Advice on the Wife and other matters

[kflynn]

Hi Folks, I'm a first time user, not sure how the whole forum thing works. Anyway, has anyone got one of these Vario Touring Screens. The look quite good, see them here:

http://www.bikehps.com/acatalog/Var..._for_Honda.html

I'm hoping to go to Italy this summer with the wife. She's very reluctant to go on the bike with me, not least because she thinks she won't be comfy. I plan to get a custom seat, back rest for the top box and one of these screens to stop the wind blast. Has anyone any experience of them? Also, any advice on how I can convince the wife that seeing the world from a bird is the only way. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :dunno:

 

[kflynn]

Thanks for that Lumpy. I'll get her out on a few short trips on a comfy seat and see what heppens. I reckon I have to get her nice gear and tell her she looks great in it. Then take it nice and easy, If I go over 70mph that'll be the end of it. She has a hightened awareness of danger. DVD on the back might not be the best idea though. I have a Garmin GPS with voice prompts, I'll let her take charge of that, that should keep her quiet.

 

[Rolfy Dave]

Hi Folks, I'm a first time user, not sure how the whole forum thing works. Anyway, has anyone got one of these Vario Touring Screens. The look quite good, see them here:

Trophychap has one... He got it off 1200Pete at www.blackbirdspares.co.uk


Not sure what he thinks of it, as I dont think it has seen a lot of use since fitting.
If your missus wants to know what its like to our on, then ask Trophychap & his wife Jenny, they do quite a lot of touring here, and on the continent (more than we do) But any of the wives will put her straight about riding pillion on a bird. It will make it a lot more comfortable if you fit an aftermarket seat, and it is nice to have an intercom(Autocom) so you can both have a natter & discuss the passing scenery as you wend your way through the continental countryside.

If you are going through German, just remember that "filtering" is ILLEGAL... If they catch you doing it, they lock you up and throw away the key...

Wish you the best of luck with your touring, and maybe we will see you out on the road one day.

Best wishes,

Rolfy
:beer:

 

[RHINO]

kflynn

My Mrs is new to biking, we started off with short rides like 30 miles and progressed quickly upto 200+ with little or no nagging.
Assen last year saw us on a 700 mile journey only stopping to re fuel and cross the water.
Spain this year too, all our riding is on an original Honda seat with no back rest and a simple double bubble screen.

 

[Blue_CBRXX]

Touring Screen

Hi kflynn,

I have one of the non adjustable MRA touring screens from Blackbird Spares, good quality and takes the wind over the riders head. My fiance did find a bit more buffeting at first but has got used to it.

2 up (on the bike) was new to both of us last year. I am the one wanting the new seat, not my fiance. We have the std seat and a back rest on the top box. She finds it very comfy. So do I, just want to get something for the P&J.

Being able to talk is great as well. Lets everyone know what's happenning. And you can agree to stop if anyone gets uncomfortable. Bought one of the cheap Oxford bike mike 3 jobbies. It lasted most of our tour of France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany, but we now have an Autocomm unit.

Touring Europe on the bike is fantastic, sunny weather (most of the time), smooth roads and beautiful scenery, can't beat it!

Cheers Paul

 

[kflynn]

Thanks for that. I've e-mailed Trophychap, hopefully he'll give me some advice.

Thanks for the tip re filtering in Germany, they won't catch me doing that then! Funny that!, they don't mind you doing obscene speeds on the autobhan but if you filter they'll put the hurt on you.

I think you're spot on re the P2P radio Paul. You're Fiance wasn't a bit scared to start with? My Mrs is terrified. All the bad press re bike related deaths and all. I'mtraining for the RoSPA test at the moment. If I do well at that it might help reassure her.

For the uninitiated, what's the P&J?

 

[ianrobbo1]

P&J = pride and joy,! :bow:

 

[Blue_CBRXX]

Pilion

Hi Kflynn,

Lesley, my fiance, wasn't worried. I was! We had a few short trips on my VFR to see if she would like it. She loved it so I traded up to the Blackbird. I found I thought more about crashing than I ever have, and was quite tense on the bike. I am sure it was a mixture of pillion and the extra power of the BB.

Like you say, taking it easy and not frightening the wife is the best plan. I bought a load of kit off e-bay to make sure Lesley was dry, warm and safe. Once she got in to it I sold most and bought new stuff.

Cheers Paul

 

[Scalesy]

P&J = pride and joy,! :bow:

Although in my case its Pedestrian & Jealous! Not for too much longer though.

 

[Codbasher]

I was the same as Blue CBRXX, terrified of taking the devil in a skirt on the back, she loved it, I was tense and had all sorts of aches, has now settled into a very pleasant experience, esp when she wants to go a bit faster, we have Starcom system for nattering, ad time passes very nicely thanks, we cant wait until the 'next' excuse to get out on the bike.

In fact the wife loved the pillion experience so much she wanted to try the front end, nett result was a CBT, followed by a DAS within 3 months, and she now rides a CB500.

 

[Rolfy Dave]

Thanks for that. I've e-mailed Trophychap, hopefully he'll give me some advice.

Thanks for the tip re filtering in Germany, they won't catch me doing that then! Funny that!, they don't mind you doing obscene speeds on the autobhan but if you filter they'll put the hurt on you.

For the uninitiated, what's the P&J?

P & J is Pride & Joy...

Ref speed... Watch yourself because not all Autobahn is de restricted... Lots of it has a 130kph limit (80mph), Some even has a 100kph (60mph) limit, so do be careful... They will leave you alone if you are riding safely & keeping to the inside lane except when overtaking...

Remember you lane discipline over there... You ride on the right hand lane (lane 1 from the right) unless you are overtaking... belive me, you will always find a merc/BMW/Audi coming up behind you with its lights on & indicator going... I maxed mine out over there, and had an Audi A8 or a derivative behind me all the way even though I was overtaking everything in sight... Lights on & still indicating ( I had an indicated 195mph on the clocks)

If in the area, you should try this place. I have been told its absolutely brilliant... Jan & I are staying for a few days afert the german Bash to tour

http://www.german-rhineland.com/border-frame.html

Hope you have a great time... You should do..

Best wishes,

Dave & Jan

ps, if you need somewhere to stop on the way through GB, we live in Kidderminster (W Mids) give us a bell.
:beer:

 

[Stevebrooke]

If you've got the cash get yourself a good intercom. It's good to talk to one another, and you can also plug in some music and your GPS. The chatter and GPS will override the music when it or you has something to say.

Me and the Mrs can talk about things as we ride along just like in the car, but the best bit is you can tell her if you're performing a manoeuvre that she may not be expecting, and then it won't be as much of a surprise. And she can also tell you if there's something she's not happy with, particularly in your early days out together.

 

[ianrobbo1]

nice one Steve, a bloody good reason NOT to get an intercom,!!! :}

 

[Stevebrooke]

nice one Steve, a bloody good reason NOT to get an intercom,!!! :}

:f to you Ian.

I actually like the wife's company on the bike.

Besides, it saves me having to look round to see if she's fallen off.

BTW **** off and hijack another thread and leave this to the sensible ones LOL

 

[SILVERONE]

If in the area, you should try this place. I have been told its absolutely brilliant... Jan & I are staying for a few days afert the german Bash to tour

http://www.german-rhineland.com/border-frame.html

It's a pity your not stopping there before the Bash as we will be lodging at Andre & Marie's from the 12 - 14 th May :xm

 

[Nosher]

Welcome to the forum.

I have a Autocom system and I agree with SteveB - I also enjoy my wifes company and the music facility is great; we have a little MP3 player with some toons on it and you can't beat getting lost to the BeeGees warbling 'Tragedy!' through your helmet(s). I am also terrible wth getting lost and it is a must when we go on a longish trip that the good lady is behind me barking directions.

As for screens, I hae the MRA D/Bouble screen and this is ample, although my wife is only 4ft 7" and I am 6ft 1", I do most of the wind block 'detail'.

I am planning a trip to Italy in July - looking to also purchase a SP 2610 GPS system and it was the wife that indicated where we should go.

A word of warning though and just to echo what has been said before in this thread, go easy first off......when I passed my DAS and purchased a ZZR600, she swore she would never go on it. When she did reluctantly get on board, I took it real easy - no harsh acceleration. The rev counter never sniffed more than 7K rpm (and the ZZR redlined at 14K!) As we arrived at the stop, she got off saying, "It ain't very fast, is it?" !!! c7u8

So, I went a little faster the next time, and then a little faster - it was 'She' that suggested a bigger bke! After a test ride on a ZZR1200, Sprint ST and a Bird, I opted for the Bird. She prefers it to the car. And I can also ride at any speed now wthout any prob.

Just take it easy and she will enjoy it I am sure - scare her and she will never board it again!

Good luck with the trip and ride safe

:beer:

 

[kflynn]

Thanks Nosher. Just to update everyone on the MRA Vario Touring Screen which arrived recently from Blackbird Spares. What a brilliant piece of kit. Virtually zero wind blast, at ANY speed. I tested it early last Sunday morning (on an unopened section of motorway!!) and it was amazing. 140 mph sitting bolt upright with Helibars and no wind blast whatsoever.

The downside is that it is much noisier that any other screen I've used. This isn't a huge problem for me because I always use ear plugs when I'm out for anything longer than a few miles, but it might bother some riders.

It will definitely allow for some serious mileage without getting over fatigued.

The only other bit that hurts now is my rear end, the pain usually starting after about 150-200 miles. I'm looking at those custom seats on the Blackbird Spares site. Has anyone got one? Are they significantly more comfy than the stock ones? My wife definitely wont tolerate a sore bum! Also, she complains about slipping forward on the stock seat, I wonder if this can be improved upon with the custom seat?

 

[Stevebrooke]

Also, she complains about slipping forward on the stock seat, I wonder if this can be improved upon with the custom seat?

Try being a bit gentler on the brakes :neenaw:

 

[Jono]

Soon to take delivery of a vario so good to hear it works well, as for the seats, if you sit on anything in more or less the same position for a longish time it will become uncomfortable, there is no substitute for stops to get off and stretch yer legs. Whatever seat you opt for its only going to be a couple of inches in thickness and padding mounted on a hard base.

 

[ianrobbo1]

I don't know if I'm being any help here, but the "problem" of the other half slipping into you, do you polish the seat,?? if so stop, also what type of leg wear does your other half wear that may also be part of the problem, another one is if she is uncomfortable holding the "grab" rail to stop herself sliding, when she feels you stopping or her sliding forward get her to reach around you and push on the tank, this will stop you being pushed onto the tank by her, things will get easier as she gets to know what the bike sounds like and your manner of riding when slowing/stopping, :dunno: