Co-worker wants a ride and I haven't had anyone on the back on this bike since I got it. Any tips?

 

I would just make sure you make a quick suspension adjustment for the added load. I know I use allot more rear brake when I am 2 up.

 

The suspension setup would also be the first thing I would do.
No fat chicks or guys [sm=badidea.gif]

 

+1 on the fat chicks and defenitly no mandoms

 

yea, um, fatchicks = bad juju...just make sure whoever you take with you has a good idea on how to ride pillion..nothing worse that helmet smashing..I get so annoyed...I just wanna throw them off..ggrrrr.

http://www.hartside.com/pillion.html

 

x2 on the helmet smashing, makes me want to do a stoppie.

 

I highly recommend "Total Control" By Lee Parks; Chapter 14

The other chapters are great as well but 14 taps into sport riding with a passenger....great stuff in that book!

I'd go one or two clicks up on the rear spring (maybe even soften the compression damping a little), linked braking helps, keep it smooth and give much more stopping distance...you'd be surprised how much of a difference a 100 lb chick (or dude, if you're into that sorta thing)makes when you're used to stopping the bike with just you on it.

Inform your pillion how you expect them to behave on the back (i.e. lean *with* you into turns and not against, no major weight shifting during slow speeds, etc).

Good passengers are alot of fun and they are even better with knowledge and experience.

 

+1 on I ride mostly with my wife as pillion (104 lbs) and actually feel the bike to handle better and more stable. Probably it’s crazy and all in the mind, any thoughts?

 

IMO, the extra weight from the passenger is, in essence,making the suspension soak up the bumps more and as a resulttransfers the feedback in a dulled fashion...in short, the suspension moves less.

 

from my personal experience i've found its better to tell the passanger not to lean w/ you, but best if you tell them to just relax.......simply sit there and enjoy the ride. as you lean the bike.....if they just RELAX then their body weight will move w/ you when you lean. what i've had a few times is by telling someone to lean w/ you, they will still screw you up. they will lean into a turn far before you've even gotten the bike over, they'll pop up mid turn, they'll lean in too late and you're already mid turn and compensating for their lack of leaning and then *BAM* you feel the bike fall over a bit more b/c they finally dropped in. so my advice to people now when i take them riding is to simply..........sit there, and enjoy the ride, let me do the work.