Any textured leather will smooth out over time if you sit on it. I would suggest that the side panels is where you put your textured leather, and not the seating surface. The first solo I had on my bike had the faux-ostrich and they flattened out in less than 3 months to a fraction of their original texture. For the seating surface, just choose a natural leather texture (as it's natural, the texture will stay damn near forever) and accent the sides with alligator if you like as I did on this seat:
Also, If you order plain black leather for the side panels Corbin WILL PUT VINYL!!! They say its because vinyl wears better in a compression area. That may be true, but was the only gripe I had about my seat. In hind sight I should have picked a textured or colored leather for the side panel if I wanted leather there. Make sure to order black (or mathcing color thread) for the "Corbin" logo or you will get neon-white. I ordered it with black. Here is the picture with vinyl on the sides and Bomber Jacket leather on the top:
NOTE: They dont offer Bomber Jacket brown on their web site, but ask and they can do it. Be aware that an oiled leather finish like this, while soft and supple, tends to absorb anything you spill on it and will take on a worn, lived-in look just like a jacket would. I wanted this, but its NOT as durable as a top grain hide would be.
The color swatches that Corbin has on their web site are VERY inaccurate. There are too many variables like graphics cards, monitors, color settings in the OS, etc to get a true color of any kind. Your best bet is to look at pictures or real bikes (like do a gallery search for "Corbin" on this site) because if a picture is in the sun, shade, has a tint, etc, you will be able to tell by looking at it before choosign your color.
Remember that Corbin will do stitching (like the flames on my seats) for free, as well as give you siping (or whatever you call the stuff at the seams) although be aware that those can come out over time. I Strongly recommend ordering stitching becasue they put a thin layer of soft foam on the back of the leather when they do the stitching. This does two things: one, it gives the top of the seat a slightly plusher feel, and two, it allows micro-movenet between the leather layer and the main foam block, increasing the life of both the cover and the seat itself. If you are anywhere near their factories, you can ride your bike in and they will custom shave a seat for you. This is what I did with my two-tone seat, and it is WONDERFUL!
One thing to consider when looking at their solo seats, the Hollywood solo is very low in back and your butt will tend to slide off it under high acceleration as compared to the Solo seat. If you want a butt-ledge to brace yourself against but dont want to go to to the Stinger style, I suggest asking for a dished out Solo *with NO back rest bar* -- They come stock with a backrest bar that will rack your tail-bone through the foam if you have them dish it out. They will make a pan for you (at no extra charge) without that backrest mount in it, giving you more foam and allowing them to disk out the butt part more (which is how my two tone is made). Also, if you are short, make sure you tell them to shave down the sides near the front so that its not quite as wide and you can reach the ground easier.
All of these things you can ask for by phone. I have bought 4 seats from Corbin so far, and I have been happy with every one.
Hope this helps!
JT
PS: Knowing our dedicated and, um... *enthusiastic* moderators, I expect this post to get moved from "Installed Warrior Mods" in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... [
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