Bikegirl Forum

I take my other half, my daughter, have taken my brother pillion, luckily all bike riders, most of the advice i would give has already been written,

try to brake with the rear more than usual as the pillion will aid that with the extra weight over the rear and avioding harsh braking on the front will stop to many headbuts from you passenger!

I have left my pockets open before so my daughter can grip onto those when we have forgotten our 'love handles' as it can be difficult hanging on from the back end!, especially under hard acceleration, also the get them to hold on better if you are planning to go fast, i always grab my daughters hand and make her put them round my waist so she is holding on well and it makes you feel safer holding tight and up close.

If you are short like i am and are taking a knowledgeable pillion use their hopefully longer legs to help you out. I could only ride my other halfs ducati paso when he was on the back when it was too tall and if i felt wobbly he used to put his feet down as well to help.

Just remember the extra weight being over the back end and if they are doing something to upset the bike let them know rather than grumble in your head and all should be fine. My daughters fav is fidgeting when going really slow so you end up wobbling about!

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www.justgiving.com/emma-amyparker

My OH used to do the tap the leg when I was pillion and part of the reason I learned to ride my own was because I was getting more nervous as a pillion and constantly doing the leg clamp    having said that now that I ride I don't seem to get nervous at all on the odd occassions I do pillion now .

Now it's my turn though - daughter #3 wants to come on our Europe tour next year and as daughter #2 has already booked OH's pillion seat if she's coming it will have to be on mine   not sure I'm ready for that..  She doesn't weigh much more than a sack a spuds though and OH says she never moves so I'm willing to give it try. 

I did ride fully laden with panniers and top box this year and I did notice the difference in weight, although only really when moving slowly and stopping - if she sits still and doesn't weigh much more than the panniers will it feel the same?  except for the occassional head butt    

Its easier to touch the floor with a pillion as the extra weight makes it lower to the ground. I have taken my mum, dad and fiance on the back of mine. I am happy to have my mum on there as she is about the same size of me, so she makes very little difference to the bike. Not so comfortable with my dad on the back but I would take him again ( not that I need to, he has his own bike) but my fiance is another story. I dont want to take him out again really, feels horrible especially as he is 7 stone heavier than me so its not a lot of fun, especially in slow traffic. Took him to the Breakfast Club at Goodwood in Nov and told him to get off at one point because I was struggling to keep it straight. Takes a while to get used to having someone behind you and I was nervous as hell, just expect longer breaking times and slower acceleration.