Any good tips for first time riders with a passenger
#11
10-06-2007, 12:48 PM
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RE: Any good tips for first time riders with a passenger
ORIGINAL: crashkhanman
Gear for both you and your girl 100% of the time. I personally would recommend riding longer by yourself getting to know your bike. Safer for theboth of you. Make sure you have things like throttle control, braking, hard braking, evasive maneuvering, and inclinesdown extremely well before riding anyone. Next riding season sounds like a good idea.
When you're ready to ride a passenger, I always tell them thesefew things, even if they seem obvious to us it might not be for them. Its comes off a little stronger and intense but it keeps us alive and they have a blast.
(talking to the passenger)
1) Minimizing / No moving when starting orcoming to a stop.
2) Absoluting NO moving in a turn.
3) If I tuck behind the windshield .. hold on tighter and put yourhelmet down towards the middle of my back and keep it there til I start coming up. When I start to come up, come up slowly with me, not abruptly.
4) When making a turn .. try to look ahead and see what direction the turn is. Before the turn put your helmet to the right of my helmet if its a right hand turn / to the left side of my helmet if its a left hand turn.
5) I will give you a thumbs up when I ready for you to get on and off the bike.
6) Lean with the bike. (as if someone put a rod along your spine into the bike)
7) Lastly ... What you do has just as much affect on the bike and our outcome as if you were the driver.
Gear for both you and your girl 100% of the time. I personally would recommend riding longer by yourself getting to know your bike. Safer for theboth of you. Make sure you have things like throttle control, braking, hard braking, evasive maneuvering, and inclinesdown extremely well before riding anyone. Next riding season sounds like a good idea.
When you're ready to ride a passenger, I always tell them thesefew things, even if they seem obvious to us it might not be for them. Its comes off a little stronger and intense but it keeps us alive and they have a blast.
(talking to the passenger)
1) Minimizing / No moving when starting orcoming to a stop.
2) Absoluting NO moving in a turn.
3) If I tuck behind the windshield .. hold on tighter and put yourhelmet down towards the middle of my back and keep it there til I start coming up. When I start to come up, come up slowly with me, not abruptly.
4) When making a turn .. try to look ahead and see what direction the turn is. Before the turn put your helmet to the right of my helmet if its a right hand turn / to the left side of my helmet if its a left hand turn.
5) I will give you a thumbs up when I ready for you to get on and off the bike.
6) Lean with the bike. (as if someone put a rod along your spine into the bike)
7) Lastly ... What you do has just as much affect on the bike and our outcome as if you were the driver.
#12
10-06-2007, 02:50 PM
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RE: Any good tips for first time riders with a passenger
best wayi can explian it is that she needs to be able to control the bike just as well as you. she needs to know by instinct what to do and on eof the best ways is to have her take the msf class herself. having a passenger on the back increases everything and makes it that much harder on you, but whne you ride with someone who knows how to be a passenger you can drag a knee with them and be perfectly fine 
#13
10-06-2007, 04:19 PM
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!!
#14
10-06-2007, 06:17 PM
#15
10-06-2007, 10:32 PM
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RE: Any good tips for first time riders with a passenger
I agree that you have too few miles for 2-up .. get comfortable and experience yourself first before adding extra variables.
When the time comes that you do add a passenger, the best advice I can give you is that your first passenger should NOT be a non-rider, GF, Wife, but it should be another experienced rider so you can learn properly.
It really isn't that big of a deal once you get used to it but, as mentioned, until that time you're putting someone else's life in your hands and another experienced rider knowing how to ride helps you gain better practice.
Add a little distance between you and vehicles in front, with increased speeds braking time is a little extended so ride at a slow pace until you know what to expect. (disclaimer: I don't really buy the added braking distance but that's a debate for another time the point is that it DOES effect handling and increased separating distance is always a good idea anyway.)
Protect your giblets during heavy braking. Try to be smooth with accels and decels to stops. Tell pass. to keep their hands on you @ all times be ready for the unexpected wheelie and such.
Make sure the passenger knows they are in control and your intention is not to scare them but to enjoy the ride, so give pre-briefing on signals that they want you to slow down, stop, etc...
If you want temporary practice without as much risk, strap m/c luggage bags and put a lot of weight in them. Keep in mind this doesn't give you the experience of another riders weight shift but it's a start.
Much more can be said but wait 'til you got more riding time 1st for the rest ... so why I just typed all that I haven't a clue [8D]
When the time comes that you do add a passenger, the best advice I can give you is that your first passenger should NOT be a non-rider, GF, Wife, but it should be another experienced rider so you can learn properly.
It really isn't that big of a deal once you get used to it but, as mentioned, until that time you're putting someone else's life in your hands and another experienced rider knowing how to ride helps you gain better practice.
Add a little distance between you and vehicles in front, with increased speeds braking time is a little extended so ride at a slow pace until you know what to expect. (disclaimer: I don't really buy the added braking distance but that's a debate for another time the point is that it DOES effect handling and increased separating distance is always a good idea anyway.)
Protect your giblets during heavy braking. Try to be smooth with accels and decels to stops. Tell pass. to keep their hands on you @ all times
be ready for the unexpected wheelie and such.Make sure the passenger knows they are in control and your intention is not to scare them but to enjoy the ride, so give pre-briefing on signals that they want you to slow down, stop, etc...
If you want temporary practice without as much risk, strap m/c luggage bags and put a lot of weight in them. Keep in mind this doesn't give you the experience of another riders weight shift but it's a start.
Much more can be said but wait 'til you got more riding time 1st for the rest ... so why I just typed all that I haven't a clue [8D]
#16
10-07-2007, 10:28 AM
RE: Any good tips for first time riders with a passenger
when riding 2-up for the first time, just have someone expendable like an ex-girlfriend ride on the back, so if everything goes smoothly, no problem, but if it doesn't, well, at least you didn't lose your girlfriend. No, i'm kidding. i wish it were that easy. i've had a few passengers on mine, and being i sit snug up against the tank because I can't reach the grips or the ground if I don't, it makes for an awkward seating position for the passenger because there's an 8-inch gap between her front and my back. one girl knew what to do that seemed to help - she leaned way forward and kept her hands on the tank. I hardly knew she was back there. and one time, i forgot to put the kickstand down before she got on (my feet don't make for a very wide foundation to hold the bike up, so balance is important), and her weight on the left passenger footpeg almost levered the bike over - i thought it was going down, but after she got on she leaned hard to the right and corrected it. i've had other riders try to lean against me because they aren't comfortable being leaned over, i've had girls try to sit upright and not hold on (which is fine, as long as i'm not changing direction or speed ..but how often do i do that?), and others try to hold onto my shoulders like it's a piggy back ride, which would be dangerous if I went to accel or brake and she pulled me off the grips. still, aside from hands on the tank, i haven't found a good seating position and handholds for the girl.. any suggestions?
#18
10-07-2007, 10:42 AM
#19
10-07-2007, 05:20 PM
Senior Member
RE: Any good tips for first time riders with a passenger
I suggest more experience before going 2 up.
Full gear for both always.
Bad things can happen. -> http://youtube.com/watch?v=CFlWOVIeNFo
Full gear for both always.
Bad things can happen. -> http://youtube.com/watch?v=CFlWOVIeNFo
#20
10-08-2007, 08:11 AM
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RE: Any good tips for first time riders with a passenger
I def like the ex-girlfriend tip i'll def give that a try lol j/k..Yea I'll def wait atleast until next riding season and then maybe take my girl out in the parking lot and what not until we both feel comfortable on the bike..The only part that I know is gonna eb hard is the balancing because i cannot flatfoot. but hopefully I'll get used to it..thanks!