Like to ask Question on weight

[JOE MCDERMOTT]

I have a question I would like to see respones.

I ride 2 up and I weight 180 lbs and girlfriends wt 145..

Are most who ride these ride 2 up and are most of you

heavier than I who ride these bikes..

I was somewhat sick this summer and feel a little weak

but with leveling links on bike and girlfriend on bike and

stopped at gas station and bike leaning on side stand and

bike was few more degrees pitched from driveway I really

had to struggle to get bike off side stand...

Is it just me or do others really feel the weight of this

bike..

Even if you hit a little sand stopping under your foot it

really seems like a handful ...

I do not feel this way so much riding alone but 2 up..

Would like to hear from others..thanks joe

 

I WANT EVERY ONE TO KNOW I ENJOYED ALL OF YOU AND

GEORGE S AND DON "FREEBIRD" FOR ALL THEIR REPONSES

AND GETTING ME OUT OF TROUBLE AT TIMES..

I FIXED THE 2000 MM HEAVY BEAST WITH A NEW

2007 BMW 1200 RT AT 650LBS.

I CAN EVEN PUT IT ON CENTER STAND EASIER THAN 1985 VENTURE..

I WILL DROP IN AND SEE YOUR FORUM AT TIMES.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAYS ..JOE IN NJ

[flb_78]

the passenger seat is quite high and it seems to magnify the weight of the passenger. I know on my Roadstar it wasnt too bad, but the first day I had the Venture, I dropped it with her on it.

[Midrsv]

Well I am considerably heavier than you and my wife is about the same weight as your girlfriend, maybe a bit less, and it is a handful to get off the sidestand fully loaded if you've got it leaning down hill. I always have my wife mount the bike after I have taken if off the sidestand so her weight doesn't come in to play most times. I am careful at stops to make sure I don't let it get over too far or it can be a real struggle to keep upright.

 

DT

[Guest Ken8143]

I always have my wife mount the bike after I have taken if off the sidestand so her weight doesn't come in to play most times. I am careful at stops to make sure I don't let it get over too far or it can be a real struggle to keep upright.

 

DT

 

Yeah - what he said.

[Guest KitCarson]

I have a question I would like to see respones.

I ride 2 up and I weight 180 lbs and girlfriends wt 145..

Are most who ride these ride 2 up and are most of you

heavier than I who ride these bikes..

I was somewhat sick this summer and feel a little weak

but with leveling links on bike and girlfriend on bike and

stopped at gas station and bike leaning on side stand and

bike was few more degrees pitched from driveway I really

had to struggle to get bike off side stand...

Is it just me or do others really feel the weight of this

bike..

Even if you hit a little sand stopping under your foot it

really seems like a handful ...

I do not feel this way so much riding alone but 2 up..

Would like to hear from others..thanks joe

Riding two up!! I got this big grin on my face reading your letter. Yes it is quite a chore when you first start riding two up.....all the checks and balances are different.

So get on the bike yourself..........take it off the side stand, start it and have it in neutral and one hand firmly on the front brake. With both feet on the ground in a wider comfortable stance have your passenger climb aboard. You have to train your passenger also........to not be acting like a squirrel(sandy does) at stops. To sit there and be good and to be still at stops and take offs.......or when going very slow, and or on gravel roads and drives. It will not take long.....you will get to making one foot down stops with two up just like you do one up........you will learn to balance and creep along and not even put your feet down, waiting on a car to move out of the way at a light...........It is different....just had to smile.....I remember yes it is a struggle when you first try it. Kit

[Sleeperhawk]

Like most here, I get on first, spread the feet a littler wider, then tell my better half I am ready, then here is the most important part, she taps me on the shoulder to let me know that she is getting on, and if she does not here me say Okay, she waits.

[Marcarl]

I finally got my wife to quit turning her head at stops, and to try to quit counter balancing if it leans a little. Also I now pay more attention to my stop until I'm stopped,so to keep my attention straight forward, and try to pay less attention to whether there is traffic coming so that I may be able to roll on. Keep in mind that you'll go where you're looking, so if you're looking right or left when coming to stop, you're going to weave. All this has helped quite a bit and makes the boss more compatible.

[sarges46]

Big tip I learned here getting this beast off of her foot!

 

Turn the wheel as far to the right as you can. The bike will almost stand up on its own.

 

As far as mounting.....I get on and go...wife has her own ride! But...when she did ride with me, I would get on and stand bike up and she would ask if I was ready and then she would just put her foot on her foot rest and climb on. Worked for us...dismounting the same way.

[royalstarjac]

Yes it can be a handful standing the bike up with the better half already mounted, especially when even at a slight downward angle.

 

I turn the handle bars all the way to the left and use both arms to haul it up. I also put my left thigh against the tank and give a light shove at the same time. Works pretty good. If we're at too much of an angle I get on first and stand the bike up before she gets on as has been mentioned.

 

I have dropped my RSV twice, both times at slow speeds with the wife on the back, both times trying to start and turn sharply at the same time. It's a handfull but once you get the hang of it you can ride anything!-Jack

[Monsta]

I turn the handle bars all the way to the left and use both arms to haul it up. I also put my left thigh against the tank and give a light shove at the same time. Works pretty good.

Do the same with your legs but just try turning the bars the other way. It really makes lifting it a no-brainer.

[Guest KinkyWinks]

I have a 650 VStar that I ride most of the time. I can get on it in the garage, push backwards with both feet and coast backwards out on the driveway. A couple of months back I bought my Venture. The first time I put it in the garage I damned near killed myself. I was pinned between the bike and a toolbox, screaming for help, my wife was watching TV and didn't hear me for about five minutes. I dropped it again a week later and one of my friends got off his bike and helped me stand it up. I went to Ruidoso to the Aspencade Rally, ran into rain and decided to turn around, yep! dropped it, only this time I was at a bad angle and was keeping it from going all the way over. I couldn't get off without it falling so I set there for five minutes or so and a guy came along and helped me stand it up. It has been over 5 times and not a scratch. It goes over to about 45 degrees and just sits there. Every time it has happened it has been at walking speed. I've got almost a full 30 days without dropping it, maybe I'm getting better. Or, it may be because I ride the Star unless I'm going out of town. I love to feel that Big Pig running down the road but I'm going to keep my City Bike.

[BradT]

Joe I weigh about the same as you maybe slightly less. My wife rides her own but often she will come with me. I almost always let her on first. Yes it can be a hard to get it off the stand, but normally I do not have a problem, ot at least it does not bother me that much as once it is going it is such a nice ride.

 

I have levelling links as well and yes it does stay lean more. BTW I am 6' tall.

 

After a long day of riding I find it tougher, guess I am getting tired. Actually in Fort Collins this summer I stopped at a spot after being on the bike for 12 hours and it was parked on a hill and I could not lift it up. It was too far over and I was tired.

 

I guess look before you park and try to make sure it is level. They are heavy.

 

Brad

[muffinman]

I ride a first gen but I use my body weight to get the bike off the center stand whether I am riding solo or 2 up. It is something you need to get used to doing.

The more you ride the easier it gets.I ride solo everyday and on the weekends I take the wife or the daughter when I ride.

Jeff

[gibvel]

My trick, I guess I'm assuming that you do this already, but thought I'd mention, is to use my left leg on the gas tank to help pull it up. Must admit that I don't have the links on mine though so this may not be as effective.

[Missionary Rider]

The only way I can ride alone is to push the bike down the street to start it up. If Brenda hears the bike start, the pillion is occupied. She much prefers to get on the bike first. It's difficult for her to swing her leg over the trunk with me in front of her. As compensation for making it easier for her, and because our driveway has the bike leaning at a very steep angle on the kickstand, when I stand the bike up, she leans (counterbalance) the other way. This makes a HUGE difference. The combination of the counterbalancing and turing the handlebars to the right will erase your problem.

Lynn - temporarily "Down-under"

[eagleeye]

I think that the fact that the ventures have a tall center of gravity is a problem, and add to that a passenger makes it all the more complex.

 

Ever since I was a kid, I always liked a very low center of gravity. Starting with my mini bike.

My 86 VR has a high center of gravity, which is the main reason I went to a 05 RSTD. It's lower, but now low enough.

Maybe I'll even lower the RSTD.

When I have had a passenger on the back of my VR, I always had it ready to go before the passenger got on. (and I'm always glad when they got off)

Good luck,

Steve

[Eugene]

I will have to try that "turn the handlebars to the right" - great tip!

 

I always had a poop of a time lifting the RSV - one day I parked on a just a bit of a grade and had to get help. I'm 5'9" and weigh 150 lbs and in really good shape - still could not do it. Then, a little grey haired lady helped me by hittiing me on the highway - wrote the RSV off and I went to the RSTD - BIG difference - not nearly so top heavy and now I don't mind taking a passenger now and then.

[hig4s]

I keep seeing people referring to the RSVs high center of gravity.. The Goldwing and BMWLT have higher centers and are taller making them even harder to handle at a stop. And I personally had a harder time getting the HD Electra Glide off the side stand with my wife on it than I do the Venture.

 

That being said, I weigh 196, the wife about the same as yours. I always let her get on first, she is short and probably couldn't get on if I was already on. I really have no problem but I always make sure I'm in a good position, I back in to any space that is even slightly down hill so I can just pull out up hill, if the ground is sloped too much to one side or the other, I move the bike to a flatter spot, get back off, and then let her on. The big trick is to move slowly and deliberately.

 

As far as sand or slippery spots on the ground, I have almost dropped the bike a couple times solo because of that. It is a heavy bike, you just have to take your time, keep it almost perfectly straight up, small steps when backing and think before you park 'cause this thing doesn't have reverse.

[rod]

I am 5'7" and 170 lbs Rose is 5'4" and ummm about the same weight. She wants the bike on the side stand when she gets on so our method:

I mount up and turn handlebars to left. This makes the seat as low as it will go.

I nod when I'm ready and she climbs on the back.

When she gets settled she tells me "I'm ready".

I turn the bars all the way to the right.

When I start to pull the bike up she leans to the right to help counter balance.

Up with the kickstand and we are off and riding.

On slopes working together we can get the bike off the stand no problem.

Rod

[GunnyButch]

My wife gets on first the me. I've found trying to have her step on once I am on and the kick stand up can get pretty unstable fast. Once we are on turning the bars full right and holding the front brake brings the bike off the kick stand almost by itself.

[brainfart]

first - i unfold the clutch-side passengers floorboard, place my left foot on and climb aboard. Grab a handful of front brake, plan both feet firmly on the ground (with the kickstand down), unfold the right pasenger floorboar and give my better-half a nod.

She climbs on from the right side (i know - its wrong but that's what she prefers) and settles in.

 

then i'll find neutral, fire up the engine, plug in the headsets, lift-er off the kickstand and off we'll go.

 

i'm 5'8" 250, wife is 5'6" 125. Biggest problem i have is low-speed manuevering. very unstable - almost dropped us on several occasions.

haven't put on the leveling links yet - guess i should.

[GeorgeS]

I always get the bike into the Drive Away position, from where ever I am leaveing from. Then have the wife get on the bike.

 

When pulling into a stop, I always head for a flat safe, parking place. Stop and have her get off, then I head for the gas pump, or final parking spot.

 

I simply don't want to have a passenger on board while manuevering around a parking lot, or gas pumps. Too many other things to worry about in parking lots, ( like blind people backing out of parking space's )

[Jercoupe]

 

I turn the handle bars all the way to the left and use both arms to haul it up.

 

Thats funny Jack cause I turn my bars to the right when lifting it up on anything but flat.. makes it a heck of a lot easier for me than the left.

Anyway. My wife always gets on first while its on the stand to i have to pick up the whole banana. to each his own..

As far as the original question. My wife and I are each about 180 and but the time i get the trunk loaded and another 30 lbs in the roll bag on top of the 10lb limit rack I notice a bit of a difference. I just have to be a bit more careful to be upright when stoping. As soon as i have just the inkling of movement the bike becomes nimble. ( i actually prefer having her on the back)

By the way, The ride like a pro video magically took off about 300 lbs from my venture. Don't ask me how. I use his techniques always now!

the other jack in los osos ca

[SilvrT]

Like most here, I get on first, spread the feet a littler wider, then tell my better half I am ready, then here is the most important part, she taps me on the shoulder to let me know that she is getting on, and if she does not here me say Okay, she waits.

 

DITTO that. I also steady the bike by pressing my thighs against the bike so I not only have my arms holding it steady, but also my legs.

 

As for balancing at a stop sign, my wife is very good at knowing that she should not be "jerking" around. I complimented her on that yesterday. Told her that of all the people I've had on the back of a bike, she is without question the best. What's amazing to me about this is that she only started riding on a motorcycle with me 2 summers ago...she'd never been on one before.

 

Only once got into a sandy situation where I almost lost it. Again, she was good because she did not try to do the driving by counter reacting but instead, sat still and let me do the man-handling.

[SilvrT]

Thats funny Jack cause I turn my bars to the right when lifting it up on anything but flat.. makes it a heck of a lot easier for me than the left.

Anyway. My wife always gets on first while its on the stand to i have to pick up the whole banana. to each his own..

As far as the original question. My wife and I are each about 180 and but the time i get the trunk loaded and another 30 lbs in the roll bag on top of the 10lb limit rack I notice a bit of a difference. I just have to be a bit more careful to be upright when stoping. As soon as i have just the inkling of movement the bike becomes nimble. ( i actually prefer having her on the back)

By the way, The ride like a pro video magically took off about 300 lbs from my venture. Don't ask me how. I use his techniques always now!

the other jack in los osos ca

 

hey Jack... I met you and your wife... remember? Now, I don't wanna get anyone in trouble here but she didn't look anywhere near 180 to me.... startin another family???