LOVIN' on my bike right now!

[Absyn-thesis]

I've been riding my '06-750 for a little over three years now, and have only recently had opportunities to take others along on the back. The other night I took a young woman I know through work out and we had a blast!

Man oh MAN have I been missing out! The bike rides smoother, even steadier, and just _loves_ the extra load. My passenger was fully kitted out and we had the pre-ride chat so we knew how to communicate and what to communicate; what to do and not to do while sharing the bike. Still, what a FEELING!

I think a huge part of my joy was hearing her enjoying herself--she works for a state government department that provides funding and services to people who are hurt on the road, and has seen a lot of riders through her employment. Always interested, she wanted to understand the passion and trusted me to take her for a run. She LOVED it, and so did I.

Now, I've had a taste, I can't wait until my wife will get on the back (we have two pre-teen children, she's concerned--understandably--about orphaning them). I would LOVE to do some serious miles with her, especially now that I know how sweetly the bike handles with two-up, and how much fun it is to share!

I haven't seen many threads singing the joys of two-up riding--maybe they're in the Touring section. I just couldn't resist giving a shout!

Ps, Yes, riding with a young woman when I'm married and Herself won't ride is a little dicey. I've known this woman for 10 years--there is nothing untoward here. Still...I discovered at the same time that I'm not going to make a habit of offering rides--it is a pretty intense experience, and I'd much rather share that with my wife (Sooooooon!!).

[katana0311]

yea it does ride smoother. not as hard on the bumps. i awlays take my girl with me. she loves it as much as i do.

[Absyn-thesis]

yea it does ride smoother. not as hard on the bumps. i awlays take my girl with me. she loves it as much as i do.

Cool! So I wasn't just glowing on the sharing. You've got a great arrangement, then! Herself and I will keep working to get her on the back--but from noises she's making, she may get her own bike license before she'll get on the back with me. We'll see!

Ciao,

[zuma]

Your heart is in the right spot. My wife won't ride on a bike, especially behind me. Thinks I'm a bit of a barbarian on the thing. That makes me grin.

[Fault]

Yea, I wanna get some time behind the bars before I let my girl do any serious riding with me (shes only rode up and down the street with me). Always remember safety! And glad to hear your not making it a habit of riding around with young women, as opposed to your wife

[Absyn-thesis]

Your heart is in the right spot. My wife won't ride on a bike, especially behind me. Thinks I'm a bit of a barbarian on the thing. That makes me grin.

Zuma, mate, we've never met and the idea of you being some axe-wielding barbarian on a bike has me drying my molars. For one thing it's the wrong kind of axe...

Funny where temptation finds you, though, isn't it? *Toddles off looking for crazy-glue to keep my halo in place*

[steves]

If the extra weight made a big difference in how you perceived the machine to handle, I would suggest doing some sag measurements.

It could be that the bike is setup for a rider with more weight...

[katana0311]

Zuma, yea ill give it a lil to much throttle at times n ill get a hit from the side. haha. not on purpose but she hates that. I like to go out on my own every now an then so i kan open her up a lil.

[Absyn-thesis]

Yea, I wanna get some time behind the bars before I let my girl do any serious riding with me (shes only rode up and down the street with me). Always remember safety! And glad to hear your not making it a habit of riding around with young women, as opposed to your wife

Too true! Nobody ever rides or even sits on my bike without a helmet, and all the gear I can scrounge (or lend).

Fair cop on the second point, too. Dude, it surprised me completely how intense it was--I'm pushing 50 and didn't imagine for a moment I'd feel anything other than protective of a one-time student turned professional manager. As I just posted to Zuma--temptation can sneak up on a guy at the damnedest times!

Solution: Get Herself onto the bike soon and often and get my two-up fix at home!

If the extra weight made a big difference in how you perceived the machine to handle, I would suggest doing some sag measurements.

It could be that the bike is setup for a rider with more weight...

Good point, Steves! My mechanic and I have tinkered with it, but he's a race-setup-nut and may have tweaked it for performance more than comfort. I don't have enough riding mates handy to get guys to help me measure sag, but I'll have to find a way.

Thanks for the tip!

[steves]

The rear is the hardest to do without help. On the front you can set zip ties on the fork tubes to get a fairly close reading.

[il_ragazzo]

be careful that's really a slippery slope... first u give a girl a ride ... then she's upset cause she wants to ride but she is afraid to / can't...... then she's saying that your not trust worthy because u gave another woman a ride.... then she hates her and vice a versa....


PS... i should have slept with her... it would have been less hassle then a motorcycle ride.

[Absyn-thesis]

The rear is the hardest to do without help. On the front you can set zip ties on the fork tubes to get a fairly close reading.

Yup. The front can't be adjusted for pre-load on mine, only rebound damping, and I've got that on the factory recommended setting (need to double check that).

I've softened the pre-load on the back, as well as the compression and rebound damping without sag measurements--just making little adjustments by feel. Wow, is that threaded pre-load adjuster a pain in the azz, even with the right tool! My mechanic mentioned it was a bit soft and stiffened it up last time it was in, so I am not sure what the sag is like anymore. Looks like i need to find some golf-buddies (even if they don't know bikes) to help measure the sag for me--worst case I can balance myself with a hand on the garage wall and at least get it closer.

Cheers!

be careful that's really a slippery slope... first u give a girl a ride ... then she's upset cause she wants to ride but she is afraid to / can't...... then she's saying that your not trust worthy because u gave another woman a ride.... then she hates her and vice a versa....


PS... i should have slept with her... it would have been less hassle then a motorcycle ride.

OUCH! I'm luckier than you--got the milder version, I think.

Being married 20 years and knowing this other woman for 10 gives me a bit more traction, but it was funny to feel myself juggling hand-grenades when I thought about it after...

Always good to keep the risk in mind, though. Good to know I can trust you guys to confirm the confirm the when required!

[Scout]

I absolutely HATE riding with a passenger, wife notwithstanding. I took her maybe 4 times, and then said enough was enough. I advised her that if she liked riding so much, to get a liscence and a bike. She went and got her liscence, so I bought her a bike. A 98 GS500E. She sold it within a year, and is looking to get a new one now.

[Absyn-thesis]

I absolutely HATE riding with a passenger, wife notwithstanding. I took her maybe 4 times, and then said enough was enough. I advised her that if she liked riding so much, to get a liscence and a bike. She went and got her liscence, so I bought her a bike. A 98 GS500E. She sold it within a year, and is looking to get a new one now.

What's funny, Scout, is that I thought I would hate it too--having only really ever ridden alone before (previous attempt was really only around the block). I figured the squirming would upset the bike; the weight would feel unbalanced, that my goolies would get pasted every time we stopped...and was utterly gob-smacked to find how much I liked it.

Different strokes, eh?

It'll be interesting when Herself tries it--and whether I'll get back-seat riding syndrome! In the meantime, it was a hoot, with a side-order of grenade-juggling.

PS, I've always meant to comment on your paintjob--that's seriously cool! Me, I have trouble making sure I'm seen, so the camo is counter-intuitive to me, but I love the effect.

[Psycho1]

I've ridden 2up so much over the years between the wife and my daughter, that I don't really notice much difference in handling between 2up and solo anymore on any of my bikes. I just make the slight changes in my riding style without even thinking about it. It gets even better as soon the passenger gets more used to riding with you, and you begin to move as one on the bike.