Jaybird180 Posted February 11, 2019 Report Share Posted February 11, 2019 Who has done them? What do you think of them? Do it again and why? I’ll start: I did a trackride as passenger on the track about 2 years ago. My pilot was very experienced with it and from my vantage point may have forgotten the sheer terror that can be inflicted upon the passenger. We took off and immediately stood on a power wheelie down track entrance. Retrospectively, its entirely possible that he honestly believed that he was showing me a good time. When we got on track it was amazing how much I could feel what the tires were doing, after I accepted the very real possibility of eating asphalt and grass. We twisted and turned, and I felt G-Forces that I never knew were possible. He was on the brakes in places that I was trying to get more roll speed through. And the braking for T1 nearly caused my arms to give out under the stress of holding me from pushing into him using the provided handholds on the tank. Suffice to say: my brain and body was overwhelmed with sensations that I’d not felt before mainly because I knew I ASKED FOR THIS and I had surrendered all control. Did I learn something: you bet! What did I learn that I can apply to my own riding? The capability of the motorcycle is further than I thought. How do I apply it? Not sure. I’m having cognitive dissonance over the many approbations to “be smooth” vs what I experienced. I choose to mentally assign smooth as my ideal. Lastly, I’ve given many 2-up rides on the street. I strive to make it a good experience. The only passenger who’s ever declined a second ride is my mother who tells tall tales of swooping between cars at extra-legal speeds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotfoot Posted February 11, 2019 Report Share Posted February 11, 2019 I did a 2 up ride with a pro racer when I was still a brand-new track rider. It scared the hell out of me! I got on, he told me to put one hand on his chest and the other on the tank (no handholds on the tank back then) and took off. He was moving all over the place, hanging off for the corners, and accelerating and braking hard - I was sure I would fall off. After about 3/4 of a lap I started to think I'd be OK - then as we started the 2nd lap he yelled over his shoulder, "Ok, I'm going to go faster this lap!" and I yelled "No!" but he obviously didn't hear me because he DID go faster. What did I learn from it? Well, I got a new perspective on how fast one COULD (potentially) enter a corner, and how close a pro rider really does get to the inside edge of the track, and how HARD you can brake. I was, at the time, such a new rider that it all seemed somewhat unreal; I probably would have gotten more out of it if I had done it later when I had more experience. But, I'll be honest, I have no desire to do it again. I haven't done much riding (or fast paced driving in a car) as a passenger - I would much rather be driving! Going at race pace with someone else in control is definitely a scary experience, I am always amazed and impressed by those people that ride in rally cars as the navigator. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted February 15, 2019 Report Share Posted February 15, 2019 It'd just scare the hell out of me. Done a few, I actually work to see the person has an enjoyable time. It's hard to do, if a decent sized person is the passenger, the smaller the person the better as far as I'm concerned, but too small has the helmet in the rider's back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted August 14, 2020 Report Share Posted August 14, 2020 Been away for a looooong time but this thread caught my attention. I have done 2up rides and if you get the right rider who's mission is to teach rather than to scare it's an amazing experience. I found myself at the side of Roebling Road Raceway with such a rider and hopped on. After the ride and the scare (it's unavoidable) it had massive affects on my confidence on the bike. After the experience I wrote an article that appeared in BMW OTL Magazine about it. It's somewhere on the forum here but buried under years of other posts. The most important aspects of riding 2up is not only hold on tight but to retain a mental space where you can actually absorb the experience while not getting in the way of the rider. It's well worth the scare IMHO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybird180 Posted August 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2020 On 8/14/2020 at 6:10 PM, rchase said: Been away for a looooong time but this thread caught my attention. I have done 2up rides and if you get the right rider who's mission is to teach rather than to scare it's an amazing experience. I found myself at the side of Roebling Road Raceway with such a rider and hopped on. After the ride and the scare (it's unavoidable) it had massive affects on my confidence on the bike. After the experience I wrote an article that appeared in BMW OTL Magazine about it. It's somewhere on the forum here but buried under years of other posts. The most important aspects of riding 2up is not only hold on tight but to retain a mental space where you can actually absorb the experience while not getting in the way of the rider. It's well worth the scare IMHO. Here's the thread 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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