2 Up riding

[SSR]

Did my first 2up last weekend. It was my first time and it was my gril-friends first time (that is, she's not my girlfriend, but a friend that's a girl).

Went off without a hitch. This being my third season with my 250, I finally felt really comfortable with it. I told my friend to follow my movements exactly and off we went. Slow speed riding was certainly different, but my friend said she didn't think anything was awkward.

Biggest suprise for me was how well the 250 responded. I'm light (145lbs) and she's pretty light (around 120lbs) and acceleration/braking took longer, but ride was still great.

[Pyro]

LOL - it's clear that lotsa people here are lightweights

You guys riding 55+60kg up would almost be like me fully kitted with a loaded backpack at around 110kg.

I felt like the bike was suddenly much faster when I dropped off a 15kg bag, let alone a 55kg pasenger!

[Live2ride]

Originally Posted by drsketch

it will take longer to stop, longer to take off. obviously will not want to dip as much in turns, and there will be a lot of weight on your wrists, especially if stopping at a light going down a hill.

Originally Posted by Snake

^^^ Is this from personal experience or just speculation?

I can say from personal experience that everything drsketch said in that statement is true except the thing about dipping in a turn...I've never heard of "dipping in a turn" but I never seem to notice a huge difference in turning unless its at low speeds. I would also expect this feeling riding 2 up on any motorcycle.

[paulforaname]

Originally Posted by NaughtyusMaximus

It was riding a scooter in Indo while working that got me interested in getting a bike when I got home to Vancouver

Wayan isn't exagerating

yeah i lived in Bali for 8 months and agree, i once saw 6 on a bike, mum, dad, 3 kids and a baby..and agree all my balanese mates all have these 110 cc semi autos which are samuari's (spelling) or 90 cc ( could be between 80 and 100) scooters.. and same when i got home after riding a scooter for that time i so wanted a bike but over there the average speed around town is 30 -40 ks where in melb more like 80k so if you come off its alittle different..plus 90% of road uses in indo are bikes and 10% cars. when i first visted 18 years ago i couldnt beleive ho many bikes where parked in the street, almost as far as you can see where bikes lined up parked on the roads.. i think i prefer riding over there as ppl have more patience and i have never seen road range yet the roads are so congested especially when ppl are on or coming home from work..

[wayanlam]

sadly the number of cars have boomed insanely in the past 2~3 years!! and the roads are getting congested to a level that is almost unbearable! to drive 3km down the road in a car at the wrong time could take over an hour if you are unlucky........

its even taken me almost 1 hour on my bike to go to my moms house and back which must be around 5km from my house~ you cant afford to get road rage in these conditions, since you will either die getting into an accident, or die from a heart attack at an early age from the stress, haha!

with the exception of running into the occasional total moron, i always try to keep my cool, (eh... even if im sweating my balls off..) when stuck in this traffic. there is nothing we can do, except pray that the idiots in the government finally come up with a feasible solution to help reduce congestion, (keeps dreaming on~)

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by Snake

who here has rode 2 Up on the Ninja 250 and how is the handling changed and does it bog the engine down?

Are you kidding me? My wife is WAY to fat for that!

[massacremasses]

Originally Posted by headshrink

Are you kidding me? My wife is WAY to fat for that!

I just lol'd so hard.


My wife said shed ride with me when Ive been riding for a little longer

Shes little though. 4'11" and 95lbs. lol

[ninja_sleeper]

I have rode 2 up with a dude that was about 6'4 and 200 lbs. I'm 5'2 110 lbs. It was scary and awkward. I will never do it again.

[massacremasses]

lol holy ****. Id imagine that would be scary...

[wayanlam]

I have rode 2 up with a professional basketball player whos like 7'+!! (he even played in the Beijing Olympics, hehe) gawd that was akward, it felt like he placed the bikes center of gravity about one foot over my head! D-oh!

at one point he shifted his position and it nearly caused the bike to go out of control! im never gonna do that again....

riding 2 up with my girlfriend on the other hand is like second nature now. the two of us put together with gear on we probably weigh around 260lbs, almost the same as some people on their own xD (heck i think the basketballer weighs as much as the 2 of us put together!)

[KawiKid860]

Okay I swear I've seen a ton of 2-up riding posts but no matter how I search for it "2-up, two up, 2 up, passenger riding" it says no results... so the search feature hates me or I'm just stupid. Anyways, at this point in time I have roughly 1500 miles and 1.5 months of experience riding, not a whole lot obviously, but do you think this is enough for like little tiny neighborhood rides and short jots around town? Me being the hot stud that I am with a motorcycle, I've got girls just lining up for their turn on my rear seat (lol I wish). I know that everything is gonna be different with a passenger, braking, accelerating, turning, the balance of the bike, the whole 9 yards. What else should I look for? Oh and of course my passenger and I will have proper gear! Should I add air to my tires for the extra weight? Hmm idk what else to ask so feel free to add whatever you think or have experienced, and also power, or the lack of it, won't be a problem for the ninjettes big brother

[KELPHYN]

Okay you know that your bike is going to hand differ. As for set up, you will most likely have to crank up the preload on the rear shock at least one notch. Next educate your passenger a bit. Doesn't get on or off the bike until you say so. Look over your left shoulder when you turn left, over your right shoulder when you turn right. As for where they hold on, that is a matter of personal. Different passengers and drivers have different prefferences. And lastly.... Only one male per bike, four nuts on two wheels just isn't right.

[KawiKid860]

Yes I plan on going through a whole instruction procedure of everything I learned as a passenger and everything that I know. Lmao, don't worry its a girl that I'll be giving a ride, I'd only ever give a dude a ride if it was an emergency, or they were a younger kid/relative/etc its just weird :P

[Mr.E]

Originally Posted by KELPHYN

And lastly.... Only one male per bike, four nuts on two wheels just isn't right.

[Lil_Green_Demon]

Good thread idea, OP. Thinking about giving my girl some gear on her birthday in January and hopefully convincing her to go on a few rides around town with me.
I've been riding since April 2011 and only have about 2500 miles on my bike!

[koenigcitizen]

One tip that I can give is when she is sitting behind you, have her hold your waist with one hand, and have her other hand rest against the gas tank with her palm.

If you have to break a little harder than usual, she will be able to push against the gas tank to support her weight, instead of throwing her whole body on you, jamming your crotch into the gas tank.

Also please read this:
http://www.msgroup.org/Articles.aspx?Cat=3


Your first passenger really should be an experienced motorcycle rider, and first couple of miles 2 up should be in an empty parking lot.

[SSR]

From a handling point of view, start breaking well ahead of your stop. You'll be really suprised how little breaking it takes for your passenger to slide right into you. Same goes for downshifting. Your first couple of times your nuts will be crushed. One of the things I tell my riders is that if they see I'm about to break hard (ie, a car pulling out) to put both hands on the gas tank so that their arms can slow their forward movement.

Second, every movement they make back there will be magnified at slow speed. I was navigating through a parking lot just creeping along and my rider saw a parking spot and moved her arm in that direction. The whole bike just turned with her arm movement. Now, if you're a bigger guy you won't have as much problems, but I'm only 145lbs. I always tell my passengers not to move under 30kph (divide by 1.6 to get miles) as it really makes the bike difficult to handle. After that, they can adjust all they want. Once up to speed, as everybody has said, they lean with you. When at speed coming to a corner, I usually tell my rider to hug me.

When getting on, you get on the bike and make sure both feet are planted. Then when you're ready, tell your rider to get on. Same with getting off. Make sure both your feet are planted and only when you say so do they get off.

Stop lights/signs. Make sure you tell your passenger to keep their feet on the pegs at all time. The muffler will melt their shoes and thier's a big 'ol nasty chain on the left just looking for a shoe lace to eat.

Grab points: They can put their hands on the tank, hug you, use their legs to squeeze your thighs, whatever works for them. Once you get going, I've found that they will usually just use one hand to hold your side.

[BobsPT]

Originally Posted by KELPHYN

Okay you know that your bike is going to hand differ. As for set up, you will most likely have to crank up the preload on the rear shock at least one notch. .

How do you do this? Any DIY pics/vids?

[KELPHYN]

Look at your rear shock. You should notice a ramped collar with notches in it. Simple turn it to the next higher notch. You should have wrench in your tool kit to do it ( looks like a big claw), if you have the stock tool kit. It is simple to do but not always easy cause there isn't much room. sorry no pics but you could check the wiki section.

[KawiKid860]

I think for the shock in the 500R you actually have to remove it to change the preload... I'll check up on the 500R forum i don't expect you guys to know that haha, should I pump up my tires? I run at about 32/36 psi front/back but my tires say max load at 44psi I know the bike and me are way under max load and we probably will be with the girl I'm going to be carrying but I don't know what she weighs and I'm not going to ask lol!

[DarC]

Good advice here. My number one priority is passenger education. Everything else is (should be) common sense but making sure they know what to do and what not to do is number one.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by BobsPT

How do you do this? Any DIY pics/vids?

DIY - Adjusting the rear shock preload

[423yjl]

Pre-gens did not come with an ajustable shock. A shock from a current gen. can bolt right in, it takes about 20 minutes. Also a 500ex shock will bolt in, the bike will sit a little lower to start, but will not sag as much.

[Daniel_Malloy]

I know I'm nowhere near as experienced as most on here (4 months, 3k miles), but one thing I did really woke me up regarding the differences in handling characteristics while riding 2-up. I had a huge military backpack that I had loaded up which weighed probably around 50 pounds and I was amazed that riding was noticeably different with just that increase in weight. It was definitely an eye opener for me... might be something to try before adding someone heavyer that also moves independently. And find an experienced passenger for your first time 2-up. I just had my first experience with someone who's never ridden before and it was much harder to control the bike while fighting her tendencies of moving or shifting her weight at inopportune moments; nowhere near as enjoyable as my friend that's ridden alot before. With her, 2-up is a blast! With the one that's never ridden before, it was nerve wracking!

[bluepoof]

My small bit of advice is to make sure your passenger has gloves. When I started riding passenger on my then-boyfriend's (now husband) bike, I didn't have gloves and my hands got SO FRICKIN' COLD that it was hard to hold on. Course, I get cold when it's 70F out so maybe it's just me.

[KawiKid860]

My small bit of advice is to make sure your passenger has gloves. When I started riding passenger on my then-boyfriend's (now husband) bike, I didn't have gloves and my hands got SO FRICKIN' COLD that it was hard to hold on. Course, I get cold when it's 70F out so maybe it's just me.

I'm like you its got to be 80 degrees out or more for me to be warm, I can't even process the thought of riding without gloves, I don't think I've ever done it but once and I was beyond weird feeling (I was a passenger at the time) but yeah gloves are a must except I hadn't even considered that since I'm supplying the helmet and possibly some of the other gear. Ay with the way the weathers been lately I may not even be giving myself a ride, got out of work about half an hour ago and the roads were soaked and it was drizzling, which then of course turned to pretty decent rain once I started riding EXTREMELY CAREFULLY home I did like 5 under the whole way and just let cars pass me, luckily at 1 am there aren't many cars.

[koenigcitizen]

Originally Posted by bluepoof

My small bit of advice is to make sure your passenger has gloves. When I started riding passenger on my then-boyfriend's (now husband) bike, I didn't have gloves and my hands got SO FRICKIN' COLD that it was hard to hold on. Course, I get cold when it's 70F out so maybe it's just me.

IMHO, the passenger should have good gloves, not because of the temperature. Mainly for protection in case of a fall

[BobsPT]

Originally Posted by Alex

DIY - Adjusting the rear shock preload

Thanks Alex, for the link.

[bluepoof]

Originally Posted by koenigcitizen

IMHO, the passenger should have good gloves, not because of the temperature. Mainly for protection in case of a fall

Well, duh. But a lot of new passengers don't have a lot of gear or don't know to have it. Plus you often run into the "gear makes me look fat/ruins my hair/etc" mentality.

I've found that with young women in general, unless they're very self-aware, it's often easier to get them to wear gear by encouraging the practical aspects (temperature control, comfort, etc).

But y'know, it's been over a decade since I've been a woman in my early 20s so maybe I'm not hip with what the kids do anymore.

[coondog]

Originally Posted by KELPHYN

Okay you know that your bike is going to hand differ. As for set up, you will most likely have to crank up the preload on the rear shock at least one notch. Next educate your passenger a bit. Doesn't get on or off the bike until you say so. Look over your left shoulder when you turn left, over your right shoulder when you turn right. As for where they hold on, that is a matter of personal. Different passengers and drivers have different prefferences. And lastly.... Only one male per bike, four nuts on two wheels just isn't right.

[coondog]

I don't take passengers and certainly never am one. Many reasons.

[Domagoj]

Random people don't work well as passengers. At least in my experience.
Apart from all the theoretical knowledge, you also need trust. Riding with someone who does not trust you completely will be a very unpleasant experience.
If it sucks the first time, don't forget that it's equally your fault and hers. Try all the maneuvers you can think off in the parking lot, and maybe most importantly, let her move around the bike and notice the influence she makes on the ride.
Good luck!

[KawiKid860]

Lol its not just a random person its a friend of mine and she's not some retarded bimbo :P Thanks though that's good advice.

[massacremasses]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

Lol its not just a random person its a friend of mine and she's not some retarded bimbo :P Thanks though that's good advice.

bimbo's arent allllll bad

[GreenNinja]

Originally Posted by KELPHYN

And lastly.... Only one male per bike, four nuts on two wheels just isn't right.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by KELPHYN

Only one male per bike, four nuts on two wheels just isn't right.

Certainly not these four nuts. Even the bike said GTFO.

[KawiKid860]

Poor poor RC51

[TheTopher]

Originally Posted by Alex

Certainly not these four nuts. Even the bike said GTFO.

Bad things happen when you break the rules.

[KawiKid860]

So I learned this cool new trick, its called resurrecting a dead thread! Lol :P

If everything goes as planned tomorrow I'll be going on my first two up ride. Around a neighborhood at first (for lack of a parking lot) and if all is well we may venture out into the city for a short ride. Anybody got some last minute tips? I'm sorta breaking all the rules here, inexperienced first passenger, I don't have a ton of experience myself... but we're taking it reeeaaaaal slow!

[Daniel_Malloy]

... Just make sure you cover the ground rules before riding and take it easy (assuming you read through all the above posts). Ohh, and have fun and let us know how it goes!