Second Seat, First Prority
Second Seat, First Prority
Hey, all you guys out there, are you serious about taking your woman along for the ride? If so, maybe my experience with these eight great GT bikes will give you a few hints on how to have your passenger smiling as widely as you do when you're winding down the road to some great destination.
The first thing to consider is that a big part of making two-up travel fun is that comfort extends beyond just the seat she's sitting on. Good gear is crucial if your partner is going to spend serious time in the second seat. I'm 5-foot-5, weigh 125 pounds and have the typical female body type. Italian gear-maker Dainese (www dai nese.com) designs leathers just for us. Let me tell you, guys, this is so important. We need to look good, feel good and feel safe. My Dainese Trax jacket, Firefly pants, Akira boots and Moto-X gloves did the trick-I couldn't believe how well they were proportioned to fit a woman's body. In the past, I've had to deal with leathers that were huge in the waist to accommodate my hips. Not a problem with the Daineses. The gear totaled $1350, but I was for all the forgotten birthdá~j7s,anniversaries, Valentine's Days, etc.
Honey, does this bike make my butt look big?
Feature Editor Mark Hoyer volunteered to be my pilot aboard all the bikes. I felt a little dwarfed by his 6-foot-2-inch frame, but he did make a good windscreen! This brings up a second important point: you. How's your riding style? Mark was very concerned with my comfort zone and rode accordingly. We managed to keep up just fine, but I know he would have gone WFO if I hadn't been back there. Remember, stark rav ing terror is not an aphrodisiac.
So how were the bikes them selves? The ZX-12R and Hayabusa were great fun on short jaunts but if you're really serious about taking your woman along, do her a favor and steer clear of such sporty machines. The footpegs are way up high and the seats are small, making me feel scrunched up, leaned forward and with my butt in the air. We don't like that.
together because of the similarities-each was less than ideal In its own way. The Aprilla had a great seat-broad and covered with grippy material so I didn't slide too much-but I was forced to lean too far forward and had to brace myself with both hands on the tank to keep from crowding Mark. The VFR had a pretty good seat, too, but it was too windy on the highway, even behind my human windbreak. The Beemer just didn't feel right at all. The seat was uncom fortable and small, not to mention that the wind was knocking us all over each other. The Triumph was my least favorite. The seat was so high up I felt like I was hung out to dry-an impres sion not helped by the toasty tailsection.
As you might expect, the two best bikes for me were the ST1 300 and FJR1 300. My favorite of those two was the FJR. It was all-around comfortable, from tight twisties to long sweepers to open highway. The seat was supportive, the ride was smooth and wind wasn't a problem. I also thought it was zippier than the ST1300, which was also very comfortable, but felt a little stodgy.
I came away from the shootout with some suggestions that should help persuade your woman to go riding: Make sure she has good gear, that you have a good bike, a considerate riding style and a great place to go. Then I'll bet you'll have no prob lem getting your partner to cuddle up, hold on tight and have a truly wonderful time.
Elaine Anderson
