[snow986]

Hey guys I have an 05 zzr600 and my g/f loves to ride on the back but everytime she does the steering wobbles, especially when starting, stopping and going into deep turns. Shes only 5'4" 115 and I'm 5'8" 140 so when it wobbles it makes it hard for me to handle... I was thinking of getting a steering damper to try and solve the problem. But if it doesnt solve the problem then thats a lot of money i didnt need to spend. I did buy the bike used however theres only 2200 miles on it. Could the suspension settings be contributing? Anyone have the same problem?

 

[ginofultano]

absolutely the suspension setup can use some tuning, also you might want to take the MSF advanced rider course. they teach you how to ride with a passenger, on your own bike.

 

[Nigel]

Are you sure she's not moving around on the bike? Passengers can have a huge effect on what the bike does and how it handles.

A few years ago, I was riding in a straight line on a ZX-9R that I had at the time, with a friend on the back. Everything was going the way you'd expect it to, when all of a sudden the bike pitched over to one side, simply because the passenger decided to move around to look at something.

I had a similar thing happen another time when, halfway through a corner, the passenger decided they'd lean into the corner as well.

It doesn't take much movement for the passenger to unsettle the bike, and it's most likely to be noticed in the situations you've described - low speed, and mid-corner.

 

[Aussie Ninja]

If your rear preload is set soft (and if you've never set it up for yourself it will be), the extra load on the back will unweight the front wheel and make the front feel and handle like crap. The preload adjuster on your scoot is easilly accessable so if your going for a long ride it'd be worth your time to grab a C spanner and crank up the rear preload. It'll make her presence heaps less noticable as long as she isn't moving about the place all the time as JAFO said.

 

[jake23l]

I think Nigel is right...passenger is just moving around and adjusting the preload will help help a lot. Just make sure you talk to your passengers before you talk them on a ride. I have found that for someone who has never ridden before just tell them to stay perfectly still. A lot of people will say that they need to keep there head over your inside shoulder when entering a turn but it is easier for both parties if the passenger stays perfectly still

This worked fine for me with my g/f. I tried to have her move with me and it seemed like she was doing it at the wrong times and such and it was tough, so I had her stay still and it was fine. She now will do a good job moving with me and keeping her head over my shoulder which does make it easier to tear up turns but I didn't want to go balls out with her on in the beginning anyways so it didn't matter.

So...first couple of rides just have her stay still

 

[snow986]

She is usually very still I bet it has more to do with the preload. I think I'll play with that and see if it helps...

 

[RadPajita]

+1 on preload. if you can raise the rear end 4-6mm higher, it might help as well.

 

[cheetahflyer]

[:++1]