[ali]

Please share your experiences about having a passenger on the back of your Scrambler. How far did you get? Was it pleasant for your passenger? Any suggestions?

 

[ammiraglio]

I've been on a day trip around the lakes, something easy to test confort etc., about 180 miles with highway, mountain roads, lakeside roads, fast roads in the middle of farms...

The passengers likes wind protection given by the driver, I've high mount termi, no heat from it, but engine is very hot on legs for both while stopped. Also seat heat up if you stay too much.

Suspension confort is good, they work better with more weight. No vibrations from the engine to the passenger handles.

Only complaints, as we are used to travel with a Multistrada, is low speed in highway due to no protection from air. Quite obvious!

But under 60 mph is a joy to ride and the short spaced gearbox gives a lot on curvy roads!

 

[Motorhead1977]

My wife rides with me nearly all the time. We ordinarily ride 180 to 250 mile rides and she is comfortable. Our other bike is a Honda GL1800 so she knows ultimate comfort and yet she really enjoys the scrambler.

 

[Beanmeister]

I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. I'm used to being a pillion on my husband's Multistrada and before that his Aprilia Tuono. I guess I am quite used to having either a top box or rack behind me and I prefer to hold onto the bike rather than the rider so perhaps I don't sit as far forward as others (plus he's 6 ft 2" so maybe he sits back a bit on the Scrambler). We went for a very short ride on my Scrambler to pick up his track bike from the mechanic, so only a couple of km. Every time he accelerated I felt like I was going to fall off the back, and this was only at residential street speeds. Because I have the Classic Bag racks installed I was holding onto those as it was awkward to hang onto the grab rails, as it was a short trip I didn't bother putting in a lot of effort to see if I could get hold of them properly. I couldn't wait to get off the thing and back into riding position!

 

[ali]

Actually, this was my main concern when opening this topic. I'm planning to ride my Scrambler with my wife but never tried yet. This will be her first experience on a bike so it's important for me that she enjoys it. Apparently I'll need to ride as smooth as possible not to frighten her... 0

I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. I'm used to being a pillion on my husband's Multistrada and before that his Aprilia Tuono. I guess I am quite used to having either a top box or rack behind me and I prefer to hold onto the bike rather than the rider so perhaps I don't sit as far forward as others (plus he's 6 ft 2" so maybe he sits back a bit on the Scrambler). We went for a very short ride on my Scrambler to pick up his track bike from the mechanic, so only a couple of km. Every time he accelerated I felt like I was going to fall off the back, and this was only at residential street speeds. Because I have the Classic Bag racks installed I was holding onto those as it was awkward to hang onto the grab rails, as it was a short trip I didn't bother putting in a lot of effort to see if I could get hold of them properly. I couldn't wait to get off the thing and back into riding position!

 

[scrambling]

unless you enjoy someone holding on to you for dear life, its not good. I cant stand when she want to ride with me because they have no place to hold on.

 

[ali]

Doesn't the bars below the seat work with the passenger?

unless you enjoy someone holding on to you for dear life, its not good. I cant stand when she want to ride with me because they have no place to hold on.

 

[idleidolidyll]

Suspension comfort is good, they work better with more weight.

I found that too. I weight 100kg and my wife is 65kg. The suspension was much better with 2 people on board.
The obvious conclusion then is that, like most Ducatis, the stock suspension is set up too hard for one person. My first serious modification therefore is to fit a lighter rear spring and alter the damping by changing fork oil weight. Luckily I have a friend who is good at turning non adjustable suspension into much better suspension.
On the front I also want lighter springs but also want a bit more rebound damping to go with that as it is too fast.

 

[Beanmeister]

Actually, this was my main concern when opening this topic. I'm planning to ride my Scrambler with my wife but never tried yet. This will be her first experience on a bike so it's important for me that she enjoys it. Apparently I'll need to ride as smooth as possible not to frighten her... 0

Yes, riding smoothly should make a big difference. My husband is not one to hold back!

 

[PrerunTN]

One of the reasons I purchased a Scrambler was a bike my wife could ride with me. She is 5'4" tall and about 160 lbs. She has said the grab bars under the seat are useless and the factory seat hurts her posterior after about 100 miles. As the seat has softened from use (about 1500 miles or so) she says the seat is much better. Still, 200 miles is to far in one day. As for performance, the rear suspension is set to the stiffest spring position and works well with two on board. The torque heavy nature of the engine is very nice with both of us riding. For a straight forward, no frills bike to use one and two up I think its a great choice and my wife really enjoys the outings.

 

[eisfeld]

Here in Thailand where the temperature usually is around 35C the passenger grab rails under the seat get too hot to hold on to as they are part of the frame and the frame heats up a lot from the engine. Very annoying!

And in general the heat gets very uncomfortable for rider and passenger while stopped. The pillion also gets quite a lot of heat from the exhaust.

Apart from that it's quite a good ride, the seat is more comfortable behind than for the rider.

 

[Eyecon]

Doesn't the bars below the seat work with the passenger?

ali, my girl goes with me at times, mostly short stuff after yard work on weekends. These bikes are twitchy in low end, 1st and 2nd gear, but if you feather the clutch at times it helps. Also she hooks her finger in my belt loops, for her that is good enough. If I want to be a little more aggressive she holds on to my. All in all its a fine bike for two up. Enjoy

 

[Motorhead1977]

My wife was afraid of bikes and had never ridden until she rode behind me. If you ride slow and smoothly with no sudden inputs she'll do fine. My wife now loves to be on the bike with me and actually enjoys quick riding and the twisties as well. For a while save the hard acceleration and braking for when you are alone. It'll pay off immensely in the future. The stock hand holds are useless. They are directly alongside the passengers body plane and make it impossible to prevent backwards and forward motion of the passenger body. Have her hold on to you at your waist and keep her shoulders square with yours. It will help her not lean opposite to the bike. Smooth slow and steady will make her enjoy the ride and you'll be her best bike buddy. Enjoy.

 

[ali]

Thanks to everyone who had an input to this thread!
Me and my wife had spend the weekend on the bike and it was quite fun. Hand holds are quite useless as many of you had stated. Surprisingly the suspension got really well and smooth when 2 people is on the bike. However my wife felt slipping from the seat onto my side but I guess that is something about the shape of the Classic's seat position. I -as a rider- did not feel squeezed or uncomfortable but she intended to change her sitting position a lot during the drive. We had a pleasant time in general and I believe that we can increase the range and the time spent on the bike in near future.