First time with passenger. Help

[iv76erson03]

Yay for springtime! Anyways, i've had my GS for almost a year and I've put like 2500 miles on it but I haven't put anyone on the back cause I wanted to get real good at riding it before I added another variable (this was my first bike). Anyways, the girlfriend has been bugging me so I'm getting her a helmet this week. So I have three questions.

1. What should I tell her as far as riding instructions so it doesn't throw me off too bad.
2. How much different will the bike handle? FYI, I'm 170 lbs. and she's prolly 110.
3. Should I crank the rear suspension thing up to 7? I've never touched it so its prolly on 4 or whatever.

Any other tips would be great as well. thanks guys.

[pandy]

Passenger Tips for Riding TwoUp

I can't remember where I found this, but I've been saving it for when I give my bestest friend her first ride:

Passengers are usually at the mercy of the rider's good sense, or sometimes the lack thereof. Many passengers don't know better. So much is written on riding a bike, so many classes are offered for riders, yet very little is offered for passengers.

With that, here are my suggestions for passengers:

Wear Good Gear

As a passenger, you are just as vulnerable as the rider. If the rider decides to take an asphalt nap, it's beddy-bye time for you too. Don't accept crappy helmets, while the rider of the bike is in the very best leathers and replica helmet. You need good gear. Good gear consists of a SNELL/DOT approved helmet (full face is really the best), a long sleeved leather or Cordura jacket, at least jeans, heavy leather long fingered gloves, and boots that cover your ankles. These are the minimum requirements for riders to take the MSF course. They are a good idea for you too. Dress for the weather. Nothing will take the joy out of a ride by coming home miserable, either from the heat, cold, or wet. If your rider doesn't care about this, I suggest finding someone else to ride with, someone who will make sure you are dry and warm on that cool morning. So now that you know what to wear

Mounting/Dismounting

Don't get on or off the bike unless the rider says they are ready. The best way to dump you, your friend, and their bike is to leap on or off the thing when the rider isn't expecting it. Do not stand on the foot pegs to mount and dismount like you are getting off a horse. I have seen a foot peg break off when a pillion stood up, put all their weight on one peg, and tried to step off a bike. To get on, lift your leg over the seat and scoot on, placing your feet on the pegs to settle into place. To get off, your best bet is to slide your hips over, set a foot down, and step away from the bike, pulling your leg over the seat, or around the back.

How to Sit on the Bike

As a passenger, sit on the seat, with your feet on the passenger pegs. Keep your body upright and look ahead. You can place your hands on the hips of the rider or around their waist. You can also hold onto the grab bars on the tail section if that works for you. Another method is to reach around the rider's waist and place the palms of your hands on the back of the gas tank. This works especially well on sport bikes. Do not sit or lean against the rider. Leave yourself a little room so your helmet doesn't bang into the rider's when they brake. Remember though: Sit Still!!

A motorcycle is a dynamic machine. It makes its way by maintaining balance in turning, acceleration and braking. The rider is constantly making small control adjustments throughout the ride. As a pillion you can have a great effect on the stability of the motorcycle. In short, it is entirely possible for you to run the bike off the road from the back seat.

Acceleration

When the rider accelerates away from a stop, lean forward slightly to counteract the tendency for the bike to push you back. Don't forget this and get so far out of shape that you grab onto the rider. I have seen more than one panicked pillion almost yank the rider off the accelerating bike. Another thing you can do is squeeze the bike with your thighs, pressing your weight down on the pegs as you lean forward. This helps you maintain your balance. If the rider is taking off too fast for you, ask them to slow down a bit. If they don't, find someone else to ride with.
Braking

Everyone has to slow down sometime. When the rider applies the brakes, your body will tend to slide or lean forward. You need to counteract this so you don't slide into the back of the rider. Like when accelerating, use your legs to keep yourself upright. You can place your hands on the grab rails behind you, or on the back of the gas tank by reaching around the rider's waist. Do not, under any circumstances, place your hands against the rider's back or shoulder blades. I don't know who is teaching some passengers to do this but it is dangerous. It shoves the rider's weight against the bars, making it very difficult to control the bike. The first time a passenger did this to me, we were almost shoved into oncoming traffic. I really, really wanted to hunt down the clown rider that taught them that trick.

Cornering

Bikes lean. It's what makes them so much fun. When the bike is cornering, the rider may move around, or even hang off a bit. Don't try to emulate them. It is your job to sit still, lean as the bike leans, keeping your body solid on the seat and aligned with the bike. Another thing you can do is to look over the inside shoulder of the rider as you go through the corner. This doesn't mean you lean over more than necessary. Just look towards the inside of the corner. This also let's you see where you are going so you can anticipate a stop.

Stopping

As the passenger: when the bike comes to stop, sit still. Keep your feet on the pegs. Let the rider do all the work. If you need to shift about, tell the rider you want to move so they are ready for it.

Communication

Talk to your rider, before, during and after the ride. Let them know if you are new. Don't be afraid to tell them if you are scared. Everyone is inexperienced at something. There is nothing wrong with being nervous. If your rider scoffs at this, come ride with me. During the ride, if you need a break, say so. If you want them to slow down, ask. After the ride, give them some feedback. If you had fun, say so.

If you need to communicate with your rider during the ride, understand that shouting inside your full-face helmet at 60mph is pretty useless. You need to get their attention first. Reach around and tap them on the top of the thigh, or on the shoulder, to let them know you want their attention. When they acknowledge you, speak loudly and in small words. If you can, use hand signals to direct them. Talk about these signals with your rider before you start the ride, before you need a rest stop, or need to give them directions.

Take responsibility for your ride. Communicate with the rider. Make it clear what your expectations are, and don't ride with any rider, on any bike, where you aren't comfortable. Like I said, if your rider doesn't listen to your concerns, if you aren't comfortable on the back of that bike, you can always ride with my friends and me.

[pandy]

Also, here are some previous threads with some excellent tips and info (I used advanced search with the search term "pillion"):

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=19866.0

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=7004.0

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=12400.0

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=7423.0

[TragicImage]

I'd say wait until you've got another 2k miles under your belt... but your call.

[scratch]

1. Tell her to lean with the bike.  This is the most important thing a passenger must do.  Moving around upsets the bike.

2. Tell her how you want her to hold you.  Having her fall off is kinda a bad way to explain to her parents why she fell off your bike.  The passenger is always your responsibility.

Method 1 - I prefer that the lady grab the inside of my thighs, not my privates, the inside of the thigh; besides the fact that it is an erogenous zone, when I flex to keep my knees pinching the tank, she'll feel that and react better and quicker to the acceleration or braking, by either pulling or pushing as required.

Method 2 -  I developed this myself, after riding passenger many times - One hand is around the waist, with the forearm against the back, the other hand is against the back.
Squeeze the rider/bike with your thighs/knees on acceleration and deceleration.  Get the boots against the bike as much as possible, squeezing with the ankles (bet alot of you didn't think of that).

[frye]

i had a thing in high school where id give kids a ride after parties for twenty bucks eacch but when i got my motorcyle i realized that this wouldnt be as profaatble as before. after driving drunk girls around for a few months i realized  ALCOHOL and motorcycle dont mix. buut you coulda guessed that. and i agree with jack, the inside of the thigh always seemed like the most stable way two keep a person on the back

[pandy]

Method 1 - I prefer that the lady grab the inside of my thighs,

You boyz will stop at NOTHING! 

[iv76erson03]

thanks for the help. i was gonna tell her to lean with me. oops. good thing i consulted the experts.

What about the shocks? Would you knock it up to 7? I'm planning to increase rear tire pressure as well.

[vsboxerboy]

I just started taking my gf out on rides and she loves it.  I have about 6K under my belt, and every mile helps.  It can be a little weird coming to a stop at times a slight shift in her weight is pretty noticible at low speeds although I'm sure this would be much more difficult if you cant flatfoot both feet like my lanky ass can.

All in all its not as bad as I thought it would be.

[ducati_nolan]

I'd jack the rear shock up all the way for sure and don't add more than a couple pounds of air to the tire.

Everyone always has their methods for riding with a passenger but I keep it simple and slow to begin with. I just tell her to keep her feet on the pegs at a stop, and hold me arround the waist.

When cornering, I take the corners at a relaxed enough pace that there is no need to hang off, but just leaning slightly into the turn and tell her to look over my shoulder in the dirrection of the turn.

It's best not to make the first few rides too complicated, you can work out the finer details once you have ridden together a few times.

[Wrecent_Wryder]

T4

[natedawg120]

also you might suit up and before you enter roadways you might practice with your GF on the back.  As stated above, at lower speeds the GS will wobble.  I can tell you for a fact this is worsened if the passenger doesn't leans away from the turn, as first time passengers often do.  So just take her out and practice a little, because it is quite a bit different then solo.

[RVertigo]

Here's my order of doing things:

• Explain what it's like to ride:  Leaning WITH the bike and not counter-leaning, wind, wind gusts, starting, stopping, using your abs to keep you upright, pinching with your knees, etc, etc


• Explain that the exhaust is HOT and that touching it (even wearing jeans) will HURT...  Keep feet on pegs at ALL TIMES.


• Work out a "Stop Now" signal for her to tell you "OK, I want to get off now, 'cause I'm freaking out" (Like, tapping on your leg or some other non-verbal signal) and make sure she knows that this is the ONLY safe way to freak out...  Freaking out in any other way will most likely cause a serious problem.


• Don't ride until you stand...  In other words, you stand up the bike and she gets on...  You stand there and lean from side to side and get an idea of what kind of weight you're dealing with...  Then tell her to move and wiggle around, so you both can see how much her movements will move the bike.


• Don't ride on the street until you can ride in a wide open empty parking lot...  Have her drive to the parking lot with all her gear in the car...  Ride around the parking lot....  Slow maneuvers are the hardest and least stable.


• Notice in #5 I said "ALL her gear."  You are FAR more likely to eat it the first few times you ride with a passenger...  So, think about all that guilt you'd feel when you have to look at your broken girlfriend...  She MUST wear protective clothing...  For the good of you both.

There are lots of other good tips posted in this thread and the others linked earlier...  Once you actually start riding around in the parking lot, you'll both get a feel for what's right and wrong... 

And FYI...  I dropped my bike at a stop sign the first time I road with my wife on the back ('cause I didn't follow the tips I just listed).

[iv76erson03]

Hey guys, I made my girlfriend read this thread before we went riding. Everything went great. She was a great rider, didn't counterlean, crush my nuts, etc. Barely noticed she was back there. Fact that she is 110 lbs. prolly helps. Acceleration and braking was a little weaker though. Back end felt great at 7 setting, but i think i'm gonna need a spring job on the front.

anyways, thanks for all the help. we'll have many great miles ahead of us.

[scratch]

You're welcome!  And, congradulations on your first successful two-up ride! 

One thing I've forgotten to add was: back up the bike before she gets on.

[ducati_nolan]

Stopies are harder too 

[iv76erson03]

I'm too chicken to do a stoppy with just me on it, let alone the love of my life.

do you guys notice a difference on how much wind effects the bike 2-up? I was being blown around today pretty bad with both of us on it, but it was a rather windy day.