FINALLY! First ride!


N

nismos14

I'm movin on
Elite Member
Whew, finally!

  1. Signed up for MSF a month ago
  2. Got bike 2 weeks ago
  3. Got the title on tuesday
  4. Title/tax/tags/insurance done on tuesday as well
  5. Yesterday took the written DMV test for obtaining my permit
  6. Last night installed lowering link, dropped front forks 1"
  7. Today, will be my first ride!!!!!
 
nismos14 said:
Whew, finally!

  1. Signed up for MSF a month ago
  2. Got bike 2 weeks ago
  3. Got the title on tuesday
  4. Title/tax/tags/insurance done on tuesday as well
  5. Yesterday took the written DMV test for obtaining my permit
  6. Last night installed lowering link, dropped front forks 1"
  7. Today, will be my first ride!!!!!
Click to expand...

Good luck. Rode my bike today to work after 2 crap weather weeks we had here.
 
I will as best I can!
 
Good luck man. I just took my msf course last weekend. I was a wuss and waited until after the course to try out my fz6r.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
 
dom02 said:
Good luck man. I just took my msf course last weekend. I was a wuss and waited until after the course to try out my fz6r.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with that. I was going to do the same, but I just couldn't think about waiting another month and a half to be done with the msf course.
 
Still at work - I will be riding in about an hour hopefully.
 
It was so much fun!! Rode it about 16 miles around town today, TBR is cery freaking loud might get a powertip
 
So I rode on Friday, then Saturday, then Yesterday (yesterday was also my bday).

I rode about 17 miles on Friday, Saturday I did another 30 or so, and yesterday I did about 56 miles. I'm absolutely loving it and did a little bit of two up riding with my wife as well, she loved it!!

I did have one scary incident where I put the bike down. I was slowing to a stop with her on the back and as I got to the stop I some how lost the balance of the bike and dropped her (thank god for the frame slider that saved the bike). Anyway other than that moment I was fine.

Does anyone have any sort of advice for coming to a stop when riding two up? It certainly feels different then being on it alone..

Thanks!!
 
Riding 2-up is very different. Starting/stopping and balance are all heavily effected due to the added weight(a lot more than you would think, I'm sure you realized very quickly).

I'm sure others here who are more experienced can provide additional pointers/advice, but I think the most important thing about slowing to stop(riding 2-up or not, though even more important with another person) is to keep the bike straight. If you are leaning at all when the bike comes to a stop, you lose your gyro and the bike will want to go down fast(a lesson I learned the hard way my first day of riding) and once the bike leans past a certain point it becomes VERY difficult to stop.

If I'm riding 2-up and I have to take a fairly sharp, slow speed turn to turn in to a parking spot I tend to have the 2nd person get off the bike first just to make it easier.
 
StarZero81 said:
Riding 2-up is very different. Starting/stopping and balance are all heavily effected due to the added weight(a lot more than you would think, I'm sure you realized very quickly).

I'm sure others here who are more experienced can provide additional pointers/advice, but I think the most important thing about slowing to stop(riding 2-up or not, though even more important with another person) is to keep the bike straight. If you are leaning at all when the bike comes to a stop, you lose your gyro and the bike will want to go down fast(a lesson I learned the hard way my first day of riding) and once the bike leans past a certain point it becomes VERY difficult to stop.

If I'm riding 2-up and I have to take a fairly sharp, slow speed turn to turn in to a parking spot I tend to have the 2nd person get off the bike first just to make it easier.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that helps a bit!
 
Besides the necessity having the bike upright, ease into the stop rather than quick stopping. I'm not sure what your MSF is going to/has taught you, but if your not doing it, when 2-up I always put both feet down. Just as the bike is stopping, maintain enough pressure on the front brake to complete the stop (with the handlebars straight) and put both feet on the ground. It quickly becomes second nature.

If your on a hill, you'll probably have to briefly balance the bike on your left leg alone, so you can use the right leg for the rear brake, to free your right hand for the throttle when you begin to accelerate from the stop.

There's nothing like riding, and having your significant other on the back only improves the experience in many ways, though it does it make it more difficult. You might want to consider gaining a little more experience before you ride 2 up very much.

Glad your having fun! Keep it safe and keep on learning!
 
For 2-up, you really have to change the way you ride completely. Two things:

- Passenger Instruction: This is very important. Tell your passenger to just sit as still as possible. They should just sit upright and not shift around. They should lean naturally with the bike when it leans. Also, when I tell my passengers that when I brake hard, it's OK for them to brace themselves against my lower back if necessary, but it's of course better not to press on me at all.

- Balance: When you have a passenger, you need to be actively balancing the bike at all times, and especially when going slow or stopping. Tiny shifts from the passenger will totally throw off your balance. This used to freak me out, but I learned that simply by being aware at all times, I could keep the bike stable and upright. By EXPECTING you passenger to be shifting randomly and unexpectedly, you can respond instantly and compensate for their movement.

Of course a really good passenger hardly moves, but no one can be expected to stay stationary all the time.

I've always really enjoyed two-up riding. You just have to be aware that it is completely different from solo riding. I do find that I do everything super smoothly when there's a passenger, including braking, accelerating and turning.
 
buzzbomb said:
Besides the necessity having the bike upright, ease into the stop rather than quick stopping. I'm not sure what your MSF is going to/has taught you, but if your not doing it, when 2-up I always put both feet down. Just as the bike is stopping, maintain enough pressure on the front brake to complete the stop (with the handlebars straight) and put both feet on the ground. It quickly becomes second nature.

If your on a hill, you'll probably have to briefly balance the bike on your left leg alone, so you can use the right leg for the rear brake, to free your right hand for the throttle when you begin to accelerate from the stop.

There's nothing like riding, and having your significant other on the back only improves the experience in many ways, though it does it make it more difficult. You might want to consider gaining a little more experience before you ride 2 up very much.

Glad your having fun! Keep it safe and keep on learning!
Click to expand...

Thank you! Excellent tips. I will be riding a lot more alone before I have her on it long term.

Superzoom said:
For 2-up, you really have to change the way you ride completely. Two things:

- Passenger Instruction: This is very important. Tell your passenger to just sit as still as possible. They should just sit upright and not shift around. They should lean naturally with the bike when it leans. Also, when I tell my passengers that when I brake hard, it's OK for them to brace themselves against my lower back if necessary, but it's of course better not to press on me at all.

- Balance: When you have a passenger, you need to be actively balancing the bike at all times, and especially when going slow or stopping. Tiny shifts from the passenger will totally throw off your balance. This used to freak me out, but I learned that simply by being aware at all times, I could keep the bike stable and upright. By EXPECTING you passenger to be shifting randomly and unexpectedly, you can respond instantly and compensate for their movement.

Of course a really good passenger hardly moves, but no one can be expected to stay stationary all the time.

I've always really enjoyed two-up riding. You just have to be aware that it is completely different from solo riding. I do find that I do everything super smoothly when there's a passenger, including braking, accelerating and turning.
Click to expand...

Thank you as well!

My wife is actually pretty good at not moving around much. She will lift up over bumps taking my lead. I really enjoy riding two up and will take every precaution to ride safely especially with another persons safety in mind.
 
I ride 2-up with my wife all the time, but I would say not having even a 100 miles of riding experience is too soon to ride with a passenger. As a matter of fact, I have not taken her on a ride on any of my new bikes until I logged 500-1000 miles and I'm confident that I know the bike.

Hold off on the passenger for now.
 
nismos14 said:
Thank you! Excellent tips. I will be riding a lot more alone before I have her on it long term.



Thank you as well!

My wife is actually pretty good at not moving around much. She will lift up over bumps taking my lead. I really enjoy riding two up and will take every precaution to ride safely especially with another persons safety in mind.
Click to expand...

why do you lift up over bumps?
 

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