of the story check your mirrors.

 
 

[Travis398]

sounds like the seat cost a little more than you was planning, after chp gets their share anyways. 

[oldktmdude]

   I have a speedo that bounces too much to get a accurate reading. It's not so bad at town limit speeds but at h/way cruising speeds it's not very reliable so I work my speed out by watching the tacho. Seems to be much more trust-worthy.   Pete.   

[andyoutandabout]

Super story of how life just gets in the way of Fj fun on occasion. Bad luck on the pitch from plod. I just finished my traffic school the other day, thus clearing my naughtiness from their records. However I still had to make a $300 donation for 70 in a 55.

[tqmx1]

105Mph man the give away should have been when the tack was wrapped around to 6000+ Rpms and the wind was trying to rip you off the seat

[Mark Olson]

Here is a pic of the corbin and the mess that is my garage.

[Mark Olson]

Super story of how life just gets in the way of Fj fun on occasion. Bad luck on the pitch from plod. I just finished my traffic school the other day, thus clearing my naughtiness from their records. However I still had to make a $300 donation for 70 in a 55.

yeah I gotta wait and see what the total cost of my adventure is.  I should be good for traffic school , as it has been awhile since my last good driver award.

[Mark Olson]

   I have a speedo that bounces too much to get a accurate reading. It's not so bad at town limit speeds but at h/way cruising speeds it's not very reliable so I work my speed out by watching the tacho. Seems to be much more trust-worthy.   Pete.   

ummm , it wasn't bouncing , that was my line for the chp.   I was just being stupid and in a hurry.

[Zari]

Mark,

The seat looks great bro!!!!   The riding will be great with that saddle under you and Pam, now we just need a a fork brace for Andy and me.    Sorry I couldnt make the ride with you! 
Let's see about a ride if when the weather looks good.

[racerman_27410]

exactly why i hate riding on the interstate.... dang revenooers.

sounds like one of those days Mark..... glad you made it thru relatively unscathed ('cept yer wallet obviously)

the good thing is those kinds of days are rare and you never know.... if things hadn't gone the way they did you could have been caught up in something much worse.. even death!!!!.... ya never know how lucky you are...  ( i tell myself that shit to make me feel better when i have those kinds of days    )

the seat looks sharp!

Kookaloo!

[Pat Conlon]

Mark, that '86 FJ of yours has come a long way from the first time you and I met.
Let's recap:
1) 17" rims and modern rubber................................ check
2) Front end springs and emulators with brace............check
3) Penske shock....................................................check
4) R-1 brakes and SS brake lines..............................check
5) Corbin seat.......................................................check
6) What's next?

You have done well my lad, and you deserve it. Kudos!

The silver lining about your CHP incident is that they wrote you up for only 90. It could have been worse. Anything above 20mph over the speed limit is very, very expensive. Anything over 100mph is automatic reckless driving, and you do not want to go there. I suspect that all of our FJs's have a wavering needle on our speedos at speeds above 80 so I agree as suggested, use your tachometer as a reference for speed.

Bottom line (get it?) You will enjoy that Corbin seat.    Cheers!   Fr. Paddy

[Marsh White]

Sorry to hear about that Mark - I use car rabbits on the I-5 all the time while coming home from the WCR.  Sucks that they actually pulled over the whole lot of you.  I once got in a bit of a race with a BMW M5 and after much jockeying around in traffic - I ended up well ahead of him going about 130mph while he was rapidly approaching in my rear view mirrors.  Just then I saw an overpass up ahead and I moved over and slowed down.  This is something I ALWAYS do on the overpasses in the center of the state on the 5 cuz I frequently see cops there in the shadows on the other side.  Sure enough - I'm now going about 90mph in the right lane as I pass the cop and the BMW flys past me (directly in front of the cop) going upwards of 150mph for sure.  We both instantly slow to cruising speed in the right lane as the cop comes up on us lights flashing - passes me and pulls over the BMW.  I smile and laugh as I pass by him!  HA!

Hey - I see my Potato Cannon there in the background!  Had any luck with that thing?

[Mark Olson]

Marsh , still chasing down the weak spark problem on the cannon , flame propagation issue.

[Mark Olson]

Mark, that '86 FJ of yours has come a long way from the first time you and I met.
Let's recap:
1) 17" rims and modern rubber................................ check
2) Front end springs and emulators with brace............check
3) Penske shock....................................................check
4) R-1 brakes and SS brake lines..............................check
5) Corbin seat.......................................................check
6) What's next?

You have done well my lad, and you deserve it. Kudos!

The silver lining about your CHP incident is that they wrote you up for only 90. It could have been worse. Anything above 20mph over the speed limit is very, very expensive. Anything over 100mph is automatic reckless driving, and you do not want to go there. I suspect that all of our FJs's have a wavering needle on our speedos at speeds above 80 so I agree as suggested, use your tachometer as a reference for speed.

Bottom line (get it?) You will enjoy that Corbin seat.    Cheers!   Fr. Paddy

you forgot fjr clutch and brake masters
extra clutch discs and doubled up springs.
Well my moditis is in remission at this time , although vibration eliminators are next, then maybe a major cleaning . then maybe some relays for headlight and ign, and then maybe.............

[Marsh White]

then maybe some relays for headlight and ign, and then maybe.............

If you do the HID headlight mod (for like $45) then you won't need headlight relays.