Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I have yet to take a passenger (really didn't want to be responsible for skinning someone), but I consider myself experienced enough now that it's a possibility. Riding for almost a year, over 7k miles, in all sorts of weather.

However, I have no idea at all what kind of instructions to give a passenger other than "don't touch the pipes".

Is riding with someone else just like riding a heavier bike? If she leans (or doesn't lean) will it mess up the steering? Is there a mounting/dismounting procedure? Obviously I have no idea what I'm talking about. Any tips/do's/don't's appreciated!

If she is cute, LOTS of emergency braking! It enriches the entire experience

Well, thanks to the backrest there's about 6" worth of passenger room. Gotta love the compactness.

But seriously... need some help here.

I've found that passengers have a learning curve just like the driver did when they first started. With a new passenger I've just told them to lean with the bike as I do. Just take it slow and be aware of what the passenger is doing. And don't be afraid to correct them, they'll thank you for not skinning them.

BAH, there's a couple of simple rules that can be easily explained and put your passenger in the right spot.

1) sit up straight, if you lean over we're going to be playing pool with the two of our helmets and the passenger gets to be the cue ball.
2) keep your feet on the pegs, if you put them down and I take off I could break your ankle, shin or just throw both us to the ground
3) the exhaust is HOT, do not TOUCH
4) do not lean into a turn, do not lean out of a turn. Have them move their body so they are looking just over your inside shoulder. If you turn left they look over your left shoulder, if they turn right, they look over your right. This ensures a proper lean angle.
5) this is a personal rule. But don't start to lean if we are going to stop. I've almost been dumped twice by people who started leaning right when I stopped. No centrifical force + lean = OH NOES
6) ummm, wear the gear and understand you could get hurt


As for you, your bike weighs a lot more now, you need more gas, you need a greater following distance and you have to be willing to override any inputs that your passenger makes. That's right a passenger has almost as much control over the bike as you do. Do a couple of parking lot test runs before you brave traffic.

I'm sure that I'm missing lots of stuff, but this will get you started.

I had a passenger once who moved around just a little too much. So on a deserted road one day, I told him to move around all he wants and I wouldn't compensate - just so that he can see how much his movements affect the motion of the bike. He was very surprised at the outcome but once he learned how much control he had, he started to learn how to use it and ended up becoming one of the best passengers I've had. I guess education and experience counts for passengers too.

The best passenger you'll ever have is an experienced rider. I gave my friend a lift to the shop once to pick up his bike. Well I weigh about 110lbs, he weighs closer to 180, and the bike is 400... The only reason I knew he was there was the directions I was getting (arms pointing past my head) and the extra gas I had to give it. Plus the back end dragged a little.

Sev gave some really good advice on looking over the operators inside shoulder through turns. That is really the best way to keep them at a good lean with you. Not too much, and not too little. And like he said, make sure they know NOT to shift around when you're coming to a stop or in a turn. It can get real ugly if they do.

One thing I notice more than anything 2-up is your braking ability decreases significantly. You always have to remember that an extra passenger is a lot of percentage of your overall weight, compared to being in a car.

The passenger has to co-operate, for sure. My wife is an 'experianced' passenger... on the back of her ex's Harley. She trys to stop our lean-ins at cruiser angles, and then trys to stand the bike up at or just past my apexes. She's got 50 pounds on me to do it with too.... it's made for some fairly animated discussions on the side of road. She's getting better, but she still don't like being leaned over as far or as long as I do.

Oh... and uh... watch out for ice.....