Just a couple of comments on this thread. I am currently in the Balkans riding east to Australia and I had very similar questions regarding a suitable two up bike prior to beginning our trip.

Erika and I are travelling two-up on a 1989 Transalp and its working pretty well so far. I am 165 lbs and Erika is about 115 lbs. The Transalp was one of the lightest bikes I could find that was capable of two up travel. It works for us because we both are small and lighweight people.

But one important thing, even with a light bike, with your passenger and all your gear the bike will be really, really heavy. Don't expect to do much off road under these conditions, smooth gravel or smooth dirt roads excepted. Even negotiating the pavement in cities where you have steep and narrow streets, cobblestones, etc will be enough of a challenge. Don't forget that the safety of your passenger will be at the very top of your priorities.

Regardless of which bike you choose, you should also plan on upgrading the suspension for your loads and riding conditions, it makes a huge difference, believe me. Our fully loaded Transalp can blast down the potholed roads easily with the upgraded suspension.

One thing I really wish I had was anti-lock brakes, we both took a tumble on an "invisible" patch of gravel a few days ago on a downhill switchback and this would have been prevented by anti-lock brakes. It caught me completely off guard as the road looked clear, but fortunately we were ok, protected by quality riding gear. For this reason, I wish we had the BMW F650 with anti-lock brakes at that time. But the Transalp is bulletproof for reliability, so I am glad I have it for that reason.

Best thing I can recommend is to ride the bikes mentioned above with your passenger on the back and see which one feels best for you. You will probably "bond" with one bike more than the others. Good luck.

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Dave
www.mototrekker.com

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Dave McMillan
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/mcmillan/