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blues2cruise wrote:BuzZz, Even though it may be challenging to modify your style a bit when you have someone on board, your passengers probably appreciate it. It's awful being a passenger and having the wits scared out of you.
I had to quit riding with my friend because he couldn't or wouldn't show a little respect for my level of comfort.

i thought that best part of being a passenger was having your wits scared out of you. like a rollercoaster, at least my gf seems to enjoy that part ; p

I have no desire to freak out the wife. Going for a ride together is one of the reasons I like to ride(but not the main one ).

It's not challenging to adapt the ride to a passenger.... it's just slower

It does disrupt the flow of the ride sometimes to have the bike standup in a corner, and then the correction will result in even more lean to compensate. She's getting the hang of it, I think alot of it is due to the fact that the seat on the FJ is taller than a low-slung cruiser and exagerates the feeling of lean for her, cause there is no way you can call the way we ride together agressive, or even lively. If I go any slower, I'll fall over.....

iwannadie wrote:

blues2cruise wrote:BuzZz, Even though it may be challenging to modify your style a bit when you have someone on board, your passengers probably appreciate it. It's awful being a passenger and having the wits scared out of you.
I had to quit riding with my friend because he couldn't or wouldn't show a little respect for my level of comfort.

i thought that best part of being a passenger was having your wits scared out of you. like a rollercoaster, at least my gf seems to enjoy that part ; p

I have a pilot friend who I won't fly with anymore. He took some perverse pleasure out of making the plane "suddenly" lose altitude. Once was bad enough and I really didn't think he would do it again since he knew how scared I was, but....I was wrong.
We went for a flight to one of the local islands here one day and he did it on the way over.....scared the crap out of me. Since he did it on the way over, I never expected him to do on the way back. But he did. I cannot make myself get in his plane again. The trust is gone.

The same thing applies to being a passenger on a bike. If you're scared the rider should either modify the style or don't take you. It's about respect.
If your gf likes the feeling of being scared (and some people do), you are fortunate. You can have all the thrills you want.

BuzZz wrote:I have no desire to freak out the wife. Going for a ride together is one of the reasons I like to ride(but not the main one ).

It's not challenging to adapt the ride to a passenger.... it's just slower

It does disrupt the flow of the ride sometimes to have the bike standup in a corner, and then the correction will result in even more lean to compensate. She's getting the hang of it, I think alot of it is due to the fact that the seat on the FJ is taller than a low-slung cruiser and exagerates the feeling of lean for her, cause there is no way you can call the way we ride together agressive, or even lively. If I go any slower, I'll fall over.....

I've taken several new passengers and I've found the best advice to give them is to forget all about leaning, just sit upright relative to the bike and let the bike take you. The last thing I want is someone consciously 'leaning' and therefore steering the bike, especially if they don't have any experience of what effects that has.

The other bit of advice I would always give is 'don't try to put your feet down until I tell you'. And I then repeat this several times. I've had bitter experience of this one (broken clutch lever and left indicator). 'Don't put your feet down, and especially don't attempt to help me stablise the bike by putting your feet down when we stop - until I tell you. Verboten'.

A third bit of advice I've just thought of, is, 'if you do have to shift around on the back, don't wait until we have slowed down for a junction'. For some reason pillions think that they should save up their need to jiggle until the bike is going slow (when it's going to have the greatest effect).

I try not to scare my passenger. This is partly courtesy and partly self-preservation. Scared passengers are scary. For that reason I don't lean too far until I know they are OK with it, and I don't filter. I also try to keep all inputs smooth. I bought some 'love handles' for my wife and they worked great. She felt safe holding on to them. She did not feel safe holding on to the sissy bar, and the only other option open to me was crushed ribs or slow strangulation.

On the other hand if you want to scare them, there are all sorts of ways that can be accomplished. Just use your imagination.