Pillion Passenger Advice

MADMAN69UK

MADMAN69UK

MADMAN69UK

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Joined
26 Sep 2005
Posts
875
Location
Midlands
I'm looking for a bit of advice regarding pillion passengers.

I'm only 5'4" and can't quite get both feet flat on the floor whilst mounted.
(though that may change with the extra weight on the back?)

Does anyone have any tips for carrying a pillion passenger for the first time?
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Or, with me being quite small is it not really recommended anyway?

Danke
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Yo.
Im in a similar boat to you, im 5'6" and usually am on the balls of my feet with both down on my gixxer.
I took a lady friend on the back on Saturday with no probs.
As long as your steady on the balls of your feet you should be ok, yes the weight will push the bike down slightly but I found that even with my feet not flat I was as stable as I normally am apart from when she moved around but even them was fine.

few things to remember:
- Tell passenger not to do anything unless you say so or do it.
- not to move around much if at all.
- Please dont scream :D
- hold on tight

Slow speed turns are more upright than normal as leaning at slow speeds with extra weight can pull you around too fast. I found I need to steer with the bars more at slow speed.

Acceleration needed more clutch feathering for smoothness.

Pulling out of junctions, onto roundabouts needs more consideration as you cant pull into traffic as fast(unless your mental).

Braking needs more consideration as that weight on top of you under hard braking wont be comfortable.

Check your tires dont need more pressure for pillion use and that they are correct pressure anyway.

general tip - ride like your chauffering your Mum around!
 
Best pillion passengers I've taken, I've not even noticed they were there, they use there legs and hands to brace on acceleration and braking.

The worst was a mate who was trying to lean out of corners and kept moving around mid corner, I think he needed to man up a bit.
 
The way I describe the handling of the bike with a pillion on the back is kind of like if you've got the back brake on slightly, that's when moving of course, standstill yea it just feels top heavy, should be fine as long as you've got 1 foot flat on the floor, eventually you will get to the stage where you only put 1 foot down anyway, until your passenger shifts their weight when your not expecting it, had that a few times, wobbling at traffic lights :p
or maybe that's just me? I know plenty don't use the rear brake :p though use the rear brake more when you've got a pillion, saves cracking helmets ;)
 
I wish I knew what it was like to ride without a pillion, my girlfriend is on the back pretty much everytime I use the bike. Shes a great pillion though and about 6 months ago I bought an intercom set which has made things even easier.
I was worried the first time I carried a pillion but making the changes comes quite naturally.

edit:
Im also quite short, 5'6/5'7 and didnt have any issues on either the R6 or Buell.
 
The best advice you can give a new pillion is to pretend to be a sack of spuds. The worst thing they can do is try moving around mid corner.

Apart from that simply ask them to wait for your signal before getting on or off the bike so you have time to brace yourself. I've almost dropped it when a pillion decided to jump off at some lights we stopped at to have a stretch! :eek:

Needless to say they got an earful for that one.
 
Idont fancy taking anyone Pillion. Mate had his wife on the back of his blade today. arrived at the first stop and he was promptly belted for being an idiot lol. One of the small villages has a nice drop in the road so as you exit and nail it you can either wheelie or get the bike off the ground. Well she came off the pegs and seat LOL. they went home after that one ive been pillion and hate it so dont want to take anyone.

Fotgot I did take the GF pillion on a shhcooter in Ibiza. That was an experience. her digging her nails into me as we were in the popular holiday resort sorts and T-shirt ensemble . took it back 20 hours early
lol
 
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I've been pillion before on a few occasions, haven't hated it, but prefer to ride myself.

As a pillion they need to;
Grip with their thighs
When accellerating hands around waist
When braking brace against tank
Do NOT move around when cornering

When taking a pillion;

Plan in advance, you need to be;
Smoother on brakes and throttle (and a bit slower)
Use the back brake to stabilize the bike

When taking a nervous or inexperienced pillion;
Do NOT turn in quick or lean over far, they WILL get scared and lean up
Be even more careful with the application of throttle and brakes

When I've taken my girlfriend on the back she can be terrible some times.

I've had her lean up mid corner because she was scared which resulted in me leaning it over even further. At the next opportunity this was rewarded by smacking my back a lot.

Other times she's great and I can forget she's there (more so on the bigger bike)
 
I remember taking brother out on back of Busa, he told me to open her up so we got up to 170mph and I decided to duck down. (I later learned he didn't mean OPEN IT UP THAT FAR)

He was only holding on the rear grab rail, the 200 odd mph blast of wind hit him in chest.

When we stopped he was white as a sheet and shaking... he said he was screaming and needed every ounce of stength to stay on.....

He's never been on back of any bike since :( ooopsssssss


You can buy straps that go round rider with handles, they are a really good idea...

I've also learnt that if you pull a wheelie even by mistake wife will usually punch you in back of head lol
 
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Flukester said:
I remember taking brother out on back of Busa, he told me to open her up so we got up to 170mph and I decided to duck down. (I later learned he didn't mean OPEN IT UP THAT FAR)

He was only holding on the rear grab rail, the 200 odd mph blast of wind hit him in chest.

When we stopped he was white as a sheet and shaking... he said he was screaming and needed every ounce of stength to stay on.....

He's never been on back of any bike since :( ooopsssssss


You can buy straps that go round rider with handles, they are a really good idea...

I've also learnt that if you pull a wheelie even by mistake wife will usually punch you in back of head lol
Click to expand...

Yeah, first and only time I went pillion my friend had those handles attached, made me feel a bit better knowing if I I was going to get pulled off i'd have him anchoring me! I didn't like it that much though and promptly did my DAS.
 
Just be smooth on the brakes and throttle, also, when your pillion is getting on and off the bike make shure you have your side stand down with the front brake applied, this will help prevent dropping the bike when your pillion unsettles the bike when mounting/unmounting.
 
Tell them not to bother with the grab rail at the back, just stick to the back of you like a rucksack. Otherwise they will prob back flip on 1st blast to overtake.

Make sure you brace yourself for the extra weight during braking, a lot of weight goes through my wrists if doing some hard braking.That or I find the gf sitting on my seat with me on her lap, but think thats down to the single seat design on my bike.
 
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