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Thread: First bike ride with the wife!

  1. #1
    Senior Member UHATEIT's Avatar
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    First bike ride with the wife!

    I have been riding for just over 2 years now and have about 10,000 miles under me. My wife has been bugging me to ride for the longest time but I was never confident enough to do so safely. She finally got me to get her out on the bike yesterday. We rode just 30 miles round trip but did some street riding and then got on the E470 and looped around to the 25 and then the 225 and back to home. Went to Best Buy, got lunch, and grabbed a redbox movie along the way. All in all it was nice to get her out on the bike with me.

    I was very timid at the start because the bike obviously does not handle the same with her on the back even tho she is only 90 pounds. I think what I need to go is put an extra 6psi in the rear tire as the back end seemed to settle quite a bit, but it may be the tire just compressing flatter. Do any of you recommend raising the tire pressure due to a passenger? If so how much? My ninja I keep at 36 psi, I assume maybe 40-42 perhaps more.

    Anyways here is a picture of her the first time she got off the bike when we reached Best Buy, she had a great time she says! She was a bit shaky at the start, she says her hands hurt from bracing on the tank so much, but with more riding time I'm sure she will become a much better passenger.

    2005 Suzuki SV650s Blue (SOLD), 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 636 Lime Green


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    Member Rabbie303's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Good job man, now get that woman some boots!!!
    Erich-
    2004 SV650S - 8K miles - SOLD
    2003 SV1000S - 15K miles - My new love!

  3. #3
    Senior Member birchyboy's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Plus one on the boots. It is very different riding with a passenger, but it will become easier every time. Just don't do any wheelies or stoppies.

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    Chocolate Thunder
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Learn to communicate with her...so she doesnt end up in front of you when stopping.

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    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Watch it if you up the pressure, you don't want to go over the max. Honestly, at 90lbs she isn't a huge difference on bike like that.
    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

  6. #6
    Senior Member UHATEIT's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    No boots yet this is her first ride. She has gloves they are just on the seat. As for boots she wears child sizes so maybe they'll be cheaper. Good thing is I have 2 Sena coms so I put one on her helmet so she and I could talk the whole time riding. Made it nice! She told me when I went too fast and I told her when I was doing turns and breaking. All in all a great ride. I know we will be doing it again probably next weekend maybe to Morrison. No canyons for a long time if ever! Just street riding and freeway.
    2005 Suzuki SV650s Blue (SOLD), 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 636 Lime Green


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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Na leave the pressure alone. Just get used to having a passenger. Over inflation is dangerous.

    First thing for her to learn. Hands on tank when coming to a stop. Also get her to learn how to either sit still or lean just with you. I preferred the still with my ex that a lot with me. They can lean too much and make you turn harder or even worse counter lean and pull you out of your turn. All bad.

    Either get those little mics that allow you guys to talk or work on signals as was already said. This will come in very handy
    I would tap her leg to let her know to hold on for when I wanted to give some more juice.

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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    You didn't even mention the crash that apparently shredded her pants!

    My g/f holds the tank on braking, but otherwise holds my waist. She enjoys it but it's definitely a bunch more work and the bike handles way worse. I think she leans against me too much though, cause I can feel my arms taking far more weight. I don't think I'd enjoy canyon carving 2 up.
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    Member Rabbie303's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Quote Originally Posted by #1Townie View Post
    Na leave the pressure alone. Just get used to having a passenger. Over inflation is dangerous.

    First thing for her to learn. Hands on tank when coming to a stop. Also get her to learn how to either sit still or lean just with you. I preferred the still with my ex that a lot with me. They can lean too much and make you turn harder or even worse counter lean and pull you out of your turn. All bad.

    Either get those little mics that allow you guys to talk or work on signals as was already said. This will come in very handy
    I would tap her leg to let her know to hold on for when I wanted to give some more juice.


    ^^^^^ Exactly!!! I was going to say the same thing about leaning. You lean, and she can lean with, but not lean for you. Pucker factor of 11 when they try to lean for you in a corner. You pull over when it's safe and proceed to yell at them to NEVER do that again. And also do not have her counter lean to the other side to "see what's going on" like my wife did....once! I yelled at her for doing that. It could mean your life.
    Erich-
    2004 SV650S - 8K miles - SOLD
    2003 SV1000S - 15K miles - My new love!

  10. #10
    Senior Member UHATEIT's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Quote Originally Posted by teamextreme View Post
    You didn't even mention the crash that apparently shredded her pants!

    My g/f holds the tank on braking, but otherwise holds my waist. She enjoys it but it's definitely a bunch more work and the bike handles way worse. I think she leans against me too much though, cause I can feel my arms taking far more weight. I don't think I'd enjoy canyon carving 2 up.

    yeah I thought it ironic to wear those tattered jeans! There was no crash tho This was the first ride for her, the helmet and gloves have been in a box for over 2 years, I will eventually buy her boots now that she wants to ride more with me. I just didnt want to make that huge investment in top notch stuff if she did not want to ride (she is notorious for wanting to try a hobby and then giving up on it)

    I mentioned earlier that we used SENA intercoms which was great so the whole time I was able to talk with her and tell her what I planned to do and when a braking or even a downshift was coming or when I planned to speed up. The E470 was traffic free so we got to cruise at around 75mph and she started to get her positioning better as we went along. But I agree with you on the extra weight, my left forearm was killing me this morning, from being leaned down further with her weight almost on my back and she was somewhat pushing me down. That extra weight did put a strain on me, but with time she will probably be more comfortable and not as gripped around me. She did use her hands on the tank for braking and thats what supposedly wore out her hands, she mentioned her wrists and hands hurt this morning from bracing on the tank.
    2005 Suzuki SV650s Blue (SOLD), 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 636 Lime Green


  11. #11
    Chocolate Thunder
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Slo got his lady friends a bar that attaches to the tank for them to hold onto. Maybe look into this if she decides she likes it, when I was a passanger I wish I had that remarkable invention. It looks like it takes all pressure off the main operator and their chicken nuggets as well.

  12. #12
    Gold Member Bueller's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    A good passenger is fun to ride with, there has to be a ton of trust on the passengers part. Then they relax and go with the flow.


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    Senior Member FZRguy's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Your tire pressure is fine but you need more spring preload on the rear shock with a passenger, which will alleviate the mushy feel.
    Last edited by FZRguy; Mon Aug 4th, 2014 at 07:30 PM.
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    Senior Member UHATEIT's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    I've seen that bar that bolts to the gas cap. I was telling my wife about that thing. I'll have to check eBay for one. She will be more fun to ride with once he is used to it. As for preloaded I wish it was like one of those adjustable shocks I could it a button. I'm actually missing the spanners that I need to adjust the preload.
    2005 Suzuki SV650s Blue (SOLD), 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 636 Lime Green


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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Quote Originally Posted by UHATEIT View Post
    yeah I thought it ironic to wear those tattered jeans! There was no crash tho This was the first ride for her, the helmet and gloves have been in a box for over 2 years, I will eventually buy her boots now that she wants to ride more with me. I just didnt want to make that huge investment in top notch stuff if she did not want to ride (she is notorious for wanting to try a hobby and then giving up on it)

    I mentioned earlier that we used SENA intercoms which was great so the whole time I was able to talk with her and tell her what I planned to do and when a braking or even a downshift was coming or when I planned to speed up. The E470 was traffic free so we got to cruise at around 75mph and she started to get her positioning better as we went along. But I agree with you on the extra weight, my left forearm was killing me this morning, from being leaned down further with her weight almost on my back and she was somewhat pushing me down. That extra weight did put a strain on me, but with time she will probably be more comfortable and not as gripped around me. She did use her hands on the tank for braking and thats what supposedly wore out her hands, she mentioned her wrists and hands hurt this morning from bracing on the tank.
    Yeah just make sure keeps up with bracing herself on stops. Your nuts will thank you. Had a few times the chick didn't and man... When she slides.... Oh man... Just... Yeah.

    It does get easier after a while. Sorry I missed the part with the com's.

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    Member big_sur's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    ^Those bars are the way to go if they make them for your bike. I always tell passengers to just look over my shoulder in whichever direction we're going. e.g. Look over right shoulder in right hand turn. That always puts them in the right place in my experience. If they counter your lean because they're scared and trying to stay upright, it gets really sketchy.

    Since I never really use my rear brake on the street, one thing that I didn't figure out for a while until someone told me is you can actually use your rear brake when you have a passenger as it becomes much more effective when the weight distribution shifts towards the rear. Obviously still use your front as well, but I've found it helps smooth things out.

  18. #18
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Don't do it homey! That is equivalent to her putting a wedding ring on your bike too!

    JK, Sasha has one and loves it...actually can't think of one person that didn't say they worked well
    Bulldog's Motto: F*ck around and I'm going to bite you!!!

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    Senior Member UHATEIT's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Thats the bar I was thinking of, bolts on the gas cap screws. I think it would be a good diea if she wants to ride a lot. I'll have to see if her arms can stretch that far to the gas cap, shes freakin tiny. I would prefer that to her holding onto me, she was basically bear higging me so it felt like i had a massive backpack on me and it weighed me down, causing pains in my forearms.

    I'll take your advice on no air psi in the tires. Tho I am only at 36psi in the tire I would think it would be ok to still lift it to 42?
    2005 Suzuki SV650s Blue (SOLD), 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 636 Lime Green


  20. #20
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

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    Member milehizx6r's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    I've got an idea if she enjoys riding, consider her getting on a 250 or 500 and ride as a couple, that's a real enjoyment.

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    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    This is my favorite part of giving the wife a ride

    I'll leave as a link as a bit NSFW (no nudity though)
    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...-asses-007.gif
    Bulldog's Motto: F*ck around and I'm going to bite you!!!

  23. #23
    Senior Member Moderator Slo's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    This is what I have as mentioned above:

  24. #24
    Senior Member UHATEIT's Avatar
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    Re: First bike ride with the wife!

    Holy crap that looks sweet Slo. Does that just suction over the gas cap or does it bolt on. What's the link on that one? It is dissappointing that the Ninja 636 only comes with a little strap on the front of the seta by the passengers crotch area so there is not a full grab bar like I had on my SV650 which would have been a better ride for my wife and more upright.

    I actually on my way home yesterday saw 2 separate Ninja 636 (new style and old style) both on Hampden at different times. Both had a male driver and a female passanger. I watched how each passanger was hanging on and both seemes to have lots of space between the rider's back and the passenger's chest and were barely gripping the side ribs of the driver. I told my wife about this so she would hopefully see that she doesnt have to bear hug me or grip me like a heavy backpack on my back. I think the driver blocks a good amount of air from the passanger that would otherwise pull them back. She did mention that when we got onto the E470 that she felt like her helmet was starting to lift so she was trying to tuck down to avoid that and thus pushing me down as well. The Ninja 636 is pretty raked and has little to no windshield curve to deflect air, anyone with one of these 636 has probably seen how it deflects hardly anything even for the rider, whereas the windshield on my SV650 it more upright and pushes it over the rider's head. SO this is for sure not the best bike for moving air over the passenger's head.

    The idea of trying this again with her on another bike would probably be the best on something more upright. Harley riders don't even really need to hang on when they have a backrest, but the raking of the 636 and the small seat with no grab bar makes it pretty impractical for taking a passanger (as does the undertail exhaust that heats up their ass) I think the 636 is more of a race bike than most bikes that would be better suited for carrying passangers.
    2005 Suzuki SV650s Blue (SOLD), 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 636 Lime Green


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