Riding with a passenger

[Tv]

I almost always ride two up with my girlfriend. It's 'our' bike! My girlfriend was a bit nervous at the first corner but because I was confident, kept it simple, took it easy and rode smooth she gained confidence in no time. It's like walking up to a horse and patting it on the head - it knows if our scared of it. If you act confident, your missus will be confident also.

Have Fun!!

[dpep]

Do a series of drills in a parking lot first. Take off from a dead stop; once you get going, pull in the clutch and stop; do it again. Get used to how much more throttle and clutch you are going to need with the additional weight. Once you are comfortable with that. Do a series of turns from a dead stop as you would turning from a stop light or sign. After that CAREFULLY practice stopping in the middle of a turn from a stop as you would do if a car suddenly pulled out or ran an intersection on you. This is a place where it is real easy to dump it if you don't brake correctly. Once you feel confortable with that, pick up your speed to second gear and practice quick stops. You need to get a feel for how much more brake is and distance are needed to stop with the additional weight.

I tell my passengers not to do anything, just relax and go with the flow. The various forces, gravitational, centrifugal, inertial etc. will combine to keep them in the right postion. Once they tighten up and start trying to DO things, they disrupt those forces and cause problems. The important thing to caution them is that when the bike is leaned over, they need to resist their instinct to try to sit upright. Explain to them that a motorcycle turns by leaning and that sitting upright can cause it to come out of its turn and run off the road.

If your bike does not have a backrest, install one before taking your passenger. Without one your instructions to relax will go unheeded. Falling off the back will be the number one fear of a first time passenger, valid or not. Eliminitating that possiblity in their mind will make the ride much more enjoyable for both of you.