First off, its been a couple decades since I owned a bike. Just bought a Road King and I expect I'll ride solo for 2k miles before I go out with her.

She is already enrolled in the MSF course that begins tomorrow. Can any of you offer me any advice or experiences on how to break her into being a passenger.

20 year ago, before I met her, any chick I threw on the back I wasn't so concerned with...I was young and stupid. We're excited about touring together and I want to start off on the right foot..

Thanks in advance.

 

not really much to a passenger, it helps if she sits still while you get used to it. also i dont like when passengers try to steer the bike from the back aka leaning for me

 

Duct tape 4 to 5 times around her and she won't be able to get off then just cruise until she stops screaming.

 

Tell her to use the footboard to mount the bike and to balance herself by putting her hand on your shoulder. This will make it easier for you to hold the bike straight up when she gets on. Have her lean with you and the bike when you turn, and have her dismount the bike the same way she got on.

 

You sound like me a few years ago. 30 years without a bike, and my first bike back into it was a Road King.


The biggest advise I can give you is to take it slow, on back roads, the first few times out. Getting her out into traffic, at 65+ mph, might unnerve her a bit. And it is absolutely critical that she sit completely still when coming to a stop. While trying to stop, if she leans even a little bit to the right, you'll wind up having to put your right foot down and using the front brake only to complete the stop. This causes the front end to dive and really will throw you off balance quickly. This can end unhappily. And that bike is extremely hard to keep upright in those conditions!!


When you progress to roads with curves, she may try to lean further than you in order to look where you're going. If she has to absolutely see what is ahead, have her look over the opposite shoulder. In other words, have her look over your left shoulder when in a right hand turn. And vice versa. Lean with you, but keeping the head more upright.

 

Id say the most important thing is teaching them the omportance of leaning with the bike and not shift their weight around. I also tell them if they want to hang on to me to hold on around my waist, never my arms or shoulders. Start off slow and easy on back roads (45-50 mph) and work my way up from there. If Im doing the speed limit on corners and they start getting edgy about the bike leaning its going to be a short ride

 

Oh man, I could tell stories of drunk/disorderlly passengers (not me!). Even the most awkward/inexperienced passenger shouldn't be able to bring you down. Tell her to stay balanced back there. She will "feel" the bike better if she is holding on to your body in some way (as suggested, the waist is the best place to hold on). She will get it within a few rides. No worries. It comes natural to most ladies after a few rides.

 

Make sure she understands that the slower the bike is going, the less stable it is. She should wait to adjust herself until you've got your foot on the ground or until you're going 20ish, depending on whether you're stopping or starting. I've noticed that my passengers who've never ridden tend to assume the opposite, that is, the slower you're going the safer it is to move around in the back. Although if she's taking the MSF course, she'll probably pick up on that on her own.

 

This is opposite what she will learn in her MSF course.

e. When in a corner, look over the operator’s shoulder in the direction of the
corner.

Here's the link. http://msf-usa.org/downloads/Passenger_Tip_Sheet.pdf

 

I prefer if inexperienced passengers do nothing. Just sit there like a sack of potatoes.