Elllvis
04-28-2008, 03:29 PM
My wife, Denise, went for her first ride as a passenger on our new Versys this past Saturday. She is 5' 5" with a 27" inseam and she wears a women's size 7 boot, so the first thing she noticed was that the seating position and the reach to the pegs were very comfortable. We rode for a little over 120 miles - on everything from hilly hardpacked gravel through smoooooth divided highway to twisty oil-and-chip country lanes with patches of gravel, leaf litter, potholes, etc. She has lots of passenger miles with me on three bikes before the Versys: a Harley Heritage Softail (with upgraded seating), a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT (with stock touring seats for rider and passenger), and a Honda VFR800 VTEC (with a custom Corbin seat that included a full passenger backrest).
When we got home, she said, "That's the most comfortable bike, for me as a passenger, that we've ever owned." She liked the fact that the Versys has the Kawasaki top box mounted, which gave her the psychological and physical security of something bolted on behind her and allowed her to relax lightly against it from time-to-time. She said that she also felt more "connected" to the Versys than to any of the other three bikes we've owned. She is a very actively engaged and attentive passenger who doesn't fidget and squirm around or shift her weight unexpectedly, who understands what to do during hard cornering and stops, etc. She said that she felt like she really knew what was happening as the result of her presence on and input to the Versys, rather than just feeling as if she might as well be a lump of inert luggage that was strapped onto the back of a bike. She's a very picky passenger - like Goldilocks, she wants everything to be "just right!" - and so I think her endorsement of the Versys from the pillion position is important.
The one thing she asked for was a bit of relief from "pressure points" on her gluteus that were developing by the time she has been on the pillion for about 90 minutes or so. The bike's seat is a bit thin - and so is Denise's, since she's just 120 pounds (in full gear) with very low body fat and a sleek build. Therefore, we're going to try one of the pads from ButtBuffer to see if it's enough to ease the problem. She would like to avoid the extra height and motion that comes with a pad like the ones from AirHawk, but we'll go that route if necessary to save her a** . . . and, therefore, my a**! ;)
Some of the magazine reviews have said that pillion passengers thought the stock grab bars were set back too far, but Denise found that the grab rails that were substituted as part of the OEM top box mounting system were natural, comfortable and strong.
Good luck with making your passenger at home on the Versys!
Kevin McClearey
When we got home, she said, "That's the most comfortable bike, for me as a passenger, that we've ever owned." She liked the fact that the Versys has the Kawasaki top box mounted, which gave her the psychological and physical security of something bolted on behind her and allowed her to relax lightly against it from time-to-time. She said that she also felt more "connected" to the Versys than to any of the other three bikes we've owned. She is a very actively engaged and attentive passenger who doesn't fidget and squirm around or shift her weight unexpectedly, who understands what to do during hard cornering and stops, etc. She said that she felt like she really knew what was happening as the result of her presence on and input to the Versys, rather than just feeling as if she might as well be a lump of inert luggage that was strapped onto the back of a bike. She's a very picky passenger - like Goldilocks, she wants everything to be "just right!" - and so I think her endorsement of the Versys from the pillion position is important.
The one thing she asked for was a bit of relief from "pressure points" on her gluteus that were developing by the time she has been on the pillion for about 90 minutes or so. The bike's seat is a bit thin - and so is Denise's, since she's just 120 pounds (in full gear) with very low body fat and a sleek build. Therefore, we're going to try one of the pads from ButtBuffer to see if it's enough to ease the problem. She would like to avoid the extra height and motion that comes with a pad like the ones from AirHawk, but we'll go that route if necessary to save her a** . . . and, therefore, my a**! ;)
Some of the magazine reviews have said that pillion passengers thought the stock grab bars were set back too far, but Denise found that the grab rails that were substituted as part of the OEM top box mounting system were natural, comfortable and strong.
Good luck with making your passenger at home on the Versys!
Kevin McClearey