Today was riding with the wife and oops did a 2nd gear power wheelie (no more than a foot high) and now have a less than happy wife.

Given I was under 40 mph and did not open the throttle up much I was also ... surprised.

Any c14 wheelie experts want to comment on how prone the C14 is wheelie solo and 2 up? (Given I am 270 and wife is about 1/2 my size and empty cases)

Thanks

QCTM

Now that you have done it, YOU are the expert.  Seriously, with 400 lbs of people on board the C14's center of gravity is pretty high, and is also shifted rearwards now that you have (had) a passenger.  That means wheelies can come fairly easily.  Depending on incline, weather, rpms, etc - it can surprise you how readily the front will lift.

Lots of passengers feel a bit insecure without a backrest or trunk.  Add some acceleration, nose lift and a bit of surprise, and you have the recipe for a less-than-happy wife.   As you know.

No real solution, but some things may help:  Listen.  Apologize (no excuse or explanation, just apologize).  Flowers.  Dinner.  Backrest/trunk.

Good luck.

Yeah, 2-up a C-14 will pop right off the front wheel without any real effort. Riding 2-up it is about impossible to wind out first or second without lifting the front wheel but if you are aware that it is coming, you can hold the front wheel just off the ground until it drops when you shift. For a while I didn't even think my wife noticed that but it turns out that she did. She likes it though and it is tough to scare her on a motorcycle, at least one as large and heavy as a C-14.

And just to expand on the 2-up performance issue, you can take on 600 cc sport bikes with a solo rider and unless they are quite skilled, eat them for lunch. Even if they are competent they cannot get away and will lose ground in the straights. A liter bike will of course out run a C-14, especially one that is 2-up with some weight on board, under any conditions but what is truly surprising is how slowly a Concours will give ground. It truly surprised me and has absolutely amazed more than one kid on a sport bike, even a 1,000.

If your wife really does not like it I would suggest going a lot easier on the bike. If you alienate her to riding you will find yourself riding alone. Some will claim that is a good thing but not me- I like my wife and we ride together a lot.    And then there is the 'never scare the passenger' policy- I just don't think it is fun to frighten other people (except for hiding in a dark corner of the kitchen but that is another matter).

Brian

Today was riding with the wife and oops did a 2nd gear power wheelie (no more than a foot high) and now have a less than happy wife.

Given I was under 40 mph and did not open the throttle up much I was also ... surprised.

Any c14 wheelie experts want to comment on how prone the C14 is wheelie solo and 2 up? (Given I am 270 and wife is about 1/2 my size and empty cases)

Thanks

I have a later model with traction control,  when its enabled wheelies and having a tough time going up steep gravel/dirt driveways in the mountains are a thing of the past.

I don't ride two-up on the Concours with my wife - that's what we have the Goldwing for.  But a quick fun story.  When my wife first started riding I had an ST1300.  The first day we rode it any distance with her I was on a very open two-lane road.  I "had" to pass some cars.  I didn't want to accelerate too hard, but I did keep easing it up very gradually to about 110mph.  I kept waiting for her to squeeze my waist or something to send me a message to slow down.  Never did. When we got home she very casually said "you DO know I can see the speedometer, don't you?".  She's not too crazy about letting me do that stuff, but she's a very good passenger.

I have a later model with traction control,  when its enabled wheelies and having a tough time going up steep gravel/dirt driveways in the mountains are a thing of the past.

Me too. When I had the bike down at sea level this summer, there were several times the traction control kicked in on perfect dry pavement to prevent either a power wheelie or some tire spin. I've never had a bike that was capable of doing that just by rolling on the throttle. Up here at 7,000' plus I don't think the bike has the power to power wheelie. The only time the traction control kicks in is when I am on dirt or sand and I purposely give it a little power to check that my traction control is still working.

I don't understand why traction control is kicking in to prevent a power wheelie - is it looking at the speed of the front wheel as well?

I've lifted the wheel before on a hard 1st and 2nd gear launch, but I didn't notice if either ABS or traction control kicked in to set it back down.  Maybe I should play around with traction control off.  I havent tried to do a proper wheelie yet on my bike.

What's the difference between a drop and a crash again?  (Just prepping...)

The difference is that after a drop you can start doing something else immediately (getting up, using bad language, etc.) while after a crash you have to wait until you and the bike are done moving.

Brian

What's the difference between a drop and a crash again?  (Just prepping...)

I've lifted the wheel before on a hard 1st and 2nd gear launch, but I didn't notice if either ABS or traction control kicked in to set it back down.  Maybe I should play around with traction control off.  I havent tried to do a proper wheelie yet on my bike.

If you have ever had the TC kick in due to a power wheelie (high RPM hard shift from 1st to 2nd), you will know it immediately.  After it finishes slamming you into the bars, it shuts down the motor to a fraction of it's power, until you completely close the throttle for more than a moment.

Perhaps it's just my bike, but I doubt it.  It's one of those things that Kawi could have done a little better at, but then again, it is the first generation of it (at least on the C14).