| Author | Message | ||
     Okc99 |
Many of us have a worse-half--I don't submit that women are better than their mates anymore than one race is better than another--and many of us have taken long trips 2up on the Uly. Let's here your take on the things you enjoyed more when 2up and then those things that seemed not so great. ------------------------- | ||
| Snakebreak |
Well it tends to limit my beer consumption. In terms of riding I have to go a little slower since both my children's parents are at risk. Overall, the Uly is the best bike I have ridden 2up and my wife is very happy with the stock seat. I can't really tell she is back there for the most part since she is a great passenger. | ||
| Danger_dave |
My wife makes 3 times my salary and does most of the cooking. Easily the better half of the team. | ||
| Ulynut |
Pro- really easy wheelies. Con- really easy wheelies. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Sometimes when you are dropping into traffic it takes some english to keep it all down hey. | ||
| Fubar |
Pro - Get to go more. Con - More potty stops. | ||
| Okc99 |
Fubar.....that was truly poetic. Can you pontificate just a little more? When I ride solo, my mind fills of thoughts of work and life. When I ride with a sig other, my mind fills of thoughts of "is she enjoying this". | ||
| Ulyscol |
My significant other lasted 2 weeks on the back of my uly then she bought her own bike. 10,000 miles later and I think I have created a monster!!! | ||
| Knucklehead |
The Uly is really comfortable two up and my wife really enjoys it. Plus I get about 60mpg two up and 45mpg solo. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
i have a phenominal passenger who like to ride to so for me it's easy to go either way. although she doesn't get out as much as i wish she would with her bike. | ||
| Etennuly |
My wife really enjoys riding on the back of the Uly. It allows her to just rest and ride along looking at scenery. Sometimes I have to wake her up to make me feel like I should have left her at home so as to not interfere with her nap time. I got her her own bike so that she could enjoy riding, but it seems for the most part that she would rather ride with me so that she doesn't have to pay attention to driving. When I ride solo my thoughts of work and life float away and I feel like I'm flying. The journey is the destination. When two up there needs to be a destination so that we can both have restful fun. We've been married going on 24 years and I really love doing things with her, but I am split on the worries of having her ride her own bike(which she does pretty well) verses being on the back of my bike where in I feel like my wings are clipped as far as how I like to ride goes. She knows the Uly is special to me, but I don't think she knows what it is like to take flight on the twisted back roads that I have shown her. Where I like to rip it, she likes to look at the trees. | ||
| Froggy |
I noticed that with a passenger, the throttle is unable to be twisted beyond about 20% without a sudden repeated thumping coming from the back of my helmet. Perhaps this is the cause of the increase in fuel economy. | ||
| Rotorhead |
My wife loves riding on the back of the ULY. Yes she does ask "did the front wheel just come off the ground?". She (the biek and the wife) loves the twisties so I don't have to slow down any. The bike loves being ridden 2 up, on and off road. She even helps me pick routes too. This is what she looked like after riding 90 miles of US191(tail of the dragon X 7) in AZ. This was the first time ever that she was ready to get off!! Spewing in the fullface helmet would be bad 300 miles from home.  She really hates this picture! | ||
| Dnveloman |
I love riding with my wife. She is petite and is the best passenger. However, I can't relax when she is on the back. I'm obsessive about defensive when she is aboard. | ||
| Okc99 |
Froggy.........ah yes, we've all experienced that thump on the helmet or jab in the sides when they see the rivets in the side of a semi approach their legs too closely (ours are more closely tucked) or when we goose the throttle too much. Anyone ever been "goosed" so hard it made them almost dump the bike? | ||
| Knucklehead |
Last fall we went out on a foliage tour in western Mass.. I am Mr. speed limit with her on back and we were on a section of 45 mph road. A big Harley flew past us and shot ahead. Dude had custom pipes and I could not hear the Uly when he was 300 feet in front of me.He would slow down and let me pass and then fly past me. This happened several times. We were on a section of road that runs through a small college, and there are elevated crosswalks on the road. The crosswalks have short steep ramps about 8 inches high. The dude had dropped behind me as we approached the crosswalk, I dropped Uly into second and nailed the throttle. The Harley dude nailed his throttle too but as he was about 200 feet behind I hit the crosswalk first. We were doing around 60mph when we launched, and I would say we were about six feet off the ground and landed about 35 feet past the crosswalk. Sweet landing, hit rear tire first then planted the front . The suspension was so smooth and stable. My wife turned to look at the Harley and saw him mash his brakes about 50 feet before launch. He wobbled over the crosswalk and stayed behind me until he turned off. I just turned 53, I have been riding fir 43 years and my 07 Uly is my 44th motorcycle. I have had Harleys, Hondas,Husqvarnas, Yahammers and more. This Buell is by far the best bike that I have owned. | ||
| Mnrider |
Great story Knucklehead. My wife and I have been riding 2 up for almost 30 years motorcycles and snowmobiles and she had to put up with several misadventures. When I Traded my last dual sport for a street bike she missed it and encouraged me to get another. We love touring back rodes and out of the way places and the Uly fits the bill perfect. | ||
| Svh |
My wife loves to go out. My only complaint is she likes to slide forward but she is working on paying attention to that I think mostly because she wants a kid someday. I also am very defensive and mr.speedlimit also. It really does help to get out on the bike more although she never stops me from riding even after I watched my brother try to kill himself on a Goldwing. | ||
| Alleninwv |
Thanks for this thread. One of the reasons I hope to move up from my KLR is the possibility of having a s/o who wants to ride. I was fortunate to date (and still remain friends with) a woman who had her own bike, and I still say this is the best of all possible worlds (even if it was a V-Star). However, a close second is one who is willing to ride. I must confess though...the thought of a passenger makes me nervous. I've never ridden 2-up and frankly, I think I'd lose a lot of that 'care-free' feeling I have when I ride with a passenger on back. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I used to be very defensive when Kim was on the back. We used to ride 2-up on my FLHP before I got the Uly, and even with her own bike she preferred to be a passenger. So, her bike got traded on my Uly - figure, if we've got a payment to make, might as well make use of it. Shortly after her first ride on the Uly, the decision was made to sell the FLHP - neither of us misses it. Also shortly after her first Uly ride, she started wanting to ride on the S2 - she'd NEVER wanted to be a Buell passenger before. <shrug> So, now she's got two bikes she can ride pillion on. Now, for the "used to be defensive" part. We took the S2 to Homecoming, and she went with me on the 'parade lap'. Those who were there know what that means  Full saddlebags, full tank bag, and a passenger - passed a VRSC on the outside in one of the sweepers, and the biggest problem I was having was I kept hitting her legs when I tried to hang off. We got to the pits and she jumped of the bike quick; I thought "uh-oh, I'm in trouble now". Helmet came off, big smile, "that was fun...I gotta pee, but that was FUN". Yay! Now, I just have to get my confidence back enough to take a passenger - it's coming - and she has to trust me again, which equates to watching me pull many, many trouble free miles again before she gets on the back. But, specific to the Uly - she loves the backrest now that she's used to it ("you mean I don't have to lean forward?"), and loves the seat. I might raise the pegs a hair for her somehow since she's vertically challenged (5'5", compared to my 6'4") but other than that, she loves it - comfy, and roomy. I also love it - me and my P-touch labeler put a cheat sheet on the preload knob for how many clicks it takes to adjust for a passenger. That's *all* I do when she goes with me, and the bike still handles great. It also doesn't hurt that the Journeys have a ton of space for all the crap that she has to bring along every single time she leaves the house....is that an estrogen thing? <shrug> | ||
| Supertoon |
In a fleeting moment of doubt, I considered trading the Uly for a Multi. This is the first bike (outta at least 5) that my wife expressed real concern about replacing. She likes it that much! It would seem the Ducati gets real squirrely two-up. We have also rented E glides, G wings and a GS recently and the most comfortable for her remains the Uly. She can get up close to me in the fun stuff and retire to her area for comfort during the dull stuff. The beaver pad is helpful for unexpected wheelies during a nap. This is the first bike I've owned that handles pretty much the same with or without a pillion (she weights 110 lbs) | ||
| Debueller |
Pros: Really easy wheelies, that make my girl get close and hold on tight:  Cons: None, except when in the rough off pavement stuff. | ||
| Court |
My wife makes 12 times my salary and does most of the cooking. Easily the better half of the team. But mine rides her own bike . . . I did take her on the S2 once while we were going to Cassoday, KS one day . . . we hopped off the turnpike and I hit the big ol 360o ramp and put the pegs on the ground and all I could hear was her giggling. | ||
| Fubar |
"Fubar.....that was truly poetic. Can you pontificate just a little more? " My wife is a great passenger and I really enjoy her coming too. It is great bonding time. She did think she wanted her own bike but when she got it, found she hated riding herself. Prefers "being a hugger". Works for me! Still...being a girl and all...there are *way* more bio-stops. | ||
| Hooper |
"Beaver pad"? Not going there. Yep, all my passengers have loved the Uly, even though the get-on/get-off is usually like a slapstick comedy. THAT'S when the biggest risk of tipover is. That said, my girlfriend thinks I follow too closely to cars ahead, and gets nervous thinking that I'm not going to brake in time at a red light (she feels the same way about my driving in a car). Now, *I'M* perfectly aware of my spacing between vehicles, I don't tailgate, and I know how much braking distance I need as I come up to a red light. She will stipulate that, "no, ol' Hooper does not want nor intend to rear end the car ahead, and does not have a deathwish or a desire to get into an accident (been there, done that)", however, she just can't help it. So, I have to really modulate and moderate my riding when she's on board. It's so infrequent that it's increases the sense of adventure...I tell her about all the cool roads I found and interesting things I saw, and I finally get a chance to show her. Oh, and she's a warm-weather-only passenger. | ||
| Froggy |
Hooper, what about spacing with deer? | ||
| Wbrisett |
My secondary passenger is always my daughter, not my wife. My wife has her own bike. Over Christmas, we rode from Austin, TX to Orlando, FL and back so we could see Disney World. It was a fun ride and I hope more to come. My daughter is a great passenger, but we have an intercom, so we can talk, listen to music, and generally keep each other alert. I did a write up on our trip to FL on my blog: http://wbrisett.blogspot.com Photos, etc are there too... I did leave the Buell at home on this trip. But, I do enjoy taking it on long trips. Wayne | ||
| Nobuell |
I enjoy ridding by myself but it is fun to 2-up with my wife. She has ridden with me for many years and is a great passenger. The only thing I have to put up with is the occasional "slow down" squeeze or helmet bump when she dozes off. I purchased a AirHawk seat pad that greatly increases her saddle time. Sharing the adventure is great fun, highly recommended. | ||
| Hooper |
Froggy, if I could get those damn deer to stay in their lanes and travel WITH traffic, I wouldn't have a problem with them!  That's just a scary thought that occasionally pops into my head, if I had hit that thing with my girl on the back. I don't know if I could ever get over that, no matter the outcome. | ||
| M2nc |
The Uly has changed my passion for motorcycling to our passion for motorcycling. Before the Uly the better half (anyone that knows both of us knows this is true no matter what we make) did good to ride more than 100 miles. Now on the Uly, my wife has ridden 350 miles a day and is ready to go again the next day. The only thing limiting our riding is the most important reason, our children. Two are still young so it is hard for both of us to get away at the same time. Whenever we get the chance, she is the first to say 'Let's go!' |
