Wife's first bike trip! Any advice?

[BanannaMan]

Wow!! After all these years Mrs. Bman has to decided to ride pillion on a trip to the Smoky Mountains in two weeks and genuinely seems excited about going.
Of course she'll have the proper kit, the bikes getting a sport rack to accomodate extra luggage, etc.
Going to spend one day doing the tourist bit with her.


I know lots of orgers have or do ride 2 up and I really want her to have a good time and was wondering if there was any advice of what to do or what not to do, on her first long trip on the bike???

[rictus01]

confidence and trust is key Bill, trust comes from her learning you aren't going to go mad, confidence comes from her being comfortable and feeling safe, not that I've tried but a fair few say the "Love handles" are very good, might be worth a try, it is great fun two up with your partner I did about 15 years with Beth and we went everywhere on the bike a truely shared experience, best of luck and hope you both have fun.

Cheers Mark.

Keeping a higher gear keeps things smoother and so less jerks and sudden movements which send alarm signals up anyone riding pillion. Do stop every hour or so and ask her if she's ok and what can be improved, maybe a side luggage is restricting her seating position or she's slipping from her seat under braking... I recently installed a GIVI back box and to that fitted a rubber backrest. That improved things a lot both in security of my pillion and luggage capacity. A 51 litre box can hold loads of goodies and also can accept two full face helmets if we're just going out for a snack in the evening.

See more pics here...
http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=168973

Smoothness is the key bill, on the sv with the engine braking it's not as easy to get a smooth ride as it is on my sprint.

Triboseat anti slip cover for the pillion seat is good as well, it stops the pillion sliding into you under heavier braking.

My wife and myself used the love handles at first, they did help her feel more secure, we sold them after a while as she felt more comfortable on the sprint and hardly holds on anymore.

Best of luck

dont forget to take 10 minutes before you leave to explain what she should do eg not hop around on back seat while stationary (that may just be me i far prefer it while at 40mph+) or mid corner
also have a thing like if she taps your left sholder you'll pull over

If you can come up with a few signals to communicate while on the ride then that will help with to reassure her every now and again. Just a simple knee squeeze and a thumbs up with a returned squeeze from her to check things are going ok. And make sure there's one she can use to get you to slow down if she's uncomfortable. Or even one if she needs a wee or needs to get off for some reason. If you don't have an autocom then she needs to feel she's not just marooned on the back and if she feels she can get your attention without hindering your riding of the bike then she'll feel a lot more secure.

Most importantly, enjoy it! I still love being pillion, there's something special about doing long trips with your other half on the bike, much more so than in a car. Now I like long trips just as much but on me own bike

We use the knee squeeze for attention. A rapid succession of knee squeezes for a low alarm and a tight hold on squeeze if it's major. It works.

If you can, get an Autocom. Its brilliant when you've got a pillion.

[rictus01]

Originally Posted by The Guru

If you can, get an Autocom. Its brilliant when you've got a pillion.

by all means sort out signals, have a plan of regular stops, love handles, topboxes even, but...... be very careful before getting the about, they sing and talk to you.....just saying .



Cheers Mark.