• Welcome to the Yamaha FZ1 Forums. Member registration disables ads and allows you to post and share. Register Here.

Teach me about two-up

Dustin

Dustin

Moderator
Joined
Oct 28, 2010
Messages
7,503
Age
42
Location
Vancouver, Canada
Visit site
My girlfriend and I are putting together gear for her so we can ride two-up. With neither of us having a car, this is the best way to get out of the city together.

I have only ever taken a passenger a couple of times and never further than maybe 10 miles. The passengers were always fellow riders who just needed a lift back.

Please school me on making two up a very safe and enjoyable experience. I have some concerns with her mounting/dismounting, for example.
 
Use the rear pegs, don't step on the can. Be aware that stopping distance will be greater due to increased weight. You may want to tighten up the suspension for the same reason. My wife is 110 lbs and it is still noticeable when she rides on the back.
 
One thing I always do when having a passenger for the first time is to go through the motions before ever actually leaving. I explain while they are on the bike the importance of "acting as one" while riding and that to always lean with you regardless of how much lean you are on. They need to learn to have the same confidence that you have that leaning with the turn is safe and proper. I always make sure that for the first couple of rides that they are very close to you and are not holding onto grab rails, but onto you only. It's easier for them to feel the "lean" and get used to the sensation. This keeps them from instinctively wanting to lean over the opposite direction. You may bump helmets for a while but that is natural and once they get the feel of riding with you, they can start to relax and give themselves more room if they want to. I also have some sort of "signal" if you have no comms between you and her, like a tap on the shoulder or something that will warn you that something is amiss. When I ride with my cousin from time to time, I occasionally give her a tap on the side of her left leg and she'll give me a thumbs up to let me know that she is okay.
 
The very rare times that I have a passenger I instruct them to hang on to my waist and keep their body in line with mine. I tell them that the bike will lean in corners and to stay relaxed and if scared to just look at the back of my helmet. When I have them get on, I am already on the bike with both feet flat on the ground and both hands firmly on the bars. I have them step on the left peg with thier left foot and a hand on my shoulder, then swing their other leg over the top case and seat. If they have long enough legs to do it from the ground then that is better. I warn them to not touch the pipes and to keep their feet on the pegs. Having a top case like you do will help them relax, as the greatest fear seems to be sliding off the back.
 
Everyone will have something slightly different to say about it. My wife is the best and spoils me. The following are what I tell people before they hop on

1.) DO NOT get on or off until I say I am ready for you.

2.) Lean with me. The best way to accomplish this is to tell them to always look over your inside shoulder.

3.) When I start to slow down put your hands on the tank to brace yourself rather than letting you whole body push against mine.

If you can get an intercom so that you can communicate effectively while riding. I like to tell my wife when I am about to slow down and also when I want to take off fast so that she can brace herself.
 
Hail said:
Everyone will have something slightly different to say about it. My wife is the best and spoils me. The following are what I tell people before they hop on

1.) DO NOT get on or off until I say I am ready for you.

2.) Lean with me. The best way to accomplish this is to tell them to always look over your inside shoulder.

3.) When I start to slow down put your hands on the tank to brace yourself rather than letting you whole body push against mine.

If you can get an intercom so that you can communicate effectively while riding. I like to tell my wife when I am about to slow down and also when I want to take off fast so that she can brace herself.
Click to expand...

I agree with most points except....There's not a chance I will have an intercom :-) or listen to music etc while I ride. We communicate with some simple hand signals or just pull over (she has to stop and piss a lot so it works out) hahahahaha. And, my wife could not keep the same lean angle as me on the FJR, that bike was very top heavy and wouldn't permit it (one of the reasons I didn't like that bike), every other bike I have owned she uses my inside shoulder and holds my waist to lean with me. Other than that, I agree.
I am on the bike, flat footed with both hands on the bars as she steps on the left passenger peg and throws her right leg over to the other peg, using my shoulders to pull herself up. Of course, she won't climb on until I give her the nod to get on. She's a great passenger and I don't mind her riding with me one bit.....NO INTERCOM of course. lolol!
 
The hardware that helped my wife be a be a more comfortable and be a better passenger was the extended passenger foot pegs. They are down and forward allowing a more comfortable knee angle and the ability to put weight on them to help hold her back on down hill braking sections. The top box you have will help her confidence over having nothing behind her. Ensure it's not uncomfortable to lean against. My wife leans back on familure boring sections and rocks out with the Sena Bluetooth. We rarely use it for helmet to helmet comm, but it is extremely nice when you need it like when I got the flat rear tire hauling anus on Hwy 25 south of Hollister, CA and informed my wife that I was going to stop fast to keep the rear unweighted. We stopped without any drama. Plenty of other great advice has been posted.
 
Great advice so far, I'll repeat that the passenger needs to wait for the signal to mount and dismount the bike. You also NEED to practice panic/emergency stops with a passenger. Its MUCH different with a passenger.
 
Take your pillion to an empty parking lot and practice emergency braking. Going slow at first of coarse and eventually going faster. All bikes stop a little different with someone on the back.It will also get her prepared for whats gonna happen eventually. Good luck
 
I think someone had a great write up on 2 up. It may have been Norm?
Does your girl ride also?
I think i did somewhere around 8000 miles on the fz1 while I had it with the wife. I loves it when she went if I ever get back on the street again I would want intercoms,its a long time to only comunicate without voice
 
Getting her to lean with you and not away is gonna be the toughest part. I've taken a few passengers and it's always difficult to get that concept thru to them. My wife is awesome on the back, of course she has her own bike so she gets the concept. I don't worry about fighting her and the bike thru the corners. I had a GF 5 or 6 years back that just could not get lean WITH me, so I stopped taking her riding...
 
Dustin, it's easy. Tell her it's just like riding a bicycle, keep your butt planted to the seat and lean/look into the turn like on a bike.

Your job is to ride like the bike like it has an automatic transmission, smoooooth baby. I try to do this with the Hippo on every ride with my lovely pillion, makes you a better motorcyclist.
 
Is it ever necessary to adjust the spring preload or the rear shock rebound rate? I can imagine that a heavy passenger might cause the average ride height to be too low. Does the rear shock ever "bottom out"?

Regarding the rebound adjustment - It might need to be stiffer to handle the extra weight - or it might need to be softer to keep from jolting the passenger too much. Wow, I'll bet that now I will be accused of over-thinking the issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top