Tips on Riding with passengers

[Zulu]

A new biker here, my 696 just hit 600 mile so I'm ready to take my girl on ride on my bike. Looking for some tips on things you should do and things you shouldnt do while riding with a passenger .

Have heard different story ,specially while cornering that passenger shouldnt lean and sit straight. Any advice would be really helpful...

Dont wanna drop a bike or scare my gf on first ride . 

[stopintime]

Some info in this thread:
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=40640.0

Take it easy, let her decide the speed. She should squeeze her legs around you and only grab you hard with her hands if absolutely necessary.

She should look over your shoulder, into and through the upcoming turn - effectively only leaning her head - that's enough for some time to come.

[avizpls]

Yeah. Basically, as long as she TRUSTS you you'll be fine. Trust is very important because if something does go awry, only the driver can correct it. If the passenger doubts his ability to do this, then the passenger will make instinctive movements (lean away from the ground) thereby making it even MORE difficult for the driver to manage whats going on.

Stress trust and that her shoulder should always be within 6 inches of yours. ie, lean where I lean and nowhere else!

[Artful]

I'm going to be the guy that says stop.

600 miles is not enough experience under your belt for carrying a passenger. You are still getting used to the bike's operation and performance. Sure, you probably feel really confident riding it now and haven't had any major 'aw shit' moments. That doesn't mean you're ready for a passenger for a few reasons.

1. You aren't as good on the bike as you think you are yet. This goes for any of us, but especially for someone with 600 miles under their belt. You are going to get in above your head at some point, most likely soon. Might be your fault, might be another motorist's fault, but it's going to happen. You need to be able to react properly and safely in that scenario as close to every time as possible.

2. Passengers change everything. The way the bike feels sitting still, the way it tracks through a turn, and especially the way it stops. With that experience I mentioned above you'll get better at adapting to different riding conditions.

3. You owe it to her to keep her safe. You bought a motorcycle and ride it because it thrills you and it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Hopefully during that purchase you did a bit of soul searching and accepted the fact that by riding you are accepting a far higher degree of risk than a typical road user. What would be a fender bender can now be fatal. YOU have made the decision to accept those risks. She may not have. When she climbs on that motorcycle she is trusting you to keep her safe, hell, to keep her alive. She may not completely understand the gravity of the consequences if something goes wrong. Do you feel confident enough in your abilities yet to put her life on the line?

I don't want to be a downer, and trust me, I've had plenty of women on the p-pad over the years that had a really great experience. But I rode probably two years before I felt safe putting someone else on there with me and I'm glad I did.

That said, I've been known to pull the back protector out of my jacket to ensure a more immersive experience*...

Go out and ride your bike. When you have a few thousand miles on your bike get her some good gear and take her for a spin, I'm sure she'll love it.

Once that happens:

1. Tell her not to wiggle when you're stopped. It's natural to think the bike is most stable when you are stopped for someone that doesn't ride. The fact is that when you're riding she could do anything short of a back handspring and the bike's movement is going to try and keep it upright. Every passenger related drop I've seen is from a passenger that doesn't understand that when you're stopped there isn't much keeping the bike straight up.

2. Have her hold on to something sturdy and in front of her. I grew up riding with my dad holding onto his belt loops. I have my girlfriend hold onto my jacket bottom, anything really works. The grab rails on the bike work too, but with them under and behind her it is easy for her to tip backwards. Even if she stays on the bike, the feeling is really unsettling. DO NOT just have her put her hands loosely on your sides. The one time I did have someone come off my bike was at 10 mph because when I changed from first to second their hands slipped on my jacket and they landed on their keister. Her arms around you works fine, but make sure she really has a hold of you. Besides, immersive experience*.

3. Don't have them mount or dismount without the signal from you. Get your bike pointed where you want to go before you have them hop on, walking it backward to get out of a spot is a lot harder with a passenger. Have them hop off before you back it into a space for the same reason

4. Step, Kick, Sit. I've had girls try and kick their leg over the back of the bike, sit, then put both feet up. Even with a low backed bike like the Monster that's a pretty high kick. Step on the left peg, kick your right leg over to the right peg, then sit. It seems so damn simple but I've seen lots of new passengers botch it.

5. Be ready to get headbutted. You're new on a bike, she's probably new on a bike. She doesn't know when to expect you to stop or change gears, so every time you do she is going to crack her helmet against the back of yours. It's annoying and she'll get better about it, but expect it.

6. Check her gear the first couple times. It's easy to forget to fasten a chin strap, hell I do it constantly.

7. Tell her all of this. Don't assume she knows a damn thing. Don't be condescending about it, but if she's a keeper she'll appreciate that you care enough about her to make sure she's as safe as she can be on a motorcycle.

8. Before she gets on the bike, have the talk. What I talked about above, she needs to know that you are going to do your very best to keep her safe and have fun, but that this is more dangerous than driving fast in a car. If she accepts that risk, then it's just up to you to keep her safe.

9. At first just have her sit upright. It isn't ideal, and it will feel awkward, but for the first few rides it's better to have her at least staying consistently in one position than trying to toss her body into a turn or leaning out of the turn. As she rides with you she'll get the hang of when to lean.

* - Dude... boobs. On your back. Yes.

[GLantern]

I second artful in every statement!!  600 miles is nothing you need more time and experience.

[The Bacon Junkie]

I waited 3 years and 30,000 miles until I felt ready to take a passenger.

Still not as comfortable as I would like to be 2-up yet. 

YMMV

Good luck!   

[The Bearded Duc]

And it's probably smart to practice, when you're ready, with a passenger in a controlled environment like an empty lot. That way you're not getting used to how the bike brakes, turns, accelerates, etc on the road with traffic.

[asherrick]

A new biker here, my 696 just hit 600 mile so I'm ready to take my girl on ride on my bike.

I'm not sure I even waited 600 miles before taking my wife out on my 696...maybe that was dumb, but it worked out. I took it very easy on her the first few rides but she picked it up pretty quickly.

[He Man]

what about yourself?

I didnt take my first passenger till about 10,000 miles....and  4 crashes later. then i started taking one of my past gfs regularly when ive done 30,000 miles and its all but good. we even got low enough for her to drag her toes. that wasnt planned though. she didnt speak to me for a week. lol

[Artful]

I can't get that low with the girlfriend on, I get about halfway then I'm too busy keeping the bike upright as she beats me fiercely around the head and neck.

[The Bacon Junkie]

I'm not sure I even waited 600 miles before taking my wife out on my 696...maybe that was dumb, but it worked out. I took it very easy on her the first few rides but she picked it up pretty quickly.

Here's the thing...

Have you ever been in a panic stop situation?  How about a corner where there's an obstacle and you have to tighten up your line?  You can't brake because you're leaned over.  What then?

How big are your "chicken strips"...  I'm only asking because if you've never been to the limit of your tires, how do you know where it is? What if in an emergency maneuver you need to use all of your tire's traction? 

What if you're halfway through a corner and all of a sudden you see gravel in the road?  Would you know what to do?  What if you don't see the gravel, and suddenly your rear end starts sliding?  How do you keep your bike from lowsiding... or highsiding, for that matter? 

Maybe you're out on a group ride and the rider immediately in front of you goes down? Would you be able to keep it together enough to avoid them and stay upright yourself?

Listen, I'm not trying to be a dick...  My point is, it's not about you once you have a passenger.  It's all about them.  You (hopefully) know the potential dangers of riding and willingly accept them everytime you throw your leg over.  Your passenger may not fully comprehend the dangers, and probably never will, unless they've ridden on their own before. 

Your passenger is putting absolute trust and faith in you that you will get them home alive and well.  If you've never been through the situations I've described above, you have no way of knowing what to do or how you'll react.  When your rear wheel begins to slide, most people's first reaction is to chop the throttle.  That's probably the worst thing to do, as when the rear hooks back up you get tossed over the high side and you're looking at serious injuries.

What do you require your passenger to wear in terms of gear?  Jeans? Chucks?  The last passenger I took, I made her wear my one piece race leathers, as she didn't have gear of her own. Full face helmet, armored gloves, boots, etc...   She didn't want to, but she wouldn't have gotten on my bike otherwise. We were just going for a putt through the orange and avocado groves, never above 50mph...  Remember it's your job to make sure your pillion is safe.  If you want to wear jeans and a t-shirt, great.  Good luck with the skin grafts.  That's not what they're signing up for, though.

Which ever way you decide, I wish you luck and a safe ride.  Hopefully I've given you a little food for thought. 

Feel free to send me a pm and ask any questions you may have.  I'm here to help.   

Good Luck,

[Adamm0621]

As someone in a similar situation as the original poster... all of the advice is extremely accurate.  I've got more than 600 miles, but I'm definitely still a novice rider.  There are times when I find myself wishing I had more control than I actually do.  That's why my chicken-strips are as large as they are.  I have a great amount of respect for the inherent risk involved with riding.  The few times I've had a passenger, it's been very awkward.  The bike responds differently, it's sluggish, almost like it's drunk.

The best advice that I can give is to be patient... oh, and no fat chicks... that's bad for your suspension.  

[bikepilot]

imho as new rider with 600 miles on the bike you are at least a couple of years away from being ready to tote a passenger around safely much.  Maybe relaxed low speed city stuff, but be really careful. Riding with a passenger is a lot different and less predictable than riding by yourself and you really don't want to crash your girl.  I'd suggest you not do it until you have many thousands of miles under your belt and are extremely comfortable in all situation - panic stops, slippery surfaces etc.  The best passengers tend to be ones who also ride.  The worst is a passenger who won't lean and keeps herself upright when you lean the bike.  In general the passenger should do with her body what you do with yours. If your shifting sucks you'll really notice as you'll get smacked in the back of the head. 

TBJ makes a lot of good points.  I've been at this for almost two decades, about 130k street miles, countless off road miles...

[redxblack]

Lots of good on this thread. I found a similar thread before I started taking a pillon on this board. Here's some tips, but I'm certainly not telling you what to do. Grain of salt - YMMV.

At stops, encourage her to brace herself with her hands on the tank. She has no handlebars to cushion the inertia. This will help keep her from clanking helmets with you.

The simplest way to explain what to do on corners is to encourage her to look over your shoulder on the inside of whatever curve you're hitting. She doesn't need to lean or scoot on the seat, just look over the shoulder (unless you're getting really aggressive two up riding).

Get her good gear that's hers, and not some "passenger set" that would be shared. If you're willing to risk her life on your bike, it seems like a serious enough relationship to shell out a few hundred for a good helmet, jacket and boots (at a minimum).

KNOW YOUR LIMITS. Road rash isn't sexy and no one has ever impressed any passenger sliding down the tarmac. Before I took live cargo, I got a HIGH QUALITY backpack and threw 70-85 lbs in it. It helped compress the spring just a little bit so I could feel the difference. It made the transition to a pillon a little less dramatic, but 2up really is a different bike than 1up.

[somegirl]

Here is a FAQ I started: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=3666.0