Don't ever put a passenger on a bike if you are not completely comfortable with riding it solo. Passenger changes the way it handles, and some passengers that are unfamiliar with riding may seem to fight you when you are cornering.
If you been riding all your life, and can jump from one bike to another without any hesitation, then go for it. If you don't feel completely comfortable and in control, then wait until you do to add a passenger.
I agree that adding a passenger, especially one that outweighs you or is much taller than you, will change the way the bike handles. I gave a guy a ride many years ago on my Kawasaki Mach III. He was not all that heavy but 6'6" tall. He almost crashed us in a turn because he leaned against me. It was all I could do to compensate on that narrow mountain road. Very bad!
But the skill set to ride 2 wheels (especially with a rider) is light years greater than doing the same thing on a Spyder. Where there is almost zero need to compensate for what the rider is doing. Yes, it changes things and you need to go slow and steady until you are sure you can work together around turns. But it is much less critical.
I will say that lean and dive will increase noticeably. And the rider will feel it much more than the driver. It may scare the rider and I've had customers tell me that their wife will no longer ride because of it. This is not always the case, of course. But excessive lean, while not really dangerous, can be quite disconcerting. It feels like the bike is trying to throw you off or tip over. It won't. But just the feeling that it will is enough to end the game for some.
Our customers have run the gambit. From those who drive right from the dealership (about 3 miles away) and get a bar kit installed. One who, during the chip/parts shortage, had his new RT which was waiting to be released, driven down to have a bar kit installed. That thing had thrown dozens of codes having been ridden that way with the dash cluster (among other things) missing.
To customers with 50k or more and several years of riding come in for a bar kit saying they never felt the need for one, but decided to give it a try. They come back saying, 'I never knew what I was missing! I should have done this years ago!'
In the end, these are nothing more than suggestions. The final decision is always yours, and really, the only one that counts.
Have fun. Enjoy the progression as your abilities and understanding of the machine steadily improve.
Happy riders. That's what it's all about!
