When is it time to practice taking a passenger in an empty l

[Sunbeemer]

I don't know what he is comparing the R1150R to, but certainly not a Harley or Goldwing, which weigh a lot more.

The R1150R's great brakes (I call 'em "Think-Stops") and high horsepower/pound ratio with a low center-of-gravity boxer engine makes it a great 2-up bike.
Honestly, I hardly ever notice my passenger is aboard until she moves around to adjust her seating.

[MThomas]

I think I agree since, as a beginning rider, I've not had much difficulty taking on passengers

[riceburner]

I pretty much just told them to glue yourself to me, spine to spine, and the three of us (me you and bike) all move as one unit, so just relax and move with us

As long as you're not moving on the bike then that will be ok.

As you get more experience you'll find that you DO move on the bike (you'll lean into corners, shift your weight around etc). Once you realise you're doing that, then having the pillion tied to you is a bad thing - the pillion then needs to become one with the bike, not you.

[MThomas]

I have two disparate persons willing to be a passenger.
One is a former gymnast who may break 100lbs if soaking wet and pregnant.
The other is a fat woman.

Finally I took the fat woman for a ride and that was tougher than the previous lighter passengers. When she mounted, the back of the bike felt like it dropped down 8 inches and I was worried the frame may have bent back there but I looked at it later and it's fine.

I don't think (inexperienced) passengers are able to figure out how to move with the bike (instead of with me) so I just told her to be my backpack (move with me) like I do all the other passengers, and things went well.

Accelerating was much slower, braking had to be done well in advance, and a lot more concentration and throttle needed to be used when turning from a stop (e.g. right turn from a stop sign).

[Sunbeemer]

This may have been mentioned; when you add weight aft you should adjust the load compensator knob proportionately. For example, when I carry a 150lb passenger, I tighten the load compensator knob ~15 clicks. This keeps the bike level and handling neutral even with a heavy load aft, and after dark it keeps the headlight aimed down at the road, not up in the sky.

And right after the ride I'll back the knob off to it's original setting for solo riding again, which for me is fully backed off.
I've noticed if you forget to back it off for a few days, it develops some slop when hydraulic fluid does not completely refill the adjustment cylinder inside the knob assembly.

[Jed]

All the advise given previously is spot on. I choose to avoid passengers for reasons I'll explain a bit later. But first, a couple of posts really struck a chord with me:

I'd say take your time and get better at riding solo before attempting to take a passenger. Passengers change the dynamics of riding drastically; your bike goes from being a flick of the wrist dancer to a lumbering beast. Center of gravity, balance, acceleration and braking are all greatly changed. If both rider and passenger are inexperienced, things can "go south" rapidly.
I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but in my world motorcycles are a personal vehicle; a solo ride. I can enjoy riding with one or two other people who are on their own bike, but I don't want anyone sitting behind me on mine. <snip>

My thoughts exactly . .

referencing an earlier observation above, again I saw a couple teens on a moped that didn't appear to be experienced drivers/riders but had no issues for the few blocks that we were going in the same road. At a stoplight I asked how much practice it took to be able to take on a rider and they looked at me with a "what is he talking about" look and said we just hopped on and took off.

If you want to model yourself as a rider based on the behavior of teenagers, that's your choice. I have radically different standards from the ones I had as a teenager.


I started riding as a teenager, 16 yo or so. Bought my first bike @ 18 and never stopped. When I first started riding I was eager to have a pillion, someone to share the joy with. But I was inexperienced and displayed the kind of over-confidence that only comes from being ignorant of the potential risks. I rode a lot and crashed a lot. I reasoned that learning to handle the bike "on-the-edge" meant going over the line every now and then. I've had a bunch of injuries and learned how to ride fast and hard while staying upright and safe. I don't regret having learned the way I did. But I don't recommend this method to everyone either.

One of my sisters impaled her calf with a shift lever in a moto accident when I was young (she was only a couple of years older). That wound took what seamed like a year to heal. The scar is still quite prominent 40 years later.

I think of the pain and suffering that my sister went through every time I consider riding with a pillion. It's not that I won't take a pillion - it's just that it's not worth the effort vs the reward. It's possible to ride two-up safely on a bike and a boxer is a great platform for 2-up. But for me, it's bad Ju-Ju. I find that I'm over cautious with a pillion and that takes all of the fun out of riding for me. And if the pillion was ever injured while riding with me - I would feel all of the guilt for as long is the scar lasted.

When I first bought the R12R, I liked that it was big and powerful enough to ride 2-up. But these days I never ask my wife if she wants to join me for a ride. If she asks, the answer is always yes, but I never initiate the offer. When I ride solo, I'm the only one that would pay for any error. This I'm ready to accept. I know riding is more dangerous than driving in a car and I still choose to ride rather than drive whenever possible. Although riding requires skill, experience, awareness and concentration, it delivers rewards far beyond anything I get from driving. For me all of that same pressure is there when I take a pillion, but the rewards never materialize. The last thing I want is to be responsible for having caused injury to my pillion.

Just one rider's opinion,

Cheers,
Jed