Two up stories, please

Amongst the wife's concerns about my getting back into motorcycling is
that she thinks that the passenger's enjoyment of riding is extremely
limited, being roughly comparable to the view of the second sled dog.

Anyone out there that can post some stories (or links thereto) about
what's it's actually like to be a passenger on a bike? FWIW, the
planned purchase is an FJR1300 and I'm about 3" taller than my wife
(5'8" vs. 5'5"--172cm vs. 165cm for my metric friends).

Thanks!

Bob
Rancho Cucamonga, CA

 

To start with, a woman has to really *like* a guy and *trust* him to
want to ride behind him all day looking at the back of his helmet while
he does scary things to her...

And, it's a rough ride, back there over the rear wheel. My GF was on
the back of my Suzuki as we headed down I-5 past Disneyland and she was
getting bored, so she said, "Can't you go any faster?"

So, I accelerated to 80mph and then she complained, "This is shaking my
tits off, slow down!"

It seems that the expansion joints set up a nasty hobbyhorsing motion
that coincides adversely with short motorcycle wheelbases. You either
need a wheelbase longer than 60 inches or you need to adjust the front
spring preload very soft. If you do the latter, the steering feels very
vague and the forks bottom out easily.

Another time, a girl I knew kept begging me to take her for a ride, so
I took her to San Francisco for a weekend. She asked me to stop at
K-Mart in Sacramento on the third day in order to buy a soft cushion
she could sit on to save her butt from the pounding coming back on
I-5...

 

I've never been on the back of my FJR, but I'm 6'1", and my wife is 4'11".
She loves it.

All your wife needs to be able to do is look over your shoulder.

 

How big are her tits?

 

On 28 Aug 2005 19:24:27 -0700, wrote:

Here's one my wife wrote about a trip we went on to France. It's more
about the trip rather than being a pillion but it may help...

http://www.highsideuk.com/bikes/france/sarah.asp

 

"Soaking through, tired and having an arse so sore I couldn't sit on
it, I just wanted to get to Dover and we still had about 30 miles to
go. My relief was overwhelming when we finally arrived at the Travel
Inn."

Oh yeah, that's bound to inspire her! LOL

On the saddle front....rear?....I'm half-expecting to have to spring
for an aftermarket saddle anyway, so I'm not too worried about the
"butt soreness" part of the equation--that should be solvable. She's
just worried about being bored.

Which does not mean that I should endeavor to scare the beejezus out of
her. LOL

Bob
Rancho Cucamonga, CA

 

Leave her at home. Buy her a bike of her own.

 

Get an intercom which can also have radio/mp3/etc. You'll have great fun
arguing whilst riding and then unplugging yourself just so you can't hear
her [1].

[1] it's quite possible that she won't notice

 

Get her to sit backwards on the bike. It's like a magic carpet ride!

 

Paging Sir.Tony..... I'm sure your mum can help with this one.

 

An electrician friend sometimes joked about getting his wife a throne
to sit on so she could see better. I wonder if there is something like
a booster seat available. Surely this has come up a lot of times.
He ended up buying her a bike of her own.

Dean

 

why do you want to add 140lbs of dead weight to a motorcycle?

 

wrote

Right on dude. You and the bitch are much better off ridding solo so
tell her to get a fucking job and buy her own ride.

 

It depends on you to some degree. If you ride like a loon with no
consideration for her then it'll certainly be intresting, and she'll
get a great view when you pull a stoppie.

The trick is to make it reasonably interesting, but not so over the top
you scare her witless. Mile after straight boring motorway (freeway)
mile will bore anyone, car or bike.

I've not done a lot of pillioning and have to admit I much prefer the
front seat. However, if you get the right person up front then it's
great fun. You have to put a lot of trust in that person, or just
throw your cares to the wind and enjoy yourself. If you can do the
latter it's better than a rollercoaster.

 

Impress upon her that in truth, her main worries will be boredom and a numb
bum. After about an hour's pillion experience, she'll be fine.

Neil

 

I'd say her suspicions are well grounded when it comes to the FJR or any
sporty bike for that matter. As Krusty said
"To start with, a woman has to really *like* a guy and *trust* him to
want to ride behind him all day looking at the back of his helmet while
he does scary things to her..."
If you plan to ride 2-up alot I suggest looking at cruisers and dressers -
their back seats sit higher giving the passenger an excellent view. Try a
test-sit on a FLHTC Harley or, if you are not allowed to have a motorcycle,
try a Honda GL or a BMW clone thereof <g>.

 

Christ.. The FJR is considered as sporty as a cruise ship this side of the
pond.. You poor bastards.

Neil

 

Get some kind of comms system so the two of you can talk.

 

No stories from my wife, but she's done nearly 30k miles on the back
of our Thunderaces and is already looking forward to the next trip.
She looks over my shoulder and can see fine. It's not for everyone,
but there's only one way to find out, isn't there?