two up with top box

[RedNigel]

I know I keep starting new threads every 5 minutes, but there are a million questions that keep coming up one at a time...I guess thats what this forum is for, so here's ANOTHER question:

All the two up riding I have ever done was on a cruiser with about a 27" seat height. No sweat for mounting and dismounting

Now I have the NT and its about to have the topbox as well. I am 5'7 with 30" inseam.
any suggestions about the sequencing and best way to get us both on the bike with the top box behind us?
Side stand/centerstand?
me first or her first?
I'm at a loss

Clay

 

[Phil Tarman]

Clay, Sidestand. Then you get on. Straddle the bike, holding the brake. She steps on the left passenger peg, swings her right leg over the trunk, puts her right foot on the right passenger peg. You pick up one foot, give it some gas, ease out the clutch and roll away, shifting smoothly so she doesn't bang her helmet against yours.

Getting off, you just reverse the process. She gets off while you straddle the bike and hold it position with the brake. After she's off, put the sidestand down and get yourself off.

 

[RedNigel]

I just wasnt sure if she would be able to clear the trunk, but she is long legged

 

[vzshadow]

Trust me. Phil has it exactly right.

 

[RedNigel]

Thanks guys. I have a lot of hours riding two up...Just wasnt sure about the challenges the topbox might present
I know we'll be fine.
I love being able to ask for help, though

 

[bish79]

My wife has very short legs so she cannot clear the top box. So we do the same process, except she swings her leg sort of forward and over (skimming my back) to get on and off.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Joanne's first ride was on the back of my old '83 Silverwing. It had a little trunk that would just barely hold one helmet. But it gave Joanne something to lean against. When we bought our Connie a few months before we got married, she let me know right away that she wanted a trunk on it. We ordered the Givi the day we had the 600 mile service done, three days after I bought the bike.

 

[nuron]

Perfect instructions from Phil. You might want a hand signal or somesuch for letting her know it's okay to mount or dismount. My wife has on occasion been so excited to go riding that she's stepped on the peg before I was fully prepared. That's a good test for your reflexes, strength and balance, lol.

 

[Nobby]

I'm 6'7" and Mrs Nobby is 5'0". Exactly as Phil describes, as she can use my arm & shoulders to steady herself as she climbs on.

A big thing (especially for new pillion riders) is to make sure they ALWAYS check you're braced and ready for them to mount/dismount.

 

[elizilla]

I would love to leave the sidestand down while the passenger mounts, but my experience is that with weight on the bike, I have to lean uncomfortably far to the right to get the stand to swing clear and fold up. So I put the stand up before they get on.