Riding with a passenger.

[icy]

Originally Posted by Rdromero

icy, what is your rationale to let the passenger get on first on a larger bike? I have an Electra Glide and the only passengers I have on there are my kids, but I always get on the bike first then let them get on.

with the larger bikes, usually the back seat is a full blown passenger seat with elbow rests etc (maybe I wasn't clear about that part ) this makes mounting on that seat very hard when the rider is already seated. the passenger either ends up stepping on you or has to have really flexible legs to stretch over the seat (which is quite high) and probably hit a couple of things on the way.

the larger bikes like road king are also extremely heavy and stable on the stand. passengers usually climb through the pegs and the bike can hold its own if they drop on the seat a bit too fast - very hard the knock the bike over while doing so. whereas a smaller (lighter) bike like the sportster would easily fall over to the other side if the nice lady does not drop on the seat gracefully and decides to test the bouncy bouncy of the rear shocks.

that's about it. safety. bigger (larger, heavier) bikes can handle themselves, smaller (lighter) bikes needs to have the rider on, holding the brake, keeping the bike steady.

[GotGold]

I understand what your saying, but in my case my wife is short and in order to get on back she has to climb on the bike, its very awkward for her, plus my backrest doesn't help. As a result of all this moving around on her part I always get on first, and hold the brake. Its a heavy bike but I wouldn't feel safe letting her get on first... one of those ya gotta be there things.

[icy]

Originally Posted by GotGold

I understand what your saying, but in my case my wife is short and in order to get on back she has to climb on the bike, its very awkward for her, plus my backrest doesn't help. As a result of all this moving around on her part I always get on first, and hold the brake. Its a heavy bike but I wouldn't feel safe letting her get on first... one of those ya gotta be there things.

by all means. these are not laws that are carved on stone, that you MUST obey these are best practices that are handed down to us through the wiser riders who see me doing something stupid and yell "that's not how you do it son. here let me show you" so yeah, by all means you ought to be doing whatever is safe and works for your own circumstance. I'm merely trying to shine some light by sharing what I know and works

[GotGold]

Originally Posted by icy

by all means. these are not laws that are carved on stone, that you MUST obey these are best practices that are handed down to us through the wiser riders who see me doing something stupid and yell "that's not how you do it son. here let me show you" so yeah, by all means you ought to be doing whatever is safe and works for your own circumstance. I'm merely trying to shine some light by sharing what I know and works

I hear ya, been yelled at a few times too.. and warned and told. Key thing is to listen and learn.

[Tcglide]

I agree with all the answers so far that have been given. One thing I did was to get on a wide road, with no other cars around, and told the wife while I was going, at 35mph, that I would go as straight as possible and that she should lean way out and look at the bottom of the back tire. When she did we swerved pretty good. I was ready for it, she wasn't. Scared her and when she asked why "I" turned the bike I told her she did that. She has a good amount of control as a passenger. She always thought I wanted her to sit still just because it bugged me. Once she learned this, she has become the best passenger I have ever ridden with.

[Grunt]

The wife and I rode about 17 thousand miles this year with her behind me on my Heritage.

There are a lot of good points stated that I agree with but a few things come to mind that I did not see.

Communication if she needs to move around to get comfortable tell you first, I prefer to be stopped or be at a moderate rate when the wife adjusts meaning not 5mph and not 75mph

Do not allow her to rest her hands on your shoulder if you have to brake or swerve she can affect your steering badly (Scarry lesson learned )

It is important for her to pay attention to the road if you have to brake hard unexpectly she needs to plant her feet.

Make sure she is dressed properly nothing ruins a trip like hypothermia or burnt legs.

Beware of the normal dangers like loose gravel of wet leaves on the road, a passenger raises your center of gravity bad thing happen a little quicker so slow down around hazards.

And last but not least, stop often and let her enjoy

[OGC]

Did the OP ever take that gal for a ride? If he hasn't, somebody else may have by now...