Yes, and when I back up as I feel it is just a small inconvenience as compared to have to pick up my bike or new paint.

 

If it is mostly solid I'll creep along in 1st. If it's rough I'd have her dismount.

 

we have several crab house restaurant that we frequent here in southern Maryland they all have gravel parking lot, as soon as I know we are looking for a parking spot I have her get off. But if we going through it for a short time and proceed I simple tell her " do not move" and proceed in the "friction Zone". Gravel scare the h**l out of me.

 

+2 and my wife offers to get off any time the lot looks questionable

 

I have the wife hop off. I figure if I go down no point taking her with me.

 

Never worried about gravel until we were in the keys this year at a restaurant parking, just creeping along and bam bike is almost over a friend was standing at the right place to help or we would of had a S.G. on us. Duck walk now

 

same here, I always figure better safe than sorry. There have been a couple of times when the back started sliding and I had to pull the seat out of my a$$ when I got off!

 

Now I do! Pulled into a gravelled scenic turnout in Yosemite NP. Deep loose gravel and over we went. We got it back up, she hopped on and over we went to the other side. At that point she started talking about renting a car to get 2000 miles home!

 

yup off it is, unless I am 100% comfortable which I am not on gravel in a parking lot. Let the tough guys deal with it. It's more importanty to me that my wife is not hurt or scared and... that I don't drop the bike,

 

Do what's safe. But I usually keep her on. The key is to keep the speed up enough so that you can kind of ride on top of the crap. This from a lot of days dirt biking. TOO SLOW can get you and your bike, as well as your passenger hurt in gravel, dirt, rough broken up road. Sound bass ack words, but it's true. Just ask Chris Carr, reigning AMA dirt track Nat'l Champ.