Who Is The Rider Here?
For those that have been following me here and on social media, you will know I love riding a motorcycle. So much so that I rarely ride passenger. When we had to pick up Cherry, that is my husband's bike, from the shop after she had some service work done, I shocked my husband by suggesting we ride double up.
Over the last couple of years I have caught some flack for rarely riding double up. Most say that it is because I don't trust anyone. Well, there is a little bit of truth to that. The list of those I will ride double with is very short and my husband is at the top of that list. The main reason… I just love riding.
Since I have not ridden passenger since I purchased Scarlett, it was interesting to observe the differences between being a passenger and being a rider.
There are definitely benefits to being a passenger;
As a passenger I can sit back and just check things out. I can see more because I am not focused on traffic or the road or the bike. I can just enjoy the where we are and what is around us.
One of the things I enjoyed the most was having my hands free to hug on my husband whenever I wanted. TOTAL BONUS!
Equally so, there are benefits to being the rider;
The rider seat is more comfortable to me than the passenger seat. It could be because we were on Bob which is an older model Softtail. I suspect the passenger seats on the touring bikes are much more comfortable. Anyway, I did have to ask my husband to stop about half way to allow me to walk around a little.
We ride with windshields, so I am unaccustomed to the increased buffeting I was experiencing as a passenger. I was sitting about half a head taller than my husband and could feel an increase in the wind on my shoulders, chest, and head.
When riding a pair of bikes, especially when they are the same make and model, there are many redundancies. It is rare that we are without a bike because we can stagger services and maintenance. We use all the same parts, so we almost always have the parts we need on hand. And in the worst case scenario of an accident, the chances of both of being hurt is reduced.
A big one…. more room to pack more stuff! With 4 saddlebags, 2 luggage racks, and 2 sissy bars, we can pack some stuff when we travel. Making the trips more comfortable.
Though we do not ride double up often, once in a while it is a nice change. So that leads me to some questions. For those that ride passenger, what are do you like and not like? For those of you that are riders, do you ride passenger ever? Why or why not.
Now it is time for us all to get out and ride, have fun, be safe, and catch you in the next post……
