Triumphrat

Bronson33 · 09-05-2005

I am looking to purchase a Speed Triple and was wondering the expereinces you have had with you wives and/or significant others on the back. I am not talking about touring or anything like that, but short rides of 50 miles max. My wife does fine on the back of my Bonneville but it obviously has a very differnet seating postion.

Thanks for the feedback.

Geof3 · 09-05-2005

50 miles would be a bit brutal for her unless she is very flexible :wink:

Seriously, my wife is rather tiny and she fits fine on the seat but the peg position is pretty high and tough on the knees/hips. It's a better position for going out to dinner or something, not a big ride.

With regard to handling, no worries...

rudebwoy85 · 09-05-2005

I wonder if the 'T' shaped grab rail helps any with the pillion? Otherwise I havent even tried yet, I'm a tall'ish guy and am most comfortable riding when 'scooted' back as far up on that slopey seat as possible and that seems to leave not much margin of real estate for a passenger to try their luck.

Geof3 · 09-05-2005

Actually, there is more room on the seat than one would think. My wife's rear actually had some room. Any average butt would be fine. The issue is the foot/leg position, WAY up there!! The hand rail thingy might help.

BTW my daughter fits perfectly on the back, but she is 10...

Lowgloss · 09-06-2005

I just purchased the T grab handle to see if it would make a difference for my girlfriend or my daughter.
My 10 year old also fits well but always liked to grab the seat strap instead of me. I would always make her hold me but if you have a daughter around that age you probably know the look that I got behind that helmet.
The T handle is more than a wee bit ugly and also for a short chap like me gives me something to smack my shin on as I sling my leg over the bike.
However both the daughter and girlfriend like the security of hanging on to it.
I had problems with my girlfriend wanting to sit as far forward as possible and almost sliding into the forward dished part of the seat. This was because she felt that she had run out of seat much sooner than she actually had.
The problem with this was she would transfer weight forward when we stopped more than with any other bike I own. When she braced against the tank it would hurt her wrists. She would also give me a great head butt every now and then.
I sat her on the bike minus her riding gear (pre T handle) and showed her that she could actually sit further back and have some seat left. Something that she never noticed when we were getting ready to take off on a ride.
When I installed the T handle this became even more obvious because her bum is up against the T handle and this offers some security to her. She also can brace better when stopping and taking off. We rode for about 50 - 60 miles and she now prefers the S3 to my Moto Guzzi V11 as a passenger.

Conclusion:
the handle is bloody ugly but does the job.

Mark99 · 09-06-2005

I like the look of the handle myself........I bought one as well.

Mark

Eldercanuck · 09-06-2005

Although my wife finds the seat of my S3 preferable to the plywood-like seat on my former CBR, at only 5'5" she finds the passenger peg position more punishing. As far as two-up riding goes, she has decreed that ride duration shall be "no more than 1 hour out and 1 hour back" (...on pain of torture...or worse!)

09-06-2005

I have to agree with Lowgloss, all I got was that she feels like she is falling off the back. Fitted the grab rail and she is happy to slide further back, giving us all more room and also something to hold when braking.

If you are going to do a fair bit of two up riding it is a must.

miker · 09-06-2005

Strangely enough my girl likes riding the S3 more than the Harley. She's 5'2" and although the pegs are still short for her, she's been on a couple of 200 mile plus rides. I do have a gear rack which makes her feel more secure from falling off the back.

See if you can get a ride on one and take her out before you buy.

Mick

MrZed · 09-06-2005

Quote:

On 2005-09-05 23:27, Lowgloss wrote:
I just purchased the T grab handle to see if it would make a difference for my girlfriend or my daughter.

How much is it? The Triumph site doesn't list a price.