How do you treat new pillions?

[Coldkiwi]

Shazuki raised this in another thread but I think it's interesting.

I've had to learn about bikes myself because I never knew anyone with one before I started riding. Consequently, I've been very aware of my friends and family seeing bikes as an unknown quantity and potentially scary. So when the opportunity has arisen to take someone pillion, I want to show them its not so bad and is actually a lot of fun.

How about you guys?

[Antallica]

Well I usually go normal, but I make sure the pillion let me know when they want me to slow down or whatever.

The g/f took a long time to get used to me doing the speed limit (usually 50km/h as it was all in town), so I was ending up doing like 35-40km/h. Ugh.

[bungbung]

Smooth and easy is the order of the day. Depending on the choice of hand holds for the pillion, it can be frightening thinking you're about to fall off under acceleration or braking. If you would like your virgin pillion to be happy riding on the back of a bike, be sensitive.

[Motoracer]

#1 and if they ask for it, #2

I wouldn't try #3 with anyone because I don't want to take that responsibility.

[Cajun]

i start off with #1 and once i know how they feel on the bike and there movement i slowly alittle bit towards #2, i mean go fast once they know how it feels and stuff, and give them a bit of fun, we have japanese homestays sometimes, took one of them for a ride(30 year old male) took him for about 70km ride, on a nice rural bit of road that i live on i gave him a good treat of hitting 200km/h i just hit that mark and then backed off back to 110km/h. Alot of these people have never been over 80km/h in there car.

[Slingshot]

I'm not so concerned about the pillion being scared, it's more about knowing how they will react in certain situations.
I will always tell them what to do before they get on the bike, like leaning with the bike and not moving their weight around in corners etc.

Once I'm confident that they are doing right things I'll generally push a little harder just to them a bit of a thrill.

[FROSTY:Me]

i take it real easy. I wont take a pillion without all the protective gear on. To the point of being Anal about it - No gloves No ride --its that simple.
But I usually ride big heavy bikes that aren't too unsettled by a bit of pillion misconduct.
First few corners are taken very tentatively till I know how they'll react.

[Hitcher]

I try to ride as though I have a "virtual pillion" on all the time -- I find this helps improve my smoothness. I reckon that if you're throwing the bike around all over the road it's unlikely you have full control of it.

[vifferman]

For a start, if they've had little biking/pillioning experience before, I explain to them that the bike's meant to lean over on corners, and that they should sit as still as possible, as many newbies tend to try and lean to the outside as they don't like the bike tilting over. Secondly, I ride as smoothly and gently as possible till the pillion is used to the bike and my riding, and I'm used to them and how they respond. The worst thing you can do is ride hard, especially with a new pillion, as they may react in a way that will upset the balance of the bike. Furthermore, the bike itself handles differently with a pillion than solo, and differently with different passengers.
F'rintance - my youngest son is so slight and still it's almost like having no passenger at all. Middle son knows his way around the bike, and I was unsettled with him on the back of my last bike until I realised he was leaning into the corners. Once I realised this, the bike was basically on autopilot - I'd come up to a corner, he'd lean, and the bike would corner by itself. Very odd sensation...
Oldest son vibrates - at least he did the last time I pillioned him. He said he was a bit cold, but I think he was more than a bit nervous!

Wifey - she has been on my bikes maybe 5 times, but really enjoyed the 2 times on the Storm, because I rode very carefully and sedately, apart from a couple of times when I opened it up for a bit of a blat, AFTER warning her.
No surprise --> no fright --> no unexpected manoeuvres from the bike.

[Holy Roller]

First few corners are taken very tentatively till I know how they'll react.

It takes more than a few corners...
The Mrs. has been pillion for some time but when she was pregnant with our 2nd she decided to sit up in the middle of a corner nearly ended up in the lake, one can never underestimate the reaction of the one on the back but I still her.

[Zed]

Shazuki raised this in another thread but I think it's interesting.

I've had to learn about bikes myself because I never knew anyone with one before I started riding. Consequently, I've been very aware of my friends and family seeing bikes as an unknown quantity and potentially scary. So when the opportunity has arisen to take someone pillion, I want to show them its not so bad and is actually a lot of fun.

How about you guys?

I remember during college days after school I would get on the back on a mates trail bike and we would go gallivanting all round the countryside- he was a good rider and gained my full confidence as a pillion, I was quite contented to sit on the back. The only off we had was going 5kmph around a corner and sliding out in a patch of oil...we both ended up on our backsides laughing!!

I try and gain the confidence of my pillion and once I have I tend to push the bike a bit more.


Zed

[matthewt]

#1, unless it's my brother (he gets somewhere between #2 and #3).

[riffer]

Definitely #1 for most pillions. I have, on occasion, had an experienced rider on the back and they tend to let you ride more like #2 but its never the same as on your own.

On Tuesday my wife Gini got on the back of the bike for the first time. She's as experienced pillion and a bit experienced rider (doesn't have a bike at the moment) but it was a bit disconcerting as she instinctively leaned into the corners and I found myself overcorrecting at first as it seemed the bike dropped into the corners pretty damn fast (particularly going up and down Brooklyn Hill to my parents house). Once I worked out what was happening it was easy enough to sort out.

Most pillions can handle a bit of acceleration after a while on the bike but to be honest, I find the whole bashing pillions helmet into my head a bit of a turn off. I gave the throttle a real squirt overtaking someong going through the Terrace Tunnell and she handled it okay, even though the front came up a touch. Too wet to do anything silly though...

So its nice and easy does it. If I want to thrash on the bike, I'll go alone...

[matthewt]

I took my brother on the back to the Easter Monday run a few weeks ago. Nice re-introduction for him.

1) I forgot about the extra weight on the back and accidentily poped a wheelie across the round-about by Motorcycle City. He thought I was trying to impress him so I didn't see the need to correct him.

2) 5 seconds later at the large Melling round-about a 4x4 approaches the round-about from the right with his left indicator on, cool so I start to move out and when he enters the round-about his indicator goes off. So I stop before I cross his path and get the evils from him.

3) 10 seconds later waiting at the Melling lights aiming north, the car beside me is checking out the Brutale. He must of seen my indicator on but it didn't stop him from pulling into my lane as we both turn right into SH2.

4) Then it rained for about 10 minutes on the way home from Martinbrough.

All in all a nice day.

[Motoracer]

Now that I remeber it correctly, I did try #3 on a virgin pillion once.

I was in 5th form with the SRX250. Few anoying big cu*ts from 4th form ganged up on me once and started giving me shit about how my bike looked skinny and shitty (this comming from push bike riders ).

I said, if they were nice, I would give them rides on the back of my bike. So they agreed. One of them jumped on the back with me, I told him to not to hang on to me cause that'd be gay, so he hung on to the bike.



I rode away from the rest of the dickheads then I shifted down to first, reved the bike up real high and then droped the clutch! (first intentional wheelie atempt ever in my life) The front came up real fast and then the fat cu*t fell off just as fast landing hard on his arse.

I rode off home LMAO under my helmet and just to make it that much more satisfiying, I tooted my horn as I left the gate.

They never bothered me after that.