I've ridden 'the dragon' about a dozen times, all but once with a passenger. My advice for a novice contemplating riding a passenger for the first time is to be an expert, confident solo rider. You should be a master of your 800 pound bike. No bobbles, no second guesses. Know what you need to do, to make your bike do what you want it to.

Next, your passenger is effectively handing her life over to you. That's a lot of responsibility. She needs to know that you are capable of handling that. She also needs to know that she can upset the handling of the bike as much as you can. She needs to be a part of the bike. I tell passengers, I am going to pretend that you are just a 125 pound accessory, so act like you are bolted to the bike. If you need to move, plan on doing it when we are going over 40 mph and on a straight road. And tell me before you do. My ol had never been on a bike before 3 years ago, and she was pretty damn good from the beginning. Now that she knows that I can make my now 1200lb bike (bike+me+her) do anything from carving the dragon, to scraping boards in a tight parking lot, to running down the slab at 80 mph, she never thinks twice about saddling up.

I can tell you, that even after 3 years, if I start bobbling around, second guessing my moves, she will lose her confidence pretty quick. Keep that in mind. If your wife is new to being a seat cover, she will feel your lack of confidence and control. You only get one chance to make a good first impression, so make sure you are truly ready for it....

 

The most important thing enjoy the ride !! Also a T-Shirt that say if you can read this the bitch fell of the back !!!

 

I personally am a lot more careful when the wife is behind me. I just dont have the right to take risks that could affect her health and safety. If I wanna go out and kill my self thats one thing, but not hers .

 

one of the things that really made our rides more enloyable is some type of communication device so you can talk to each other on the ride. not yelling over your shoulder really makes it a lot nicer to share the ride, sights and sounds. it can be anything from the harley intercom system using some helmet speakers with a boom mike or the wrap around the back of the head style that fit over your ears if you wear a shorty helmet. i take advantage of the intercome but others use bluetooth devices available at websites. be careful out there. enjoy the ride....and the company.

 

This and all the other input has been great. Also remember ..... if she is about your age and has no past motorcycling experience, regardless of what you do she will most likely be scared s**tless at first. Just be very conservative in your riding style. Be patient and give her a good chance to get comfortable. She will either end up loving it or never getting past her fear to ever enjoy riding. Good luck and stay safe!

 

I have not been riding long either. About 1 year total most on a road king. I rode alone for two months before she came on. Biggest passenger problems are the difference in stopping distance required. You will learn this the hard way. After a few semi hard stops you will realize that you need much more time to smoothly slow the extra weight. The other big difference is parking lots. Slow speed maneuvers are much more difficult. Do yourself a favor and have her mount up AFTER you bring the bike out of the parking space and you are pointed in the direction you want to go. Sharp turns at low speed can be tricky. NEVER come to a stop with wheels turned or you will both be picking up the bike.

 

You need to be aware that if your passenger likes riding too much you'll be hard pressed to go out riding by yourself again....it's like jiggling the leash and the dog comes running....grab my helmet and my wife starts fixing her hair to ride....LOL. Y'all have fun, be safe.

 

Great thread and kudos to you for being smart enough to ask before going out. The first and only time I dropped my bike was the 2nd time with her on back. She has her own so we rarely ride 2-up. We were stopped at a stop sign on a slight incline. She moved to get more comfortable on the pillion right when I decided to take my hand of the bar to scratch an itch and down we went. Luckily both fine and nothing but a scuff on the end of the clutch lever. It was 110% my fault for not having the talk before we left the driveway and just assuming that because she rides she would know how to be a psenger. You can bet that on the few instances we do go 2-up we give each other the "I know" look and we're on the same page.

the good news is 2-up riding is fun and safe and I hope you both enjoy it. Just by letting her know what she can and can't do will tell her that you know what you're doing and make her more confident. When she gets on and actually sees you handle the bike well she'll love it even more. The bad news is she'll start going places with you and then find stuff she wants for the bike = more $$$$.

The wife's daughter (18) had never ridden before and one thing that helped when she decided to give it a try (scared to death, but wanted to try), other than "the talk" was to let her do stuff we had talked about to see what it did. We would go down a nice straight road and have her just lean her head over to say something and see that it did nothing to the bike. Then I had her lean to say something and she was surprised as hell that the bike actually moved. That little lesson was invaluable and she's always been a great passenger. We even purposely hit bumps and small potholes in town so she knew what it felt like and didn't panic when she felt an unexpected jolt going down the road. Did tons for her confidence. She loves riding now and we go every time she comes up. She will definitely be a rider when she can afford toys.

 

Make sure she tells you when she is getting on. I got surprised yesterday and it was a little wobbly. My wife gets off when we go to park or back up as its much easier to maneuver with her off. You can also push up the rear floorboards so you have more room to move your legs. I ask her to give me a pat when she is ready to ride instead of asking also. Finally, tell her never to hop off and and set her helmet on the rear seat before you get off. You can't see and when you get off you will kick it into the street, that was yesterday also.

Hope this helps. This is all assuming you can get her on the bike.

 

She'll let you know when she's ready.