| Author | Message | ||
     Js_buell |
I have read lots of tread saying 2 up riding is almost impossible on a xb s, unless the passenger is a 8 years old kid. If you compare it to a rice rocket how is it? I mean I had a 96 YZF 750 and my GF could stay on for about an hour but then with my 97 GSXR 750 15 minutes was too long(her lower back could stand longer), thats why I am looking for the S cause of the more strait up position. She never complain about the seat of either bikes but I'm wondering if the seat on the S is big enough for an adult. | ||
| Wheelsleaning |
My woman is about 150, she can ride my modified seat for about 30-45 min intervals  And swap the passenger brackets, it will move her feet farward some. | ||
| Chgojim |
the s tail is (in my opinion) intended for one rider. i always felt like i was smashed into the airbox, and my wife was afraid she would fall off the back (and that was without a chopped tail). the s seat is (like said above) "fine" for a 30 minute ride 2 up. after switching to the R tail...all i can say is positive things. i'm not jammed into the airbox, she sits more upright, (weight not on me), at slow speeds, and she doesnt feel like she could fall off the back. i like the look of wheelsleaning's seat...that would definatley keep the passenger on their seat. i never thought of the passenger bracket swap, another good idea though. | ||
| Lucky |
any pics of the passenger bracket swaps? i am curious how much this move them. | ||
| Bake |
I got a dilemma too, my g/f has her own bike but likes to ride with me somedays. She can only do 1hr on the Buell, looks like we will be hunting for another bike some day. I am thinking Victory. Really wish the Buell had a better seating arrangment, by far my favorite street ride. (Message edited by bake on June 10, 2005) | ||
| Stainlessmag |
I have the tail chopped and use a corbin seat which is really not ment for a 2 up riding and the girl i usually have on the back has no real complaints. She has ridden on the back for at least an hour or more at a time and said she is only afraid she will fall off when i decide to romp on the gas unexpectedly or sometimes bumps make her slide back. Other than that she said she actualy prefers that seat to the stcok because it has way more padding and she doesnt slide around do to the material i chose for the corbin. For ref, she is about 5'8-5'10 and about 130-140 lbs. I do notice that im more forward in my seat with her on the back and that when we hit higher speeds she does tend to try and lean more into me, but ive had it up to 110 with her on the back and not had any problems. | ||
| Wheelsleaning |
Swapping the passenger brackets only move her feet down and forward about an inch, but my girl said it makes a difference. And you have to swap the pegs too, so they will fold back. PS; I got another stock seat off ebay and added a "super cushion" to the back for my woman, looks like I'm carrying a stuffed tailbag.  | ||
| Lucky |
i bought the touring pillion for my xb9r and my girlfriend says its better but even that bothers her after a while. (Message edited by lucky on June 10, 2005) | ||
| Ponytail |
I had a 5'10 130ish female on the back of my 12R and she said that it was more comfortable than any other crotch rocket that she has been on. She sad that she didn't feel as cramped. As far as the bumps jouncing the passenger off the back, Are you guys adjusting the rear shock to accomodate the extra weight? It makes a HUGE difference. It's a PITA but it needs to be done. I haven't done it yet to the 12R, but I have done it to my Sporty when I had that, and I do it to my Springer when I anticipate a passenger. I know that it's recommended to adjust the shock settings on the Harleys. I don't know if it's in the Buell books or not. | ||
| Stainlessmag |
yea the setting is in the buell book, but Im 250lbs so the shock is already set for the max weight range. | ||
| Ted |
Maybe JS should have noted this is a WorkSafe or sensitive thread, what with you guys posting your Sig-others weights ! You may have to wear your racing gear for awhile to prevent injury  | ||
| Ponytail |
Oh, mine wasn't a sig other. Otherwise I would have posted the "safe weight" estimate.  | ||
| Wheelsleaning |
HAHA, my woman doesnt pay any attention to this site. damn good thing  or I'd be a deadman if she saw all the $$$ i spent on this bike  | ||
| Madbandito |
Wife weighs 120#. Having been on the back of my ZX-6R which she hated, by comparison the "R" tail with touring pillion is pretty decent. | ||
| Deerhunter17 |
I can say that the first time My wife saw the 12R, she was pissed. She loves to ride with me, and thought there was no way on this thing. After the first 20 min ride, she grudgingly said" I hate to admit it, but I like it". I have since added the touring pillion, and of the 9600 miles I have put on the bike, I would say almost half has been with her. She's 5-4 135, and NO, she never reads this stuff, so I am safe....  | ||
| Izzinya |
i have a h-d night train and a buell city-x after about 100 mi on each the wife said she liked the buell better i have put the low seat on it though she said she liked the fact it was wider than the harley we rode about 275 miles in 2 days (alot for her) and no complaints from her at all as i had just got the bike i was concerned weather she would like it or not and she loved it Izzinya  | ||
| Jedwele |
I have a 12S with stock seat and my girl , like it so much more then my gsxr1000. Mainly not because the seat is more comfortable but she doesn't have to lean foward so much. And 2 up riding is more comfortable for me also because she doesn't have to lean her weight on me.(Not that its a lot honey  | ||
| Jasonxb12s |
I've had 3 different women on the back of my S ranging in sizes from 120 to 150 and I was way more uncomfortable than they were. In fact all 3 enjoyed the ride while I couldn't wait for it to end. Oh, and my balls didn't like it either. | ||
| Opto |
My missus weighs around 125 and we do 95% of the miles on the XB12S together. We have done 350 miles in a day more than once and hurt a bit but nothing major. My missus loves the Buell. I got a City X seat and that was a good improvement. I set up the rear suspension (fine-tuned on the long runs) and we can achieve corner speeds similar to me riding solo. We love chasing or leading jap bikes 2-up in the twisties. Even some of the new Ducatis look like jappers from the rear, but they are also slower...Otherwise we just potter along and enjoy the scenery. | ||
| Reepicheep |
There may be a trend here... the one thing I thought I was loosing going from the M2 to the 9sx was comfort for my wife. She rarely rides with me, so I did the trade anyway. She rode with me a couple times since then, and said it was just as comfortable as the M2. Go figure  | ||
| Socalbueller |
Took a friend for a ride a couple days and my XB12R felt like a pig compared with me solo. I have ridden 2 up on other bikes and the difference wasn't nearly as dramatic as it was on the XB. I didn't crank the pre-load up all the way, which I will do next time, hopefully that will help. Another problem or inconvenience, I had was supporting her weight along with mine on my arms while going downhill and breaking. Either have to go to the gym more or work on my technique. I'm guessing she was between 120-130. She did like it better than her ex-boyfriend’s CBR 600 since it didn’t have any driveline lash. | ||
| Izzinya |
"She did like it better than her ex-boyfriend’s CBR 600 since it didn’t have any driveline lash." from experiences with my wife (than girlfriend) id say it wasnt the bike the wife had a boyfriend with a bike before me now im maried (i say dont take her again LOL) Izzinya | ||
| Js_buell |
thx for all the answers I guess she will be able to stay on it around 45 to 60 min. I know the R model got a better seat but the problem was her lower back due to the riding position, not the seat and thats one small reason why I'm going with the S model. | ||
| Deerhunter17 |
socal. on the r model, it works much better when you passenger has her arms around your waist, my wife places her hands palm down, thumbs in, on my thighs, ( like the way she holds on when its cold  ), as you break or slow for a turn, have her move her hands to the back of the air box cover, she can support her own weight that way. It took us a few rides to figre it out. It's gotten to the point where I can almost ride as quickly through the turns with her as without. She loves it. | ||
| Js_buell |
Deerhunter I have used that technique on my rice rockets and thats why she had pain in her lower back. | ||
| Deerhunter17 |
I have never had another sport bike, and have only cruisers to relate to, but my wife loves riding this bike (12r), can go about 95 miles non stop, and has been on several 150+ mile trips without problem. Our main concern is that she has a tendency to fall asleep on it. Could be bike, rider, ???? Everyone is different. I also have installed the touring pillion for her, although for the first three months, and close to 2000 miles of 2 up, she rode on the stock seat. | ||
| Socalbueller |
Went for another ride today. I have to say setting up the suspension correctly for the weight makes a night and day difference. The salesman at the dealer didn't know what he was talking about when he told me to just click the preload up a couple of notches when carrying a passenger. Thanks for the tips deerhunter, the airbox is a good idea. We only took a trip from Burbank to Hollywood today, which is just city streets so the extra weight wasn’t that, big a deal. The bike did handle and brake 10x better. The first ride was Coldwater Canyon Blvd. that had a lot of first/second gear turns combine that with her leaning on me and marshmallow rear suspension wasn't fun at all. | ||
| Starter |
My missus is about 5'11" and 55kg (125lb) and the only thing she hates is the way her head is miles in the air. We've done a few 200km days and she was well and truly over it by then. On the other side of the fence, this is the only bike I've ever ridden two up on that didn't feel like the front end was off the ground everytime the throttle was twisted. I too have had some good fun in the twisties with her on the back but can't say she was impressed by it. All I've ever had to adjust is the rear preload 2 notches. | ||
| Raymondt |
True story: I went to the dealer undecided if I would buy a Sportster and modify the hell out of it or buy a Buell. The Wife liked the "pretty Sportster" but I told her she  had to go for a ride on the back of each and give her opinion. She liked the Buell position best. I have to say I was suprised but I think she felt more secure leaning forward into me a little without having a backrest. My previous bike a V-Max had a backrest she was used to. So there is an XB12S in the garage and everyone is happy! | ||
| Opto |
Be careful, if you set the rear end up for 2-up and then go for a solo ride and forget to soften it up again, the XB's can get out of shape fairly easily if you go hard with a hard rear end. (As I found out). I don't change the front settings, and go up 2 notches on rear preload (to setting 3), screw the rear compression adjuster in just over half a turn (to 2 and 7/8 out) and rebound in a quarter turn (to 1 and 3/4 out) for 2-up. We weigh about 270 together. |
