Anyone else ride with heavy people on the back?

[rclarkbow]

1 minute ago, bwringer said:

You haven't really mentioned your skill or experience level with passengers, or your passenger's experience. I know some couples of similar dimension who rode all over the place.

One of my wife's friends was of a similar size, and she's asked for rides and I've toted her around several times on various bikes. Haven't seen her in a while (some mysterious falling-out between the ladies; I'm better off not knowing), so I have no idea how the FJ-09 would work, but I have every confidence that it would also be fine.

No, you're not going to set any speed records, but you can go putt around a bit and the bike isn't going to break.

I'm very experienced, and my wife's friend was also a pretty skilled passenger; there's a certain set of skills required from the passenger.

Another consideration is just plain fit; on bikes with trunks, the passenger may not fit very well 'twixt rider and top box. Also, it can be pretty difficult for ladies to clamber aboard, unless they have a lot of agility. I used to pull up next to a curb whenever possible so my wife would have less of a leap.

My wife is no longer interested in riding, so I don't know much about how steerage on the FJ-09 compares to other bikes.

One last hint: never, and I mean NEVER, let a lady see you adjust preload...

Yes I'd imagine the etiquette on having her see the preload adjustment would be similar to asking a woman's weight; just don't do it.

I have experience with passengers on other bikes from 500cc cruisers to scooters. Only one of which was heavier than me, and probably closer to 200lbs. 

The FJ is unique, and especially as far as bikes I've owned it's very tall and probably not designed to have all that weight up that high and behind me (and the rated payload is under 400lbs.) 

Good news is that the girl said she might be interested in riding her own someday so there's hope there. Thanks for all your replies guys got of great info in here, hopefully could be useful to future riders as well. 

 

 

[bwringer]

You could try just both sitting on it in the garage, within reach of support, and seeing how she feels, how you feel, whether she can climb off and on easily, etc.

Another option is a little left field, but perhaps you could try renting a larger, heavier, lower bike for a day, like a Harley or other cruiser from Eagle Rider, Riders' Share, Twisted Road, etc. These are somewhat less affected by passenger physics, and they're much lower and easier to balance and mount up for you both.

[DR_DR3I]

 

One last hint: never, and I mean NEVER, let a lady see you adjust preload...

[fjray]

Sorry to say this but if she admits to 300 lbs, it's because she's heavier than that.

[rclarkbow]

5 months update:

Despite the numerous internet people telling me that riding with my 300lb. girlfriend on the back was a dumb idea; despite conventional wisdom, common sense and my own sense of self-preservation we tried it...with @bwringerthere in spirit, of course, given you were virtually the only optimistic reply I got on this topic.

We started off in an empty parking lot of a local movie theatre that has gone out of business in the last year (who can guess why?)

Well, the ol' FJ surely didn't like having that much weight high up and behind, just in the parking lot the traction control saved us from what would have been a loop (front wheel up bike falls back).

Then of course despite all of the aforementioned common sense I pretend to have, the next logical step was to take it out on the road riding two-up with my extra large cuddle buddy (omg you guys she's such a sweetheart). 

Well it went fine, we didn't' fall. The FJ had plenty of power for the weight. I needed to be careful with the throttle as not to loop it, but TCS also would have probably saved that. Brakes were adequate. Slow speed maneuvers were somewhat daunting, but of course I have mad skills so we were fine. We road about a mile, reached a speed of about 65mph and turned around and came back. 

All in all, if we want to go riding (we're still together 5 months later you guys) I agree with the majority:

You shouldn't bring your XL cuddle buddy on the back of your tacer, but (for science of course) I at least proved that you CAN (assuming you have the same mad skills I obv. have) 

Next time I'll rent a big Harley (god I hate them) as @bwringer suggested or grab her a Craigslist cruiser to learn on. 

Hope you guys enjoyed this post, tried to keep it fun and lighthearted.

Edited October 29, 2021 by rclarkbow

[Wintersdark]

So, I've had heavy people on the back, and that's with myself also being a big, heavy guy - I'm 300 lbs myself (before gear) and have had a 240lb passenger.  It definitely overloads the suspension (mind you, mine's sprung for my weight, not stock) so it'll bottom out on bumps easily, and it doesn't lend to sporty cornering, but the engine has plenty of power to haul the weight and the frame has no problem whatsoever holding that up.

However, the difference for me is the weight is primarily more forwards as I'm the big one on the bike, so the COG is further forwards and lower.  

I wouldn't hesitate at all to do 160+300, however, that's way less weight than I ran and it wasn't a big deal.  But I'd definitely be careful about potholes and speed bumps, and would be riding the speed limit in a very tame fashion while I did it.  

[TomTracer]

🤯

[bwringer]

Thanks for reporting back, @rclarkbow ! 

That little love story is so wholesome, it warmed my shriveled frozen heart... glad you two are doing well.

Anyway, yeah, the experiment turned out about the way I thought it would. The FJ-09 is definitely not one of the more passenger-friendly sport-touring bikes out there. It's more "sport" than "touring". 

Give her a squeeze for us, get her signed up for an MSF basic course in the spring, and keep your eyes peeled for a bike she likes.

And/or get on https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjH0ti65fDzAhUbbW8EHUkbDxoYABACGgJqZg&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESP-D27icaWdikESw05tcEDQmwufUOFzZCEhxcq8JDTHOI6SvVX_YrUivKFQzIUwPtPCAMZqZBf8Dc4k-XAoJU8w&sig=AOD64_0bBZac5x83sibk5DfrJpe5xLAH-Q&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwi2qs265fDzAhWaKM0KHXjWCRAQ0Qx6BAgGEAEhttps://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjH0ti65fDzAhUbbW8EHUkbDxoYABACGgJqZg&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESP-D27icaWdikESw05tcEDQmwufUOFzZCEhxcq8JDTHOI6SvVX_YrUivKFQzIUwPtPCAMZqZBf8Dc4k-XAoJU8w&sig=AOD64_0bBZac5x83sibk5DfrJpe5xLAH-Q&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwi2qs265fDzAhWaKM0KHXjWCRAQ0Qx6BAgGEAEhttps://www.riders-share.com/ or https://www.twistedroad.com/ and consider renting something with better passenger accommodations. 

[Junkie]

This is one of the cases where the longer swingarm of the Tracer 900 would be a big benefit vs the FJ09. 

 

I'm 175lb, bike has AK20s and 8983, sprung a little stiff for solo/a little soft for 2 up. Sag is currently correct for solo rider, I need to fix that...

 

I notice a big difference passenger vs not, and a significant difference between my current GF at 110 and my ex at 140.

[justin]

On 6/1/2021 at 1:36 AM, rclarkbow said:

Thank you for all of your replies.

I think with the weight distribution being the issue (with lots of weight behind me and slightly higher) it probably isn't the best idea unfortunately.

I'd find a thinner gf but this one is really nice 

Solo riding for now I suppose...

If the relationship is going great, why not see if she would be interested in getting her motorcycle license therefore, she would ride her own bike and you guys can ride together as a ''riding couple'' instead of both of you on the same motorcycle.

Edited November 21, 2021 by justin

[Paladins31]

Solo riding for me only.  I'm 6'7"/260lbs, so a passenger would be a tight squeeze.  Fork springs and rear spring are pretty much maxed-out to stiffest settings.