[Clark0384]

This question goes out to the people with the 08 Ninja 250s. How well does it handle with someone on the back of the bike? Can you still get around town with ease?

[BoOZe P-ti Motard]

And how about those who do not have? Well it is a sport bike.. and sportbikes aren’t good for 2up(high pitched) but hey if you got the skills it should be piece of cake..but instruct your passenger first…!! no wobbling danging and whatever -ing to unbalance the bike…hold you firmly and to go with you and the bike, no counterweight…unless it is a man… XDDD

BoOZe
Solomolo Rider

[Clark0384]

Ok, I was just curious how well the little 250 would handle having 2 people on the bike and I know it’s not going to perform as well, but I want to make sure that having the weight of two people on the bike won’t be too much for it. My weight plus my gf’s weight would be about 310ish did give you all an idea.

[Matt]

So long as your combined weight is under 330 (or whatever the legal load limit on the 08 is, I’m not 100% sure) you’ll be fine. Yes, you’ll need to gas it more, and yes you won’t want to take corners as fast, but people do it just fine.

The one thing to watch out for, if you are new to motorcycling is that motorcycles handle differently with a second person on the back. You are used to how much you need to lean / shift weight but with extra mass that you aren’t in control of bike control becomes harder. Plus stopping distances increase, etc etc.

Because the bike handles differently, most people say you need a fair amount of experience riding bikes before you take on a passenger (at least one year or 10k) and a good amount of experience on your own bike to know how it handles (3k miles).

Good reading on the subject of two up riding (for both rider and passenger):
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/escape/tourtechntips/122_0010_two_up_riding/index.html
http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/riding_with_passenger/index.html
http://www.her-motorcycle.com/Riding-2-up.html

—
“The two seconds between ‘Oh S**!’ and the crash isn’t a lot of practice time.”

[BoOZe P-ti Motard]

This site http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com (given by kawi tank) is a very informative site though most tips are for cruisers but they can be used for any bikes. I read all that were posted on the site during days and later I forgot the site completely to post it here… Thanks kawitank… Yea just refreshing tips for carrying a passenger:
1) Check tire pressure
2) Instruct your passenger and insure he/she has good gear on and that this machine is a bike, it does not turn in turns but leans- Do not put feet down when at a stop(passenger), lean with you in corners; no counterweight i.e when you lean to the right, advise your passenger to look over the right side of your shoulder and vise versa… If it is a galfwen, tell her to just hold on tight to you… and be smooth in leans ‘coz your not alone…
3) Drive smoothly because your back fellow has trusted you and sat with you on the bike (it is said that if your passenger goes to and fro, like bumping into your back, when you accelerate and brake , it means you either are not ready for riding 2up or you don’t know how to ride, which means the same
4) keep your distance from other vehicles due to increase stopping distance
5) Do not leave a gap between you and your passenger during windy/rainy weather (whenever my galfewn would do that even if i told her not to, I would feel the pressure increase between me and her, thus having parachute effect of slowing the bike, poor control and she could just be airborn…)

That is all I think, if i missed something, add your ingredient…

PS: Its good to have someone holding you firmly round your waist from the back… I am talking about a gal…!!!Jeez!

BoOZe
Solomolo Rider

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