First timers

[Ms Piggy]

Seriously though, I'm tall enough to just swing my leg over, but most of my pillioning friends have to step up onto the left peg before they can swing their right leg over. It's important that the rider has a nice steady footing before trying this!

As someone who has been a pillion (and is also a rider) that's short of stature I find that there's nothing graceful or sexy about the mount/dismount. I have to step on the peg to get on.

[allycatz]

Do you think having a communication set up between youand the pillion would help - I'm in the same situation of being about to try to get my wife into and wondered about this.

Always good to have the, "stop quickly, Im about to regurgitate my lunch down the back of your jacket" one sorted

[Wannabiker]

I thought about intercoms...prefer peace and quiet....thats what motorbikes are for. Some intercom helmets can be very noisy I believe.

I tap her on the leg = hold on we are overtaking or going thru twisties....she taps me on shoulder = pit stop...frantic helmet / shoulder bashing = stop right now!!!!...

[klingon]

I'm with klingons hubby! Definatly no intercom! I ride for a bit a aloness, its good for the soul. Even with my wife on, I still wanna listen to the bike, watch out for cagers and enjoy the ride! Don't wanna know about nothin else. Don't care how pretty that tree is or what I did wrong before we left! Plenty of time to chat at a pit stop or when you get there!! LOL!!

Oh to the point I was thinkin of!
Try goin for a coffee etc don't just do a loop (save loops for just you). If she's anything like mine she enjoys the coffee and timeout as much as the the ride!
Do a loop an she's been for a ride, include a coffee/ lunch or beer break and she's had a lovely afternoon!
Just an idea mate good luck!

I agree. Most of us women are social creatures and we really enjoy the coffee stops so we can tell you all about the lovely blossoms and the cute little lambs we saw on the ride. All the more reason to go along with another couple - so the women can swap scone recipes while the men compare exhaust systems or oil brands or whatever it is men talk about.

(Before I get lynched by the feminists, I am kind of joking )

[Fred Dagg]

Do you think having a communication set up between youand the pillion would help - I'm in the same situation of being about to try to get my wife into and wondered about this.

If you are out on the open road, hand signals work well, trying to talk just doesn't work - I just kick back and enjoy the scenery, and wait till the next pub stop to chat ..I would have thought a communication set up would only work if you are truly touring, perhaps USA or Oz, or something. If you are just riding around town, communicating is easy, as you tend to always be stopping at lights and intersections .


As for mounting and dismounting, from a pillion passengers point of view...no sweat at the beginning of a ride...not so easy at the end of the ride..age is always a factor....and have heard Pilates helps

[Insanity_rules]

Just say no to intercoms! My wife and I have a set of signals for anything we need while out, my favourite being the thump on the back of the helment for "I meant slow down NOW!".

I'd have to put my hand up for having the worst and highest passenger pegs ever (See my profile pic for the proof) but we've worked out a system so she doesn't knee me in the back so where theres a will theres a way (and greedy relatives).

[Jerms]

I had a similar experience...well kinda...

My wife said she was really keen to get on the back but she needed to have the right protective gear first. So off we go to the local motorcycle store and kit her out in all the necessities. "We'll head out on the road next weekend" she says...next weekend comes and goes...and the next weekend...and the next one, etc, etc...

So we now have this beautiful brand new gear and she still hasn't been for a ride. I'm not holding my breath though...she's almost 7 months pregnant...

Oh, well. Good to have a decent reply when she asks why I still have all those motorcycle parts in the garage...!!!

[Conquiztador]

In another lifetime I had a Panhead rigid chop with just a small pillion seat and no sissy (see pic of her in my bike album). My then g/f was a moody type. She could be in a shitty moode for no reason at all. (I mean, me spending the evening with the boys at the clubrooms was surely no reason to whinge?). We were to ride for a long trip the next morning and she was ugly! After a while it started to affect me too. So when we were on the bike (no intercom. Never will own a set!) it was my turn. We rode for close to 200k's at 150 - 180k/h. Must have been just what she needed as the whinging stopped there.