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How's the AT when riding with a passenger?

19K views 9 replies 10 participants last post by  Desert rider 
#1 ·
wassup forum, i have only ridden my ex-fat bob with a passenger, and i was not a big fan.

the brakes took longer to break and the handling was not very good. but, it was a harley, so both of those qualities were never that good anyways.

so, i am planning on riding my ATAS with my girfliend on the back but i have some questions:

will riding 2up lower the bike a bit?
because i can only place the balls of my feet on the ground, i cant flat foot on my ATAS

will the brakes and handling be affected?

how about on the twisties?

cheers and thanks for the advice!
 
#2 ·
Yes, it will lower when she sits on it.
Yes, it will take a little longer to stop at any given speed when you brake and likewise, the handling will be slightly affected due to the xtra weight...ditto in the twisties.
If you ride at 10/10ths solo, ride at 7/10ths with her on and you should be fine.


You could put uprated fork springs/oil and a new rear shock on which will help
 
#7 ·
I've ridden with my wife and my sons on the back. (Not all at once).

It comes down to weight—the numbers. (And rear-rider behavior, too, actually).

My wife weighs all of 115 lbs. (54 kg) and it was almost unnoticeable. I remarked at the time, that it was nothing like my old bikes—on my '78 Honda 750 Four-K, you knew right away someone was behind you, bike came down and handling was night/day. But I barely noticed with my wife on the back of my ATAS and I didn't even bother to adjust the preload the first time out. The couple times after that before it got too cold to ride here, I just winged it and notched it up some. But we only rode for a few hours altogether so far, but most of that was twisty backroads (for the fun) and it was smooth sailing.

With my sons I only did short test rides when I first got the bike. One weighs nearly as much as me, 190 lbs., and the other weighs 155. (I weigh 200 lbs.) – it was certainly more noticeable, but not very bad at all—even with my nearly 190 lb. son behind me. I did jack up the preload—can’t remember exactly how far, but significantly. And with my bigger son behind me, I did have to modify my riding, esp. on the twists and turns and slowing; I was careful. But again, it wasn't that bad—even with such a heavy load behind me and, in fact, over(!) the recommended weight limit of 397 lbs. (All geared up, I'd estimate our weight at 400 lbs.). I wouldn’t want to make a habit of riding with that much weight, but we did ok.

With my other son, 155 lbs., it was much easier, and I really didn’t have to adjust too much for him, believe it or not.

And with both, naturally, I was required to do fast take-offs and show off the bike for them, and I remember being very impressed with the power and torque even with the additional weight. We certainly had a good time.

Make sure your pillion rider knows not to fight you and how to relax and go with you on the back of a motorcycle.

Have fun and ride safe! And let us know how it goes.

Gary


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#9 ·
I actually bought my 2016 manual trans because I wanted a bike that could handle the extra weight of a passenger.My wife is about 135#. I just reset set my preload (sag) and go for it. Obvously any extra weight will effect handling and braking. We usually do 2-3 hour one way rides on Sunday morning for breakfast. I’ve only ridden on highway with her.
Remember to reset for solo riding when your back home.
 
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