Riding with a Pillion, Never done it! Options

[Enigma]

Ok... I've got a mate coming over to visit me from Japan in Dec, which means I would have had my bike license for 12 months...

He's asked me if I would take him for a ride through the twisties up the coast on my bike...

Problem: I've never ridden with a pillion and have no idea what to expect.

SO... can someone please give me some basic advise about what I should be looking out foor etc?

Thanks in advance
Sam

[Peka]

Smooth on the controls is the key, otherwise your pillion's helmet will be banging into yours and your nuts will be getting crushed when you hit the brakes.

You'll know if your gear shifts are smooth when you carry a pillion. Clutch in - change gear - clutch out, isn't going to be smooth and your helmet will get chipped. Preload the gear lever, tap the clutch enough to unload the transmission while slightly backing of the throttle and you'll get a smooth shift.

You can still carry much the same corner speed with a pillion (assuming your suspension isn't maxed out), but you have to prepare earlier, roll off the throttle smoothly, ease on the brakes, if you like your nuts.

If you don't have pillion grab handles, your pillion might find it easier under brakes to brace his arms against the tank.

A few rules you should give your pillion:

1. Never get on or off the bike unless you say so. He shouldn't assume you're ready unless he likes lifting hot heavy metal off him
2. If he's going to whack you to slow down, he does it in the straights, not mid corner. Actually he shouldn't do anything mid corner.
3. Feet always on the pegs. If he needs to stretch his legs he needs to let you know first.
4. Always needs to be hanging on with at least one hand, otherwise when you have to swerve to avoid that cab, he might end up sliding into it.

Riding with a pillion can be great fun (more fun if the pillion is female and shares both your bed, and your love of speed )

Have fun!

[PerryK]

First you are going to need a bike with something more substantial than the few square inches of padding pretending to be a seat at the back of yours

I have never pillioned anyone except on dirt bikes but I have heard a few tips:

* Ask the passenger to stay relaxed and not move much if they can help it.
* During turns they can look over your shoulder in the direction you are turning.
* If they can reach they may wish to steady themselves during heavy braking with a hand on the tank.
* Try and give a little warning before you accelerate heavily.


This post has been edited by PerryK: Sep 23 2007, 10:47 PM

[petro]

Riding with a pillion can be great fun (more fun if the pillion is female and shares both your bed, and your love of speed )

Have fun!

Ye I just love riding with my Thrillseeker on the back

[Enigma]

First you are going to need a bike with something more substantial than the few square inches of padding pretending to be a seat at the back of yours

Hahaha... well I was going to take the rear cowl off first and put the pillion seat back on

This post has been edited by Enigma: Sep 23 2007, 10:50 PM

[PerryK]

heh, that is so kind of you

I will laugh if you still get the "Is that the seat?" comment

Prolly will need to think about a helmet and other safety gear too.

No doubt will be some fun though

[Supatard]

My KTM's trailbike seat ensures the passenger can't get any closer, and the drivers nuts know all about it lol.
I don't actually have pillion pegs, and I have only doubled once on it.. when a mate was stuck at work late at night in woop woop.

On the rare occasion I get on the back of a bike, I put one hand behind me, and one on the riders shoulder. That seems to help me lean with the rider, and gives me confidence that I won't either fall off the back or overtake the rider on heavy breaking.

[Pink Angel]

My suggestion is to start practicing with a pillion now. A long ride through the twisties with a adult male is going to really test your abilities if you have never done it before.

I pillion my son and I am surprised at how much his weight can influence the bike and he is only a kid.

[powers]

Has your new pillion done much riding himself???
I find ppl who can ride themselves make better pillions, more relaxed & comfortable

[FightFan2006]

Has your new pillion done much riding himself???
I find ppl who can ride themselves make better pillions, more relaxed & comfortable

mate from every report i have heard ... even experienced riders that hae pillioned with Jeffy have ALL darked their undies deluxe! Marky D had to stop in at Myers on the way home to do a quick switcheroo of his offending Bonds with some new ones!

I would be shitting myself when pillioning, i like to be in control of my fate!
( plus the bike would permanatly be in wheelie position due to weight transfer)

[Garenio]

There's another thread discussion on this topic!!

http://www.weekendriders.invisionzone.com/...?showtopic=4990

[Marky D]

Marky D had to stop in at Myers on the way home to do a quick switcheroo of his offending Bonds with some new ones!

True, true..

But seriously, I would take Pinky's advice and start pillioning NOW. You wouldnt want to be new at carrying a pillion and be tackling the twisties at the same time.

Practice makes perfect. I recommend the pillion to spend most of the time holding onto the tank, and only be holding onto your jacket/waist when they absolutely need to. With a sportsbike like yours, the lean forward style accommodates the tank holding method quite well.

I get cranky if my pillion wants to look over my left shoulder when going into a right hand corner (and vice versa) because the weight transfer mid corner makes the bike really unstable.

And also I get cranky if the pillion changes their posture mid corner. I'd rather poor pillion posture throughout the corner rather than someone squirming around on my back while i'm trying to negotiate a corner.

[Kele]

I remember the first time I got on the back of Brad's VTR... I had never been on a bike before and he told me not to make any major moves... I spent the whole hour in one position I also think I hugged him the entire time... I them got some confidence in sitting more upright, I think this made his ride a little more comfortable

After a few trips, we seemed to get into a groove.. I knew how he rode, he knew how I pillioned and it just seemed to come naturally..

I do find that now I have my own bike, and have done some riding of my own, when I do get on the back of brad's I am more aware of things, like weight, movement ect...

I do agree that you should start pillioning now... that way you will have had some practice

I must admit, I do hate doing u-turns.. they freak me out a little, i feel like we are just going to fall over

[Blondie]

Riding with a pillion can be great fun (more fun if the pillion is female and shares both your bed, and your love of speed )

That's me and Mark!!!

Well, it was for many years, before I got my licence and my own bike, that is

Although we still share the bed and the love of speed, I much prefer to be a rider moreso than a pillion these days

As for having a pillion, I've never done it, and don't really ever want to either

Mark recently sat on the back of my bike and just the extra weight was enough to scare me away from it altogether ... I know, I know it's probably not the right attitude to have, but I seriously don't ever wanna do it ... maybe one day I'll change my mind, but for now I'm happy riding solo

Anyway Sam ... good luck with it all ... and as the others have said, I guess you should start practicing now

[Enigma]

Thanks guys for your feedback

Prolly will need to think about a helmet and other safety gear too.

Already in hand, I have a spare helmet jacket and gloves... and he can wack on a pair of my draggins...

My suggestion is to start practicing with a pillion now. A long ride through the twisties with a adult male is going to really test your abilities if you have never done it before.

I pillion my son and I am surprised at how much his weight can influence the bike and he is only a kid.

I was actually talking to another mate tonight and he's offered to come practice with me so we shall see how that one goes!

There's another thread discussion on this topic!!
http://www.weekendriders.invisionzone.com/...?showtopic=4990

Thanks for that, I will have a browse through that one as well...

[myoda]

I usually pillion ppl when I travel in Asia.

Traffic there is nuts, but after a while u get the general idea of how ppl move, how pedestrians cross the road, and if you are going to get killed in the first 10 mins of getting on a bike.

The bikes there are also 100cc variety, and designed for more people. Way different to my CBR which i've never pillioned anyone on.

Some general rules to tell your pillion:

- No sudden movements
- Lean into corners instead of trying to keep your body upright when bike is leaning.
- If there is a problem, tap on shoulder to stop, but only in the straights
- Dont do anything in corners
- I guess the hand on tank thing for braking.

- Last of all relax

Some practise is always good.

[mekros]

A few more tips too:

-make sure the pillion knows when to get on and off the bike, do it only when you tell them it is ok.
-Tell them to either relax and lean with the corner (looking over your shoulder that you are leaning into), or stiff and upright.
-Tell them to adjust themself after you have stopped completely....Fen used to adjust herself back onto the pillion seat as we'd almost stopped

As the rider:
- take it easy as you first take off and get a feel for the change in handling of the bike. The same goes for the first bunch of corners.
- Allow for increased braking distance.
- Be prepared to be headbutted from behind or in the back!
- Smoother throttle and brake control
- Check they haven't fallen asleep on the back, especially on long straights!
- If you're a lanesplitter, remember the extra weight and possibly width.
- Be comfortable with the fact oyu are carrying a pillion

[supamodel]

- Check they haven't fallen asleep on the back, especially on long straights!

Doesn't happen on the Monster. The vibes do funny things to the pillions .

But yeah, it all comes down to being smooth and relaxing. Ground rules for me are:
a) Just sit straight up on the bike, don't try to lean in, and don't lean out. I have the controls, I do the riding.
b) Get off to the left-hand side only. Okay, this is partly due to the pipes on the Monster only being high on the right, but also cause I'm much more comfortable leaning the bike over to the left and holding it with my leg.
c) Don't get off till I say ya can.
d) No punching in the kidneys to say slow down unless we're on a straight. I will slow down when told, but once committed to a corner there's no choice till the next straight.
e) Get them to use the tank for not pushing my nuts onto the tank.
f) As a rider, you have to try harder to be super-smooth. You'll find you won't have too much trouble with turning in too fast, generally pillion = lower back = slower turn-in anyway. Gearchanges are something you need to get good at doing smoothly with a pillion on, otherwise it's braaaaaaap *clunkityclunk* braaaaaaaaaap *clunkityclunk* braaaaaap... gets old real fast.
g) Relax. Just think you can do it, and you will .

[Flower]

My experience as a pillion:

- Tell the pillion to get some thigh muscles to hold on. Who needs hands then. I cant hand on tank for braking as it is too far away, so thighs and core muscles... stops the nut squish. There are also often sissy bars... hold onto them.

- I found it easier to lean into the corners (and was encouraged to do so) rather than stay in one spot cause then I end up fighting the bike and making it harder.
It took a while to let go and know that Garen wasnt going to kill me, so when I accepted that, I stopped fighting the bike.

- I save my squirming and readjusting until we are on a straight or stopped at a set of lights.

- Work out a system of communication with your rider/pillion. I cant simply yell at Garen when we are riding so we have a system of taps i.e. emergency = rapid tapping on back of helmet.
Ok I'm on the bike and ready to go = taps on the shoulder or bum
Stop waving mid corner and keep both hands on handle bars = smack offending hand, I'm the pillion, I'll courtesy wave
Otherwise he can generally read my body signs.

- Keep an eye on what the rider is doing, therefore there are no unexpected squirts.

[Kele]

I agree... Brad is partially deaf, so communicating with him normally is difficult, let alone with a helmet on

A system for communicating is a great idea... when we stop, I wait for Brad to give me a nod, this way I know that I am right to get off...

I have learnt to hang on with my legs, easier for me and that way when we stop I dont crush him against the tank... I find that I know how Brad rides, so makes it easier for me to know what he is going to do in certain situations.

Not long after Brad got the bike, we did the advance riding course at Mt Cotton... we were the only bike 2 up there, but I found it to be really good for teaching me what to do in certain situations... I do the hand on the tank thing when stopping, I just feel more comfortable