GkS
Junior Member
Hello guys!
The reason I’ve opened this topic is to get some answers on some questions that are troubling my mind for some time now and that have to do with the usage of my bike (fazer600 s2) for travelling with my life’s other half….
I used to live a normal and lonely life, travelling indoors and outdoors my country, all by myself, but the last two years I have reviewed many of my thoughts and I have come to the conclusion that travelling without my girlfriend is like enjoying half of the trip. :hug:
Luckily, my fazer is standing high to the occasion and we always enjoy every trip we make, every time.
Still, after all this “riding with passenger” situation, some new questions have emerged into my mind, questions that I hadn’t faced before, I didn’t even know about their existence or that they could ever affect me at some point. For some of these I have found answers in forums, reading about other people’s experiences, reading about couples taking on adventures all around the world, guides and generally in the internet.
I have two questions though that are specific to the fazer 600 motorcycle and I thought that they should be addressed to the fz6-forum community, to get some good answers.
So, starting with my first question, I have discovered a small problem that has to do with aerodynamics and the air flow, while riding in pair. The air flowing above my helmet, instead of travelling from the front, above our heads, all the way to the tail of the motorcycle and beyond, is actually staying behind my head, in the middle (gap) between us, creating some kind of a turbulence, a vortex, a swirl to describe it better. This is actually not nice because it creates unpleasant vibrations and movements to my helmet while riding that are very annoying and tiring for me.
This happens above 120km/h (74.5miles/h) and of course, it gets enforced on higher speeds, while it is also very much affected by strong winds. I had never faced that before while riding alone and the first guess I had was to tell my girlfriend to come closer with her helmet to mine. This worked a bit, but being close also creates other kind of problems, like helmet banging , back tiring, etc. Also, making our helmets touch is not a good idea, cause it makes my neck hurt because of the back force applied there.
Another thought I had was that maybe, if I change the bike’s windshield (normal, original yamaha one) with a higher one, let’s say the original Yamaha touring one, or an aftermarket, will this work? Which one should I look for? Which windshield is better and why?
What do you think?
Somebody ever had same problem, some experience on this?
Second question, is also a strange fact that has to do more with my girlfriend and her falling asleep sometimes while we ride. This scares me a bit and it usually happens while riding on long and boring highways etc. :shakehead:
After discussing the issue with her, I have come to understand that the main problem is her not being able to look at the road in front of us, mainly because my head and shoulders block her the view (I am taller and much bigger than her). Of course she can look at sides, but after a while it gets boring and brings heavy eye lids, I understand that, I guess I would feel the same in her place.
This problem doesn’t exist when we ride on twisty country roads, cause while leaning she is perfectly able to look at what is coming above my shoulders and adrenaline kicks in…, instead on straights, she is not. We tried to fight this problem with an mp3 player, hearing some music partly solved the problem, but not completely.
Now, I know that some of you will give solutions about strong coffee, red bulls or better, an intercom, but the first are not good solutions, while the last is very expensive for me.
One thing I had noticed on a trip, was another couple riding on a multistrada, where the girl was actually sitting on a pillow! Yes, it was an interesting idea, that way not only it was more comfortable (even if the multi has a much comfortable seat, I guess), but also it was raising her view by a few centimeters and she was able to look straight ahead above the shoulders of her man.
The idea bulb lit and my thought was why not to take the bike’s seat to a workshop and have it stuffed in the behind, in a way that it rises at least for two or three fingers. That way we would achieve same effect, without having to use the embarrassing pillow….
What do you think, such thing would be possible or it would be just a waste of money?
Has anybody had such a problem before, any other ideas, solutions?
I don’t know if these facts and solutions apply also to other bikes, like the Fazer1000 or the naked editions. In any case it would be good to have your opinions and thoughts closer to the fazer600 on these matters.
Thanks!
:wav:
Ps. I am 1.80cm (5.9ft) tall, in case somebody asks for advice about the windshield.
The reason I’ve opened this topic is to get some answers on some questions that are troubling my mind for some time now and that have to do with the usage of my bike (fazer600 s2) for travelling with my life’s other half….
I used to live a normal and lonely life, travelling indoors and outdoors my country, all by myself, but the last two years I have reviewed many of my thoughts and I have come to the conclusion that travelling without my girlfriend is like enjoying half of the trip. :hug:
Luckily, my fazer is standing high to the occasion and we always enjoy every trip we make, every time.
Still, after all this “riding with passenger” situation, some new questions have emerged into my mind, questions that I hadn’t faced before, I didn’t even know about their existence or that they could ever affect me at some point. For some of these I have found answers in forums, reading about other people’s experiences, reading about couples taking on adventures all around the world, guides and generally in the internet.
I have two questions though that are specific to the fazer 600 motorcycle and I thought that they should be addressed to the fz6-forum community, to get some good answers.
So, starting with my first question, I have discovered a small problem that has to do with aerodynamics and the air flow, while riding in pair. The air flowing above my helmet, instead of travelling from the front, above our heads, all the way to the tail of the motorcycle and beyond, is actually staying behind my head, in the middle (gap) between us, creating some kind of a turbulence, a vortex, a swirl to describe it better. This is actually not nice because it creates unpleasant vibrations and movements to my helmet while riding that are very annoying and tiring for me.
This happens above 120km/h (74.5miles/h) and of course, it gets enforced on higher speeds, while it is also very much affected by strong winds. I had never faced that before while riding alone and the first guess I had was to tell my girlfriend to come closer with her helmet to mine. This worked a bit, but being close also creates other kind of problems, like helmet banging , back tiring, etc. Also, making our helmets touch is not a good idea, cause it makes my neck hurt because of the back force applied there.
Another thought I had was that maybe, if I change the bike’s windshield (normal, original yamaha one) with a higher one, let’s say the original Yamaha touring one, or an aftermarket, will this work? Which one should I look for? Which windshield is better and why?
What do you think?
Somebody ever had same problem, some experience on this?
Second question, is also a strange fact that has to do more with my girlfriend and her falling asleep sometimes while we ride. This scares me a bit and it usually happens while riding on long and boring highways etc. :shakehead:
After discussing the issue with her, I have come to understand that the main problem is her not being able to look at the road in front of us, mainly because my head and shoulders block her the view (I am taller and much bigger than her). Of course she can look at sides, but after a while it gets boring and brings heavy eye lids, I understand that, I guess I would feel the same in her place.
This problem doesn’t exist when we ride on twisty country roads, cause while leaning she is perfectly able to look at what is coming above my shoulders and adrenaline kicks in…, instead on straights, she is not. We tried to fight this problem with an mp3 player, hearing some music partly solved the problem, but not completely.
Now, I know that some of you will give solutions about strong coffee, red bulls or better, an intercom, but the first are not good solutions, while the last is very expensive for me.
One thing I had noticed on a trip, was another couple riding on a multistrada, where the girl was actually sitting on a pillow! Yes, it was an interesting idea, that way not only it was more comfortable (even if the multi has a much comfortable seat, I guess), but also it was raising her view by a few centimeters and she was able to look straight ahead above the shoulders of her man.
The idea bulb lit and my thought was why not to take the bike’s seat to a workshop and have it stuffed in the behind, in a way that it rises at least for two or three fingers. That way we would achieve same effect, without having to use the embarrassing pillow….
What do you think, such thing would be possible or it would be just a waste of money?
Has anybody had such a problem before, any other ideas, solutions?
I don’t know if these facts and solutions apply also to other bikes, like the Fazer1000 or the naked editions. In any case it would be good to have your opinions and thoughts closer to the fazer600 on these matters.
Thanks!
:wav:
Ps. I am 1.80cm (5.9ft) tall, in case somebody asks for advice about the windshield.