Adjust the shocks for the combined weight , find a slow long road with few intersections , make sure she has long pants and some type of boot or shoe , and then follow the pre mentioned advice , be very careful on tight U turns , I hope she joins our family !!!
Make sure she is aware that her feet never touch the ground.
Make her aware that there are hot exhaust pipes near her feet and she shouldn't touch them with her shoes (or legs).
It will take more throttle to get going and more brake to stop.
She needs to lean into the turns just like you do. In other words, her back should always be at the same angle as the backrest. If she doesn't lean, you will feel it as a counterweight. Tell her to look over the shoulder in the direction of the turn (left turn... look over left shoulder and right turn... look over right shoulder).
Both of you should get the hang of it rather quickly. I love riding with my wife. She is the perfect passenger.
What everyone else said!!
Once you and her get the hang of it, be prepared, you won't be able to get her off of it. It's great riding with a passenger, They get to take all the pictures to remember the trips you take.
My wife was the same. I was the first guy she had done any riding with. The first time on a bike the guy dumped it and she got burned on her ankle.
Prior to going on her first ride with me I told her what everyone has already said, but I did do one thing. I like full face helmets (modular) when I ride (I do wear half helmet if the weather is nice and riding solo. I got my wife a full face and also picked up a Sena helmet system for communication. It has an intercom and we can hook up our phones to it.
I used it to tell her what I was doing and for general conversation it is amazing how relaxed it can make a passenger and reduce stress on you. Well, it worked so well she went ahead and decided to take the Harley riding course and decided to buy her own bike. She now rides a 2002 XL1200c Sporty. This is her first motorcycle and it is a Harley. Now we use the Sena to talk as we ride and I pass along advice and comment when she does something well when riding.
In other words communication is the key to riding 2 up.
So much can be duscussed after watching this video.
Proper gear, Full face helmet maybe?
Basic first aid (what NOT to do)
COMMUNICATION between rider and passanger. Something like tapping on rider shoulder to let him know she needs to dismount or readjust
Good protective boots and other gear. Have her wear layers, it sucks to be cold or too hot.
Make sure she sits still, leaning forward to talk to you or fiddle with her clothes or hair can unbalance you.
I'd recommend doing what I did for my wife. I'd been riding for 20 years, but my wife (GF at the time) had never been on one. So to make her feel safe I had her follow me in her car about 20 miles outside the city to a nicely paved, but seldom used county road. We started slow and kept it at 35 or below and just cruised out in the country for awhile. She was hooked and since then we've been all over the US.
Also, make sure she has a backrest. Makes worlds of difference. Ride safe and enjoy!
Tell her not to make loud exclamations unless you're about to crash, or hit a deer.
My wife exclaimed "OMG", when I was making a left onto a 2 Lane near Bayfield , WI. There was a beautiful full moon, low in the sky, that she admired loudly. Scared the crap out of me.
Have some sort of signal that your wife is going to mount, so you can be braced. You'll do better than you think, but it does take a few thousand miles to master low speed maneuvers, and turns.
My biggest advice is to repeat what has been said about clear communication. The most critical is mount and dismount. Sometimes after we have been sitting on the bike for a couple hours my wife gets anxious to dismount at fuel stop without me being ready. Words can't describe how hard it is on groin, legs, core, and arms trying to hold up 900lbs. I haven't dropped it yet but there were at least two instances that almost went south fast. Same goes for mounting. Sometimes I am fiddling or trying to get things situated and she just hops on. Bad idea. Over time all these problems have disappeared and I don't even realize I have a passenger most the time. We have been averaging 15-17k a year 2 up for a few years now.
02-01-2017, 07:16 PM
