Mike Corbin – 50 Years in the Saddle
Congratulations to Mike Corbin celebrating 50 years in the motorcycle saddle making business this year , and still turning out 20,000 seats a year from his 82,000 sq ft factory at Hollister ( no less !), California . Corbin was born in 1943 in Gardner , Mass . As a young man , he was interested in all things mechanical . He worked with his uncle repairing bowling alley pinsetters and pinball machines and won first place in his high school science fair with a servomotor and memory circuit – driven robot . After high school , Corbin joined the Navy and worked diligently while training as a ship ’ s electrician . During his training he arranged to buy a 1959 Triumph Bonneville , which was waiting for him when he returned home on leave . Upon completing electrician school , he was assigned to the San Francisco-based aircraft carrier USS Ranger . He rode the Triumph across the country and reported for duty . Corbin ’ s knowledge of electricity grew as he worked aboard the Ranger , which traveled throughout the Pacific . After completing his Navy tour in 1964 , he returned home to Gardner and found electrical work in a nearby paper mill , and then at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut . Pratt & Whitney built jet engines for the Vietnam War effort , and the demand for good electricians to service the factory allowed Corbin to start his own electrical subcontracting company , Camtron , Ltd . The company serviced heavy equipment for a variety of New England defense contractors . But as public opinion started to turn against the war in the late 1960s , Corbin realized that his electrical business would dry up when the war ended . About this time , Corbin began customizing a 1964 Norton Atlas . He had seen custom choppers in California during his tour with the Navy and wanted one of his own . He removed and remade various parts of the bike . Unhappy with the comfort and look of the seat , he reshaped and recovered it with the help of a neighbor who had an industrial sewing machine . While attending a rally , another Norton rider offered Corbin $ 40 for his custom seat . He sold it , then went home and began work on another . Soon friends were asking Corbin to build seats for them . A Harley- Davidson dealer in nearby Hartford , Conn ., saw one of the seats and contacted Corbin . The dealer ordered
Mike Corbin , seen here on the left , with receiving his “ Class Ring ” from the AMA ’ s Steve Gotoski . Mike was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000
‘ focus solely on making seats in 1968 ’
five at $ 25 each and sold them all in one weekend . He then ordered 10 more . At that time , Corbin was trying to balance his electrical service business with making seats as a sideline hobby . In 1968 , he decided to focus solely on making seats . He rented a small shop in East Hartford , Conn ., and asked some of his electrical subcontracting employees to join him in the new
Fire & Ice dual Touring saddle
business , which he named Corbin Manufacturing . “ Corbin [ Manufacturing ] turned into a full-time business in 1968 , the year of the Honda 750 K and the year before the Easy Rider movie came out ,” Corbin said . “ Probably the best possible time ever to enter our beloved motorcycle industry . I wasn`t marketsmart enough to have planned this timely entry , but I worked hard to hold
on to the tiger`s tail .” In 1970 , Corbin learned that branding was an important part of his new business . He renamed the company Corbin Gentry , after Southern singer Bobbie Gentry , to give the company name a more rebellious ring and national appeal . By 1971 the company was selling a large line of seats and accessories , including handlebars and frames for virtually every American , Japanese and British motorcycle . The company continued to grow and moved into a 1,200 square-foot building in Ellington , Conn . By 1974 the company had outgrown that facility and moved into a 225,000 square-foot former woollen mill in Somersville , Conn . It was now selling a wide range of parts , including fuel tanks and fiberglass fender kits . Corbin sold directly to dealers and consumers through catalogs and warehouse locations in Dallas and San Francisco . The energy crisis of 1974 led Corbin to return to his electrician roots . He
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20 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JULY 2018