YouTuber Explains the Secrets of Riding Two-up Passenger Setup

By Cameron Vanderhorst - August 3, 2020

Fortnine explains a wide variety of different passenger types, how their bad behavior can affect your ride, and how to handle them.

One of our favorite YouTubers, Fortnine, recently published a brief animated video that’s both educational and entertaining. Admittedly, “educational and entertaining” is what FortNine does best, but this bite-sized video packs a lot of useful info into its brief, four minute runtime.

In this video, he explains the intricacies of two-up riding that we didn’t learn in our MSF class. He shares secrets that take some motorcyclists years or even decades to master. Two-up riding is an important skill that requires practice — but if you fail, the stakes are twice as high. For this reason, it’s important to take any information we can get on the subject.

Fortnine goes back over the basics, but he doesn’t insult your intelligence. As he says, “50 percent of the ability, 200 percent of the responsibility.” He politely reminds us to add some tire pressure and stiffen the rear preload setting on our shocks before getting into the meat of the lesson.

Understand Your Passenger

The key, as he explains, is “understanding your pillion.” Know how your passenger will behave on the bike, and act accordingly. Since you’re the one in control, it’s okay — and far safer — to gently correct bad behaviors and offer instruction and advice. Being a good passenger is far easier than being a good rider, but it’s still a tremendously important skill for your pillion to learn. It’ll help you both in the long run.

Fortnine explains a wide variety of different types of passengers, how their bad behavior can affect your ride, and how to handle them. Each type of rider is accompanied by a humorous animation. Some riders, like tall, wind-resistant Sailboat Simon, can’t help how they are — but you can modify your riding style so that you’re both comfortable. Handsy Hannah can be a major distraction, but you can solve problems like these with good pre-ride communication.

Others, like frightened Statue Stephanie, might not be as ready to ride a motorcycle as they thought they were. Racy Rachael’s inappropriate riding attire may not affect you negatively at all, but it’s up to you to make sure she’s dressed for the slide and not for Instagram likes.

Understanding your pillion isn’t the most intuitive part of riding motorcycles. But, if you ride two-up often, it’s one of the most important skills you can learn.

Photos: Harley-Davidson