Riding an 07 with a passenger

[gongalongaiv]

So my girlfriend and I went to cycle gear today out of pure impulse and picked her up a helmet so she could ride on the back and make me look cool(er). I took her for a ride this evening (first time ever with a passenger) and it seemed as if the bike had to work much harder than usual. On top of that, I was able to flat foot the bike which isn't normal. I have full aftermarket suspension in the front and rear set up for a 190lb rider. I weigh 145lbs and she weighs a little more than I do, which leads me to ask the question;
 
Is it bad for the bike/suspension to ride with a passenger?
 
I've searched the forum and google with no answer to my question. Please give input!
 
Thanks!

[hamster]

It should be ok, as you can ride with or without passenger whenever you please (suspensions are designed with that in mind).
 
You'll notice that you can break harder as there is more pressure on the tires, but your braking distance will increase, and basically, you'll need more time and distance to do whatever you wanna do when riding (being a turn, braking, accelerate, etc.)
 
For the first times, tell her to follow your body movement slightly, not the opposite way, and be mindful of the distance with the car in front as well as a reduced speed when turning!
 
Enjoy!!

[peteinpa]

As long as you both are under 380 lbs. Together You're good. You'll want to increase spring pre load when double, then back down when alone.

[avanti]

All said, though, double the mass toted about and there is no way it won't affect ALL aspects of performance.

[takenchance]

I'm 6'2 250lbs and my girlfriend is about 130lbs we both ride together and the bike to me seems to have no problems. All stock. Engine braking is a lot more noticeable, she even moves up on to me when I engine brake. But I throw her right back when I open back up the throttle. My bike handles both of us like a champ, and I do believe I am the maximum size of an fz-07 rider.

[Beemer]

Pretty much what hamster said so long as the shocks aren't bottoming out when you hit bumps but since you said, "it seemed as if the bike had to work much harder", I would suggest you increase the settings on the rear shock when you ride with her if you're going to be doing that a lot. What is the rear shock set to right now?

[hamster]

Oh, do you rev-match when downshifting? If not, try practicing - it'll make engine braking much less noticeable!

[gongalongaiv]

Thanks for the advice you guys! The bike is only set up for 190lbs right now and together we're a little over 300lbs. I rev match every time I downshift so no problems with engine braking. I guess I'm just not used to having so much weight on the bike. Thanks again!

[bigdaddybane]

I rode with passenger at least few times this summer ... I weight 190lb and with additional 140lb worked very well.

[Guest 2wheeler]

Oh, do you rev-match when downshifting? If not, try practicing - it'll make engine braking much less noticeable!

...or better yet, get a flash from 2WDW. I never rev matched before the FZ-07, and haven't needed to rev match since getting the flash.  
Before the flash, heck yeah, I learned to rev match real quick on the 07.
 
I never rode anyone on my bike pre-flash. I can't imagine how ugly that would/could get.
 

[hamster]

Oh, do you rev-match when downshifting? If not, try practicing - it'll make engine braking much less noticeable!

...or better yet, get a flash from 2WDW. I never rev matched before the FZ-07, and haven't needed to rev match since getting the flash.  
Before the flash, heck yeah, I learned to rev match real quick on the 07.
 
I never rode anyone on my bike pre-flash. I can't imagine how ugly that would/could get.

 
 
Still ok, you get to get a quite sensitive hand on the throttle as well as on the timing of the clutch.
 

[Beemer]

Thanks for the advice you guys! The bike is only set up for 190lbs right now and together we're a little over 300lbs. I rev match every time I downshift so no problems with engine braking. I guess I'm just not used to having so much weight on the bike. Thanks again!

Just a tip, even with rev matching the engine braking isn't nearly as bad at 3k rpm as it is at higher rpm's so my trick before I got an EJK was to simply let the rpm's come down a little more than usual before I down shifted/w rev matching. GL!