2 up questions

[Malve]

I will soon be riding with a gal who never has before. She's not too keen on it but willing to try. Obviously, I would like her to get the most out of the experience in hopes that we can ride regularly. In terms of backseat comfort and a sense of security, how important is a backrest? What other advice do you have to make the experience a positive one besides riding on back roads, in low traffic at moderate speeds?

Any advice on how to handle stressing the importance of ATGATT while trying to downplay the risk of an accident?

PS She is tall with long legs and nursing a knee injury.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SCWatts]

I strongly recommend a backrest - made all the difference in both peace of mind and comfort for my wife and three kids. I have and recommend the Pirates Lair Stealth: https://piratesk12site.net/YamahaStealth.htm -- looks stock and is very comfortable.

Others like their recommendations as much as I do.

Other recommendations are to forget about impressing her with speed and cornering, not that I needed to tell you. Extra smooth stops, starts and shifts will build her comfort level quickly. Oddly enough, the first time my wife and kids -- all four members of my family -- got on my bike, they were nervous, but the nervousness turned to "wow, this is cool" after only a block or two.

A harder thing to solve is the knee problem combined with long legs - she may want to stretch that bad leg out farther than the foot peg will allow.

Good luck!

 

[juniorfjr]

Just don't get froggy right off the bat. Give her time to acclimate to the whole thing. Get a back rest, we got a Givi and it really helps. My wife had ridden with me once while we were dating 25 years ago. When we got back on the bike in 05 she was very tenative, but really wanted to be part of it all. Now she likes it almost as much as I do, hope you find the same thing.

 

[kulwen]

Start with small road trips at first. I would not make her first ride over 30 minutes.

I stressed ATGATT by explaining it is a lot like seat belts and air bags. Most people never need the seat belt or airbag, but it is just in case. Then avoid any why questions. Why do the pants need knee armor? Then you would need to explain the danger to each body part.

 

[Tyler]

This was just discussed in great detail not too long ago... lots of info here.

 

[773H HO]

Back rest for sure. My wife has both cloth and leather riding gear. She really likes the leather pants best because they do not feel like they are going to slip around on the seat. She also is much happier if she is warm. While we do not have an FJR (yet) I am pretty sure this advice will fit most any bike.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Affirmative on the backrest. Gerauld on the forum made mine and I am very pleased with form fit and funtion.

Not the best picture of the rack but you get the idea.



Some of the other sugestions are to go over how to get on and off the bike and maybe some agreed upon signals for certain things. My wife won't get on the bike until i give here the thumbs up. She won't get off her seat until i tap her on the left knee. Notice i am not a member of the drop club yet. I did say Yet, ya know.

Good luck. The wify loves to ride!

 

[FJR DaveH]

Malve,

I'd get the backrest. I bought mine from garauld here on the forum. It's painted to match, good quality and a great price. For the comfort and feeling of security for your rider, go for it. Try to avoid head buffeting if you can. It can be distracting and tiring to the passenger. Hope this helps.

 

[wfooshee]

Don't give her any idea how fast the bike is!!!! You want her comfortable, not scared. Once she's comfortable (months, not minutes) she might enjoy a little more zip to the ride. But just like a rider, she's got no business trying to glove the street in a turn if she's never been on the back of one of these things before.

Helmets will bump on the brakes. That's OK. Let her know ahead of time it's OK.

If you don't have an intercom, work out a signal if she wants to stop and stretch. That bad knee will get cramped and sore quickly.

Before you even take a road trip, you should take her around the neighborhood, then for a mile or two on the highway. Just to let her see traffic and stuff.

My wife is more comfortable with the grab rails than holding me, and frankly, so am I. Under way, she doesn't even need that.

 

[Bigbeavk]

I got my backrest from www.premiercycles,com and my wife loves it as it's a bit wider and rounded to fit the back better. It also has a small plate you can use as a template for making your own luggage rack later if you want one or buy one of theirs. A little expensive for me so I'll make my own later. Just take it easy with her and let her get a good experience from it. Find a good coffee shop and you will be all set.


Good Luck and be safe

 

[DailyCommuter]

. Notice i am not a member of the drop club yet. I did say Yet, ya know.
Good luck. The wify loves to ride!

Why in gods name would you F*ck with fate like that

 

[Draggon Rider]

My $.02.

A back rest is important to make her feel secure, smooth take off and stops, smooth shifting.

I didn't realize how I shifted until I rode 2 up and my SOs helmet kept bumping mine. So I learned to shift more smoothly, and my stops and starts have improved also.

Make sure you explain what it is you expect her to do. i.e. If I lean you lean with me, I don’t lean you don’t lean. I think she will feel better if she understands her responsibilities on the bike.

Start out with a short ride with beautiful scenery, stop at some place special for lunch or a drink. If you make it a memorable experience she will be more receptive next time you bring it up.

Be sure you know what you’re doing, riding two up is different than riding solo. The bike responds differently with the extra weight.

And I agree ATGATT. Buy her the proper protective gear. I see these young girls riding on the back of these sport bikes wearing tank tops and short. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about what will happen if the bike goes down.

My SO started out with a death grip on the side rails, but that has passed, so show her where to hold on.

NO you don't get a reach around on the first trip, that comes later. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[krashdragon]

I will soon be riding with a gal who never has before. She's not too keen on it but willing to try. Obviously, I would like her to get the most out of the experience in hopes that we can ride regularly. In terms of backseat comfort and a sense of security, how important is a backrest? What other advice do you have to make the experience a positive one besides riding on back roads, in low traffic at moderate speeds?
Any advice on how to handle stressing the importance of ATGATT while trying to downplay the risk of an accident?

PS She is tall with long legs and nursing a knee injury.

Thanks in advance.

Hey, at least she's willing to try. that's pbly the hardest part...

Anyway.

1. the gear is like the guys said.... just in case, like seatbelts and airbags.

2. bumpy helmets is ok...

3. practice S M O O O O O T H..... takes off, starts and shifting...

4. Tell her to pretend she's a sack of potatoes.... just sit there and you'll do the driving.. ( or a bag of rice or whatever... :eh-smiley: )....

that the bike leans around corners like a bicycle, the laws of physics work very well to hold you up.

6. Also.... when getting on and off... have a routine:

You get on the bike, start it, then stand up and hold the bike up.

THEN she can step up onto the left passenger peg, hold onto your shoulder, then step over the seat with her right leg, stand up on both pegs, THEN sit down on the passenger seat. Same thing to get off. She can practice before you start, it'll help. Trust me on that....

Most ladies do things very well if you explain precisely what to do.... we... um.... tend to overthink things, so just explain stuff simply in steps. She'll be fine.

Have fun... And yes, a backrest helps. Even on a Harley! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Mary

 

[03silverbullet]

I would skip the backrest and get a topcase. The topcase will serve 2 functions. Frist it will act as a backrest and second will allow her a place to keep all her stuff.

 

[El Cajone]

+1 on all the stuff said here. Also check out Tyler's link and there is a good thread over on the other forum too.

I rode 2-up for the first time this weekend and it was a new experience for both of us. I read all of the advice here, and my partner read most of it too, and we talked it over a lot before we started out. We went out for several rides on the weekend and they turned out just great!

If I have one bit of advice to offer, it's this; I tried to build up her confidence as quickly as possible by letting her know I was always thinking about safety (i.e. her safety) when we were on the bike. So throughout the day, whenever we'd stop, I just segue into little comments about safety here and there, without being too obvious about it so it didn't sound like I was lecturing. I might say something about a riding tactic I used on the last stretch of road, or maybe something I saw another motorcyclist do that I didn't like, or what the day's weather forecast might mean to our ride etc. etc.

So by the end of the weekend, I hoped all these little comments and conversation snippets would reinforce the idea that I was thinking about staying alive and not just operating the controls on the bike.

It seemed to work too, at least for us. At the end of the weekend she was all smiles and keen to do it again, yay! Best of all she said she felt really safe on the bike!

I'm not saying that this would work for everybody but it helps if you know your pillion, SO, wife etc. a bit. My pillion is pretty strong-willed and she doesn't like being yapped at or lectured, so being the survivor I am and operating on the basis of my own enlightened self-interest, I chose the more subtle, low-key approach.

 

[Aasland]

I used a different tactic.

Before I married her, she rode up with me once on the VFR.

I showed off how fast the bike was.

She never rode with me again.

So I bought her a 1984 Magna 500.

Now she rides her own, and according to the instructors we've had .. she does it better than me!

 

[Auburn]

As said earlier, you need to be smoother on the controls then you have ever been. She will be very aware of anything you do to the bike. Your gage as to whether you are doing a good job or not will be if you feel her relax as you ride.

Also, have a couple of signals that she can do if she needs to stop. One for stop when you can and one for stop now. And a third for find a place waaaaaayyyyy off the road

Some other things I have seen said yet. Tell her to just look over your shoulder in the direction you are turning. She doesn't need to lean, looking over the shoulder will naturally cause her to lean a little and that is all you want her to do. Also, tell her not to shift around mid corner, do it on the straights as it will upset the bike handling when you are turning.

After the AGATT, try and find some means of getting the ability to talk to each other, it makes it more enjoyable to be able to talk to each other when riding.

You will need to anticipate things further in advance as the added weight will change how the bike responds.

Start out with short rides, stopping frequently. We like to ride to the forest and secondary roads with little or no traffic. Use it to do weekend get aways. We will ride down into eastern Oregon for 3 day weekends of riding the paved forest service roads. Good scenery, nice twisties and good times. We will do about 1500 miles over three days. You will want to do shorter distances to start with.

Try not to get caught in the rain until you have several thousand miles two up together. It will be much more enjoyable for you both, and she will have a lot more confidence in your abilities before you have to deal with traction issues.

And ENJOY!!! It is a lot of FUN!!! B)

 

[Tyler]

My pillion is pretty strong-willed and she doesn't like being yapped at or lectured, so being the survivor I am and operating on the basis of my own enlightened self-interest, I chose the more subtle, low-key approach.

Smart!

 

[Neil San Diego]

1. In my experience, a backrest is essential for the comfort and sense of security of the pillion.

2. Communication is very important. Best approach would be helmet to helmet communication (Autocom, Starcom, etc...). If that isn't available, be sure to agree on some minimum hand signals: need a rest stop, hungry/thirsty, bathroom break, I've got a bug in my teeth,...

3. Have a routine for her to get on and off the bike. Krashdragon (Mary) has a very good description. I would only add that I have the bike on the sidestand for added stability while the pillion is getting on the bike. This approach (standing straight up on the left peg and then stepping over with the other leg) should work well for someone nursing a knee injury.

4. Explain to her that she needs to lean with you, and not fight your leaning. Or at the very least she can sit "like a sack of potatos". Also, no moving around (or at least very little) while you are at slow speed or coming to a stop. (Moving around at speed -> OK. Moving around at slow speed -> Bad.)

5. Her biggest job is to wave at the kids in cars as you go by. Makes them both happy. Also be sure to have her throw "two low" to the passing Harley drivers. Waving at other bikes will get her involved in the ride.