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New to 2 up riding

U

ultracyclist

New member
I am a new rider on a '02 R1150 R.

My MSF instructor last year said that one should wait to ride 2-up until you have ridden at least 3000 miles.

My spouse is now asking me every other day if I have achieved 3k miles. She does not ride machines as we know them. (She wants a Vespa with the CVT ).

She wants a ride on the back of my rad. And she is getting EXPRESSIVE. I am not excited about this at all, as I think this is dangerous for a new rider.

What tips can you share with me? ( I would buy her a helmet).
 
Forget 3k miles- decide for yourself at what point you feel comfortable trying it, and don't require yourself to actually go anywhere the first time. If by the end of the block it doesn't feel right, abort the ride. Once you do feel okay with it, start with small short rides. If you have adjustable rear suspension preload, you may want to boost it up a notch or two as well.
I think MSF offers a two-up course so you may want to look into that. When I took the RiderCourse (now known as BRC) a few years ago it included some basic info on the right way to ride two-up and I assume this was included in your course.
 
practice the starting, stopping and turning stuff with her onboard in a safe place..

alot like starting all over....

leave space ahead and ride slowly...

have fun
 
Like others have said wait till your ready there is no magic number of miles that you'll be ready and take small steps at a time and get her the gear so if you do drop it with her on she doesn't get hurt. I don't like the passenger leaning with me, I never know just what they'll do or how much so I tell her to sit like a sack of potatoes on the back, I'm used to heavy gear on it.
 
Sack of potatoes is about right. When I'm on the back of someone else's bike, I tell myself that anything I do is just going to make things worse.

My wife is a pretty good passenger, but she has a few bad habits from being a rider herself. Because she rides a sportbike, she wants to lean forward; I have higher bars and I sit pretty much upright. On our last ride together, we knocked helmets about three times.

One good idea is to establish an official hand signal for "Pull over right freaking now!" Probably something that doesn't involve her hands around your throat.
 
Tina and I have almost 30 years of two up riding together and somewhere on the far side of 100K doing so. Here's a few things to keep in mind.

Be sure your passenger has adequate gear. This means more than a helmet. You want gear close to or equivalent to your own. If you fall off, you hit the ground with the same force as passenger or rider.

Prior to riding, explain some ground rules and how motorcycles work. Be sure to point out the following:

  • Point out what's hot and what spins.
  • Point out where to hold on and how to do so.
  • Remind them that their feet stay on the pegs at all times unless they're getting off or on the bike.
  • Explain how to mount the motorcycle. Left hand on your shoulder. At your sign (a nod for us), they put their left foot on the peg and swing their right leg over. Encourage them to try not to pull on you, which will pull both of you over onto the ground. You should brace yourself with your left leg and get ready before you give the nod. Sometimes, a curb makes this easier.
  • When we get somewhere, Tina puts her left hand on my shoulder and says "ready?" before she gets off. That way, I'm ready for her and she can get off safely. These two routines, getting off and on are vitally important to keeping your bike's bodywork off the ground.
  • Agree upon a few signals for the passenger. Make sure you have an "I have to pee", "You're going too fast" and "I want to stop" signals worked out ahead of time. For us, the "I have to pee" is her touching the inside of my thigh, "too fast" is her squeezing me with her legs and "stop" is her putting her right hand over my shoulder and making a chopping motion.
  • If I'm getting ready to pass a car, I hold up my left hand make "pull the trigger" motions. Tina knows I'm going to add a whole bunch of throttle and she needs to get ready. She'll hold me by the sides of my waist and lean forward. Wrapping her arms around me makes it difficult for me to operate the bike, but if she holds onto my waist she can sense what she needs to do without affecting me. Save the "pulling the trigger" motions until you've been riding together for a while. :ha
  • Have your passenger look over your right shoulder on right turns and your left shoulder on left turns.
  • Remind her that the bike will lean and that failing to lean will make Bad Things happen. She needs to stick with you, even though it feels wierd. Remind her to look up the road when you're cornering, she'll feel better than if she's staring at the pavement right next to the front of the bike, which is getting closer every time you go around a turn.
  • If you have a backrest, install it. Passengers love knowing that they won't fall off the back. If your passenger is relaxed, they'll help you be smooth.

In general, try riding around a parking lot together for a little while, or just up and down your street. From there, take a shortish ride to somewhere close. Think of something like 5 miles away, on a country road or lightly traveled road to a specific destination. She'll know what the duration of the ride will be ahead of time, which will help. At the terminus (while you're eating your ice cream or having coffee) allow ample time for relaxation and hanging around. Then ride home, ensuring that the ride out was comfortable and she's comfortable on the return. The speed limit will be plenty. For someone that isn't used to riding a bike, the speed limit will seem horrifyingly fast and exposed. Go at a reasonable pace. I give Tina a pat on the thigh with my left hand after we get going and she gives me a thumbs up over my left shoulder if she's all good.

Ok, so that's a bunch of stuff for the passenger. But, as the rider, you have a significant responsibility to be as absolutely smooth as possible. Feed the throttle in in small increments and slow the bike using engine braking when possible. Shifts should be smooth and cornering lines should be the classic arcing line. You have added a significant amount of load to the bike (even for light passengers) and the bike will want to be treated smoothly. Shifting should ideally feel like an automatic transmission.

You should add preload to the rear shock to handle the passenger. Be sure to remember how many turns, clicks, whatever you added so you can set it back to solo settings easily.

If you and your passenger are clunking helmets, you need to step up your game as a rider and get smoother. You'll discover that your ability to ride smoothly with a passenger will bring you enormous benefits when you ride by yourself. If the bike isn't getting jerked around, up and down, fore and aft, you'll be faster and more in control.

Riding together for us is one of the most enjoyable things we do. We started riding together when I was 19 and she was 17 and even today do many of the same kinds of things we did back then. A ride to lunch, breakfast or just out for an afternoon ride is still a hugely romantic interlude. We're away from all other distractions, moving together down a beautiful road. It's just like ballroom dancing for us. We're in motion, with the enjoyable music of riding carrying us.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. After a while, you'll need to coach her to give other riders a cheery wave as you catch and pass them. :evil
 
I would just add to Dave's excellent post,
Tell your passanger to not lean or push on you when stopping. You will find that clutching and breaking while doing a push up will wear you out!
Have fun!
 
I would have to say that poobah's post says about everything. As for timing I would just say begin taking your wife when you are comfortable riding the bike by yourself, it will be a better experience for you both. You will have many happy miles ahead of you I am sure, it is a time with my wife that we both enjoy and miss when I don't have a bike that she likes riding on the back of. Thank goodness for Gold Wing rentals in other cities for us...lol.

Good luck and let us know how you get along please
 
Kind of the same points only stated another way.

The rear passenger needs to understand that when looking straight ahead, they will basically see a big helmet in front of their face. If they want to see up the road, they need to do so using one eye to see past the helmet. In a turn, when looking ahead, which they should be doing, they need to use the eye on the side of the inside of the turn . . always. I tell my wife it's also OK to weight the inside peg in a turn and always look way through the turn. On long trips or with experience they will get the rhythm of you and the road so the one eye thing will not be as critical rolling down a long straight road. They can look around and point out cows if they like.

A new passenger may not understand the need for the bike to be leaned over in a turn and if they're looking through a turn on the outside, they may think it's helpful to somehow get the bike straight. They also need to understand that the bike is accelerating in a turn and the the exit for the most part is faster than the corner entry. Accelerating through a turn should feel normal when they expect it.

I also let them know before the ride that in the case of a quick stop, which should not be normal, they need to brace themselves against the lowest part of my back. If they grab your shoulders or push high up, you're going to be right down on the handle bars loosing control during a hard stop. Stay away from the upper body in a hard stop.

Another idea is when you anticipate a bump or a small log or bumpy railroad crossing, it's OK for your rear passenger to "Stand" slightly on both pegs to get their butt slightly off the saddle to absorb the shock.

When the passanger understands what's expected, they pretty much enjoy the ride as much as you and I agree with Dave on it being like a waltz when done right.
 
As a relatively new rider myself, I would put off the 2-up riding until you feel comfortable trying it. It might also be best to avoid any group riding, both single or 2-up, until riding becomes somewhat second nature.

Although I have about 16,000 miles in a bit under 2 years, it wasn't until I had 2-3,000 miles that I considered taking along a passenger. And then the riding conditions were very conservative: around the neighborhood, rural roads with little traffic, etc. And we spent a substantial amount of time in an industrial park that was empty on the weekends, practicing starts, stops, turns from stops, quick stops, etc.

Kbasa did a great job in his post, and is right on about the way riding can build and strengthen a relationship.
 
dave's post above should be in the ON... excellent stuff.

regarding the 3k limit, i'll echo the calls to forget it. i'm a new rider, i got my bike in 12/2003. i've only ridden 21k miles. this past weekend, for the FIRST time, i thought, "i think i would be comfortable with a passenger."

everyone is different.

good advice for your wife might be, "encouraging a motorcyclist to perform acts for which the skills and mindset are not ready is a good way to get hurt."

impatience, in all its forms, causes wrecks.

good luck, have fun, and ride well.
 
I couldn't agree more...

username said:
dave's post above should be in the ON... excellent stuff.
Click to expand...

Yep, get this one in the magazine, it's very good, and very helpful.

Riding 2-up is a 2 person proposition. Each has to understand what the other is doing. Both rider and passenger need to feel comfortable, both physically and mentally. Dave explains this interaction very well.

My wife has absolutely NO interest in riding behind me, or any other motorcycle rider. She has a fear (unfounded, IMHO), and just does not want to ride pillion. She has no interest in moving up from her scooter to a full-sized motorcycle, either. She's found her niche, and wants to stay there. While I'm very disappointed that she doesn't share my love of motorcycling, I will not force the issue. I do have 2 daughters that like riding as passengers, and really want to ride their own motorcycles.
 
My first passenger was JimBud, and I'll say it would have been IMPOSSIBLE if he were not an experienced rider. As it was, it was about all I could handle.
 
Did you have to tell the world......

iRene said:
My first passenger was JimBud, and I'll say it would have been IMPOSSIBLE if he were not an experienced rider. As it was, it was about all I could handle.
Click to expand...

about you giving me a ride to the shower........... :heart

OH, the stories they tell....when you are gone.....

Cheers.... :nyah
 
KBasa said:
[*]Tina puts her left hand on my shoulder... her touching the inside of my thigh... squeezing me with her legs...putting her right hand over my shoulder... she'll hold me by the sides of my waist and lean forward... wrapping her arms around me... I give Tina a pat on the thigh with my left hand... she gives me a thumbs up over my left shoulder if she's all good... as absolutely smooth as possible... a hugely romantic interlude... We're moving together... We're in motion.

Whew! What were we talking about? Oh yes, riding two up. After practicing signals like these, you'll have to hurry back home for another sort of romantic interlude. That should put you and your passenger on the fast track for learning to ride two-up. Good info, Kbasa.
Click to expand...
 
tell her she needs to loose a few pounds before you feel comfortable with her as a passanger.....that should take care of it.
 
King said:
KBasa said:
[*]Tina puts her left hand on my shoulder... her touching the inside of my thigh... squeezing me with her legs...putting her right hand over my shoulder... she'll hold me by the sides of my waist and lean forward... wrapping her arms around me... I give Tina a pat on the thigh with my left hand... she gives me a thumbs up over my left shoulder if she's all good... as absolutely smooth as possible... a hugely romantic interlude... We're moving together... We're in motion.

Whew! What were we talking about? Oh yes, riding two up. After practicing signals like these, you'll have to hurry back home for another sort of romantic interlude. That should put you and your passenger on the fast track for learning to ride two-up. Good info, Kbasa.
Click to expand...


:ha

Now you know why we enjoy riding the bike together. :evil
Click to expand...
 
ultracyclist said:
I am a new rider on a '02 R1150 R.

My MSF instructor last year said that one should wait to ride 2-up until you have ridden at least 3000 miles.

My spouse is now asking me every other day if I have achieved 3k miles. She does not ride machines as we know them. (She wants a Vespa with the CVT ).

She wants a ride on the back of my rad. And she is getting EXPRESSIVE. I am not excited about this at all, as I think this is dangerous for a new rider.

What tips can you share with me? ( I would buy her a helmet).
Click to expand...

Ultra -

I don't agree with the "3000 mile" advice you received from your instructor. I think a new rider needs to be completely comfortable and confident, and to have been exposed to a wide variety of balance, traffic, and other street riding issues. Remember, the passenger is placing their life in your hands, just like a passenger in an airplane. What is 3000 miles of riding - 50 to 100 hours? Would you want a pilot in your airlplane flying you around if you knew he only had 50 to 100 hours of total flying time?

If your wife is that anxious to jump on a bike, let her get a Vespa or put her throught he BRC and get her a bike. When you have been riding for at least a year and feel very comfortable, try starting out with a passenger on the back.
 
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