Taking a pillion for the first time

[nc30 chick]

Well I finally got round to getting a pillion seat for my NC30 (Currently got a cowl on there) and I am thinking that it might be useful to take pillions every now and then. Only problem is im a bit nervous about it. Hubby never found it a problem when he started riding but hes much stronger and bigger than me with a bigger bike. Im worried about taking someone bigger than myself and how it will affect the handling. Am I being silly? Should I just say sod it and find a willing victim, i mean volunteer I suppose if it dont feel right then I can make them walk home

[mr.z]

Found this quite handy...

Being a bit on the short side myself its weird takeing passengers who are taller, center of gravity feels higher, getting them to sit still and under no circumstances squirm when your slowing down or stoping, only when your moving in a straight line or at a complete stop is it ok for them to squirm!

apart from that its not too bad, keep everything smooth, allow more space to stop/overtake, make sure to tell them where to hold on and when to get on and off, its not so bad once your used to it...
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[Andy99]

Best bet is to start of with a small pillion

Sportsbikes like the NC aren't very pillion friendly as the passenger is higher than the rider their weight is quite noticeable.
I'm not that big and have taken people on the back of 250's and 400's so size isn't important. Just be smooth and get a feel for how different the bike feels,don't worry you'll soon get the hang of it.
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[mchaggis]

If there's any chance you might drop it, it could be best to take someone (an experienced rider?) who understands the risks. Testing it on a willing child/ partner who doesn't understand the dangers isn't really fair imo.
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[nc30 chick]

Thanks guys, the atricle was very interesting too cheers.

I was thinking either the hubby who is bigger than me or trying to talk a girlfriend of mine round whos around the same weight as me (who is a rider already, but shes taller than me).
I suppose if I practise on the hubby then hes strong enough to hold the bike if I drop her

[Craggles]

The few times I've taken a pillion I've found it increases my confidence on my bikes ability no end - once he got off I was really leaning it round the corners!

He wasn't bigger than me, but heavier - I'm very light (50kg!)

Just start off slow, and get a feel for the extra weight and how that affects the lean. Once you are used to the extra weight, theres no reason why you can't ride the bike as you usually would, but allow for some extra breaking distance! (this assumes you don't go everywhere treating the road as a race track)

Don't forget to give your pillion "the talk" before you go anywhere near the bike or gear. I said something along the line of:

Behave like a bag of potatoes - don't try and lean into corners, and don't try to stop the bike from leaning.
Helmet does up like this
Tap me on the shoulder if you're not happy
Either hold onto me or the handrail while you get a feel - but eventually you won't bother holding on!
I WILL TELL YOU WHEN YOU CAN GET ON.

Note the last especially important - I forgot to say it and ended up with a dropped bike as my pillion tried getting on while i was stood up and not holding the handlebars!

Obviously some of this wont be as vital if you're carrying an experienced pillion

Craig
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[Method]

I took my first pillion on the back of my NSR... he was about the same hieght as me and a bit heavier... the bike itself was so light you could realy feel him on the back, now on my 500 its barely an issue and you can hardly feel it. One thing i would say is make sure you put 2 feet down when you stop, make sure they know not to wiggle about around turns (especially roundabouts lol!), and try not to put their head on your right shoulder so they can see where they are going... realy realy annoying for lifesavers! Just take it calm and steady.

My dad had a good idea and that was to take an experienced rider on the back first... do the old "Good pillion, Bad pillion" excercise... First he will be a good pillion to get you used to it, and then do all the things you shouldnt do, to get you aware of what its like incase it ever happens.
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[nc30 chick]

Cheers Craig, Im not much bigger than you, 55kgs.

[Method]

[mr.z]

The only time ive had problems is if were comeing to traffic lights say, and the passenger desides now is the time to wriggle about, it makes the bike completely unmanageble, uneven ground can be a bit of a worry too, but if you can get both feet on the floor normaly then you'll be fine...

Also, the worst pillions ive had were bikers (helping to lean e.t.c.)

I did get myself a pair of love handles (motrax?) £15 allot better, you can tell your pillion is still there and they get someting to hold on to without haveing to bend their arms the wrong way (depends on your bike, especially usefull on long journeys)

But it really makes bikeing allot different, makes longer journeys not seem as bad when somebodys with you, but like your shareing the ride
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[Method]

[Sparks!]

I took a pillion for first time last year on my R6. (haven't taken one since due to change of bike tho) and found low speed wasn't THAT bad.. I think I was quite smooth (well ask Hustler..) but I wasn't always leaving myself enough braking room so some good advice is to 1) be smooth and 2) give yourself plenty of time to stop smoothly!

I found that the bike held corners much better, as I didn't like the front end on my R6, was too twitchy.. but with a pillion on the back (bigger than me too) I found it gripped and held lines so much better.. could quite happily have tried for 2 up knee down felt more comfortable than without a pillion... that's just my R6 tho, different for different bikes

I went pillion on Hustlers NC to pick the R6 up and found it stupidly uncomfortable
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[Annabella]

Emma, my first pillion was Jimmy - who at the time was twice my weight exactly.


I did struggle, and it felt very very strange to the higher centre of gravity. He was a complete fidget (especially when I was going slowly) and had a habit of shouting at me...

The best way, is to be confident, try not to think about the extra weight, just keep the balance of the bike as you normally would and be extra smooth with everything you do - gear changes and braking especially as these move the pillion around.


Heh, Jimmy decided to rearrange himself at about 100 on the M4 - nice one!


Good luck, but once you have tried it you won't want to do it often
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[nc30 chick]

Cheers Bella, The idea is that I get comfortable taking pillions for emergencies really and also when the kids are older then I would be taking one of them out, even though that wont be for a long while yet I would like to know I can do it in case the need ever arises.
Cheers guys and Gals, your advice is appreciated

[Method]

[Bendy]

It's only a pain in the neck at low speeds, in my experience.

Most of my pillions have been on the larger side and you really notice that extra weight up behind you, mucking with your centre of gravity, when you're doing sub 10mph.

I'm no fan of doing that, even with the added ground reach (the extra weight means I can flatfoot!) I'm still not immensely confident that I can hold the whole thing up if we were to lose balance at 0mph, so I just pay very, very close attention to road surface etc and so far, I haven't had any problems.

Once you're moving, even a big fat bastid on the back isn't all that noticeable. Maybe up hills you might notice on the 400, my CB used to wheeze a bit when faced with an incline and two porkers on board but the CBR isn't bothered.

Little pillions - doddle. You'll barely realise they're there.

[Wave2k]

have taken many pillions
Make sure yoy tell them what to do before hand
i had one of my dumbass pillions take his feet of the pegs then i went round a corner and lost the back end, managed to save it though
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[headlamp]

I have taken my wife, one of my sons and my daughter on the back of my bike (Faser). The bike does behave differently, and remember your braking distances are longer due to the extra weight. Filtering is also more challenging as any slight movement by the passenger can cause the bike to shift which isn't good when you have inches to spare when moving between two sets of wing mirrors either side of you!
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[map]

Depends on how confident you are about someone grabbing onto you, or indeed how confident your pillion is to do the grabbing but might want to consider one of the pillion pal belt thingies. Tried it with smaller pillions and they said it helped their confidence.

Remember to take it off before walking away from the bike though
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[Scotsman37]

Attach a bike tail bag on the the rear seat of the bike and place in there several kilos of weight and build up to a person's average weight over time, but making sure it it doesn't slide about inside. Doing this allows you to get used to going around corners, etc, with an off centre heavier weight and therefore you'll be much more confident when it comes to the time to carry a pillion because by that time you know to safely negotiate those corners, etc.

[map]

Deja-vu - click here

Didn't see the link posted previously, HTH
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[nc30 chick]

Cheers Map, I was too lazy to use the search button

[hustler]

[Sparks!]

[Scooby]

The first pillion I ever took had never even sat on a bike before, nevermind ridden one or been pillion before. I explained to him what to do and what not to do, not that he took the slightest bit of notice. He decided to try and fasten his shoelace whilst I was doing 40mph, which was nice. I dropped it a cog and nailed it, then he sat still for the rest of the journey. It scared me so much that at the time I couldn't have given a damn if I put him off biking forever, he completely disregarded what I said to him so couldn't care less.

So long as the pillion knows what to do and what not to do you'll be fine though. I have taken many of my mates pillion and never had a problem. I love going pillion myself too if I know the rider. I am very comfortable with a few people, one of which is my mate who is only 19 and rides a K1 GSXR1000, we had 160mph two up and I had a half opened rucksack with a scorpion race can sticking out of the back on one journey, the wind protection was none existent and it nearly had me off the back of the bike, but it's all good fun!
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