So after trying to get my wife comfortable with being a passenger on my 6R without much success, she (of her own free will) decided she wants to sign up for the MSF basic rider's class. Part of how this came about was I was working on my Triumph in the garage and she came out there for something and remarked on how much bigger my 6R looked in comparison. Now my 6R does have all the Givi luggage on it, which definitly makes it look much bigger, but I explained that it was only about 60 to 70 lbs heavier without the luggage.
She wanted to see how difficult it was to balance the Triumph since it was lighter, so she stood next to it and put it upright easily. I told her she should get on it and see how it felt. Now, I've had a motorcycle for as long as she's known me, and while she's been a passenger with me on them, she's never just sat on one by herself. As soon as she swung her leg over and got it upright, she was all, "Wow! This feels so nice!"
I said, "Yeah, it's nice and light, but it's got a bit of a twitchy throttle and a lot of power for a beginner. Why don't you try the Yamaha?" So she gets off and swings her leg over the 6R. And she struggles to get it off the kick stand and balanced.
After the Striple, the poor 6R feels like a yacht. Once she finally puts some umph into it and get it up, it's not so bad. I put my best sales pitch on her about the many great qualities of the 6R and she gets excited about riding a bike of her own.
This leads her to researching beginner's bikes on her iPad, but all the light weight ones she finds are carborated, and after seeing what a PITA my Ninja 500 was because of that, she's dead set against any bike with a carb set up. That leads her to the Kawi 650 and... FZ6R. So I tell her that if she takes the MSF class and gets her license, she should be comfortable enough to be able to handle a bike as heavy as the 6R. So she's gonna take the class next month. If she passes, I'll let her try my 6R and see how she likes that. If she does, it'll be her new daily summer driver. If she doesn't, I'll be on the hunt for a fuel injected lightweight bike.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I've had a bit to drink, and thought I'd share. I'm excited because I'm really hoping she takes to it. She was so excited when she was looking up bikes. It makes me hopeful.
She wanted to see how difficult it was to balance the Triumph since it was lighter, so she stood next to it and put it upright easily. I told her she should get on it and see how it felt. Now, I've had a motorcycle for as long as she's known me, and while she's been a passenger with me on them, she's never just sat on one by herself. As soon as she swung her leg over and got it upright, she was all, "Wow! This feels so nice!"
I said, "Yeah, it's nice and light, but it's got a bit of a twitchy throttle and a lot of power for a beginner. Why don't you try the Yamaha?" So she gets off and swings her leg over the 6R. And she struggles to get it off the kick stand and balanced.
After the Striple, the poor 6R feels like a yacht. Once she finally puts some umph into it and get it up, it's not so bad. I put my best sales pitch on her about the many great qualities of the 6R and she gets excited about riding a bike of her own.This leads her to researching beginner's bikes on her iPad, but all the light weight ones she finds are carborated, and after seeing what a PITA my Ninja 500 was because of that, she's dead set against any bike with a carb set up. That leads her to the Kawi 650 and... FZ6R. So I tell her that if she takes the MSF class and gets her license, she should be comfortable enough to be able to handle a bike as heavy as the 6R. So she's gonna take the class next month. If she passes, I'll let her try my 6R and see how she likes that. If she does, it'll be her new daily summer driver. If she doesn't, I'll be on the hunt for a fuel injected lightweight bike.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I've had a bit to drink, and thought I'd share. I'm excited because I'm really hoping she takes to it. She was so excited when she was looking up bikes. It makes me hopeful.
