Riding with a pillion..

...hoping someone here has or does this, just wondering how they find 2-up touring on the SV?

Thanks

[mattSV]

We did 620 miles round Devon & Cornwall two up on my SV1000 in 3 days with soft panniers and a tankbag during the hottest week of the year back in the summer:-




First bit of two up touring we have done, and it was pretty good - longest run we did without a stop was about 2 1/2 hours, and by then our legs/arses were more than ready for a break. You can get gel seats, or even custom touring seats which help make things a bit better.

I also did the North/South meet up last year without a pillion (900 miles in 3 days) - hard work on the motorways up to Yorkshire, until I found I could rest my legs on the crash bungs (only when there was no traffic around)

The 650 is similar from a riding position point of view, it just won't have as much grunt as the 1000 has.

I think you would be okay touring on the 650, however if touring is your priority then I would suggest you try a CBR600F, or a Viffer, from a comfort point of view.

Summer '05 we had a group of 7 bikes, one of which was a Hayabusa with my mate & his girl on pillion. We caught the overnight train from Calais to Nice and then spent a week coming back through the Alps, Alsace and the Ardenne, covering some 1700 miles. She rode every day except one (she went shopping ) without a problem.

Make sure you have a decent (maybe a gel) seat, and that your pillion will be comfortable. Take regular stops, about every 90 minutes or so, which shouldn't be difficult to fit into your route. We stop for short breaks every 60-75 miles generally, then a proper coffee break about every tank of gas (120 miles).

Hope that helps.

.

To be honest I'm not sure the SV650s going to be your best friend touring wise! The seat is pretty bad after a couple of days in the seat and worse for pillions I also find that it is a bit wobbly to say the least once you get the total carried weight up to and over around 24 stone! Even with the rear preload wacked up all the way....
Short hops to enjoy the view would be fine...but I'm going to need a vfr/cbr for my next tour....either that or a crash diet

[Luckypants]

Done some moderate touring on the SV with soft panniers and a tankbag. It is OK but the standard rear shock goes to pot with a pillion too. Seat is not great, but drivers seat is OK for no breaks between fill ups, pillion seat is not! (curvy BTW).

I have toured extensively with a VFR 750FV and that is a completely different game. Both rider and pillion can stay in the saddle all day, carries the weight well and the suspension hadles it all.

The point I'm making is, SV is not a bike for a major tour, but is OK for long weekends etc.

Hi all,

Well i'm not heading for any major tours yet so thats ok! It's just so that the missus will be ok on the back now and then - for example, the 120 mile trip (each way) to and from her parents house, or the 80 miles each way to her sisters, etc...

If i seriously get into the touring thing then I'll be buying a VFR800 VTEC; thats what her parents have and I love it, just think its a bit big and powerful for my first post-DAS bike!

I may well look into more comfy perches thou, anyone fancy pointing me in the right direction for a decent gel or touring seat?

Thanks for the advice

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by MikeC

If i seriously get into the touring thing then I'll be buying a VFR800 VTEC; thats what her parents have and I love it, just think its a bit big and powerful for my first post-DAS bike!

My first post-DAS bike was the VFR. Loved that bike...

Did park it under a car at speed though, while doing a superman impression down the road But after three years and 40000 miles though, so was not down to lack of experience. Just plain old lack of forward observation.

[Lissa]

I just don't understand why so many people think the SV is no good for touring. We've had ours for 5 years, gone abroad every year two-up on it, done around 2,500 miles each trip and never had a problem with either comfort or performance.

Admittedly, we now have custom seats on it, but they are for the look, not because we had any comfort issues.