Norm
Wizard
Pillion 101
Most of you read my comical but true account of “Riding with the Hostile Pillion.” That, of course is a worse case scenario.
Riding with the Hostile Pillion
I encourage you to avoid those pillions. Riding pillion involves a collaborative of a skilled rider and a trusting pillion, no more, no less. You must have complete faith in your own abilities and you should have been able to deal with challenging situations on your own before you link your own survival to that of another. You should have ridden in the rain, the cold, gravel, sharp twisties, stop and go, and extensive highway and busy city riding, I’ve stated before that 1000 miles are not enough. 10,000 miles is the minimum and preferably all with the bike you plan to use for a pillion.
You should understand that slow speed maneuvers, while challenging on their own, become three fold more difficult when the mass of two separate entities are allowed to move independently. Rather than ask for strict obedience from the passenger it is best to master your own skills, which will nullify the extra ballast and its own desire to lean and move around. Asking someone to lean into turns, hold on tight, and don’t move around give will them the impression that they are in for more of a dicey proposition than even they thought and scares them. This is anathema to your goals. Rather it is best to reassure them that all the control for turns, stops, and starts are under your control and ask them to relax and enjoy the ride and that you will need nothing from them…although it would be great if they didn’t jump around all over the back seat if possible.
I’d like to start the subject out with a recent few rides. My sister has ridden bicycles and is a pretty good athlete. She has no motorcycle riding experience and her recent visit was the first time she rode. Lisa, for better or for worse, my little sister by 8 years trusts me implicitly. Riding with her was a piece of cake. I should mention we were on the big C14 and once this beast is in motion it tends to hold its lines well. Recently a friend down here, who does a lot of contracting (house) work for my mom had his 15 year old son with him, who loved Yogi. I asked if he wanted to walk Yogi for an hour every few days, since he seemed to love the dog, and I would pay him $20. He asked if I could pick him up at his house, 10 miles away, by bike since he loved my 2 bikes and had never been on a street bike. He did already in his short life have quite a few hundred miles on a shifting off road bike. His dad OK’d it and I first picked him up with the FZ1, his choice.
There were several sharp turns out of his neighborhood, crowded with kids and other goings on and Ellery (his name) is nearly my size. There was an initial, and what I consider normal, response on his part to resist going into the turns by staying upright. Being the homophobes we are in this country no guy wants to hold on to another guy. So he held onto the rails like we were on a roller coaster going into a sharp turn. I knew my job was not to talk him into leaning with me but rather to extract his confidence by showing I could and would make those turns with or without his help. I simply sped up a bit so as to be able to use the handlebars more (countersteer) and lean less. When starting I started quickly and with authority and when slowing I made sure that the last 5 MPH or so we would stop abruptly, so as not to allow the bike to wobble, as it did in the beginning. I know that by myself I could coast down to 0-1 MPH nice and easy. But with him shifting weight even minimally at this speed the bike wobbled. That’s because you’re losing the inertia of the bike going straight and your individual masses are becoming a bigger part of the balancing equation. A trick you’ve heard about, and it works, is to look far in the distance when you are stopping. Believe me, your brain will still see the car right in front of you but this maneuver takes the higher level “thinking” that you are inevitably trying to do when stopping and uses your natural balance to keep you centered. Over think and you will overbalance. If you are not comfortable coasting down to 0 MPH and keeping balanced try stopping harder (when you are by yourself) and you’ll see that you come to a nice upright stop. Another trick I use is I plan on stopping about 5-10 feet before the place I really want to stop and this way if there’s a little wobble I simply let off the brakes, wobble stops, then brake hard with my extra 5 feet and stop nice and upright.
It didn’t take long. When he believed (not by me telling him but by him seeing and believing) that I wasn’t going to let him fall our ride was smooth as silk. Your ideal pillion is the 20 something girl wrapped around the 20 something guy on the sport bike, her with her arms all around him and head resting on his shoulder. The masses are completely linked and wobble and rough turns are mitigated. But for most of us your pillion won’t be hugging you quite that tight and maybe they’ll be holding the railing, which is more likely.
Ellery had lots of bicycle and dirt bike experience, and even though the dad and I have become very close, the dad OK’d the ride, and his son wanted to ride doesn’t mean he trusts me deep down in his heart. I had a big job. I had to earn his trust so that he truly believed I needed no assistance from him (which is very hard for most of us because just like cars, we want to be in control of any particular vehicle we are in; we are “riders” after all) and he could relax, let his body move naturally and allow us to ride as one mass to the extent that it is possible. The next day I picked him up with the C14. At over 200 pounds more weight the C14 had a lot to say about balance and Ellery and I were more along for the ride. The ultra smooth suspension, the car quiet engine, and its weight seemed to keep us on track better. Still, Ellery had learned I could handle bike and the ride was smooth. I picked him up today (his choice, I offered him truck or bike he chose bike) and I truly felt like there was no one in the back.
A trusting pillion and a skilled rider are the best components of a smooth ride. You must be absolutely sure-footed and confident in slow speed maneuvers before taking on a pillion. The best pillions are usually kids, because they are trusting by nature (they haven’t learned to be as jaded like us old farts) and they rarely make trouble aft of the vehicle to cause you to feel unstable. They are also lighter and more flexible, in mind and body. I love what a good friend of mine from another forum, Steve, has done with his three daughters (he has 4 but one inexplicably doesn’t want to ride, lol). The best vehicles for pillion riding are cruisers and maxi’s because of their low center of gravity and the extra bend in your knee by being close to the ground gives you more leeway as you are stopping and stay stopped. The heavy sport tourers are harder but by no means absurdly harder. It is little wonder many people choose cruisers: they are comfortable, low seat height, the big V-twins have nice torque for plus size riders and pillions, usually have nice back rests and speaking from personal experience, are more comfortable for the pillion. I have been a passenger on Rollie’s VStar and Harold’s FJR. The VStar, with its back rest, is a delight. The FJR, high up as the pillion will be, scares me just a little. I’m not so much advocating taking kids on as passenger as I am taking someone who believes you won’t kill them. Also remember, that because you can ride a 120 pound woman or small man on the back doesn’t mean you could take on a 200 pounder, especially one with a little mistrust.
Your pillion’s first ride should be short, have a few twists, turns, stops and starts. A ride around the block is nice. Regardless of how much time that pillion spends with you remember the tremendous honor they are giving you by placing their life in your hands. Ride slower, anticipate better, keep conversation light and ask if they’re comfortable. Keep aggressive riding for yourself and yourself alone. Let the passenger experience a smooth delightful foray into the open air with no expectation of sudden leans, acceleration or deceleration and you are likely to earn a repeat request for a ride. Take this as the great honor that it is. You’ve done well!
Most of you read my comical but true account of “Riding with the Hostile Pillion.” That, of course is a worse case scenario.
Riding with the Hostile Pillion
I encourage you to avoid those pillions. Riding pillion involves a collaborative of a skilled rider and a trusting pillion, no more, no less. You must have complete faith in your own abilities and you should have been able to deal with challenging situations on your own before you link your own survival to that of another. You should have ridden in the rain, the cold, gravel, sharp twisties, stop and go, and extensive highway and busy city riding, I’ve stated before that 1000 miles are not enough. 10,000 miles is the minimum and preferably all with the bike you plan to use for a pillion.
You should understand that slow speed maneuvers, while challenging on their own, become three fold more difficult when the mass of two separate entities are allowed to move independently. Rather than ask for strict obedience from the passenger it is best to master your own skills, which will nullify the extra ballast and its own desire to lean and move around. Asking someone to lean into turns, hold on tight, and don’t move around give will them the impression that they are in for more of a dicey proposition than even they thought and scares them. This is anathema to your goals. Rather it is best to reassure them that all the control for turns, stops, and starts are under your control and ask them to relax and enjoy the ride and that you will need nothing from them…although it would be great if they didn’t jump around all over the back seat if possible.
I’d like to start the subject out with a recent few rides. My sister has ridden bicycles and is a pretty good athlete. She has no motorcycle riding experience and her recent visit was the first time she rode. Lisa, for better or for worse, my little sister by 8 years trusts me implicitly. Riding with her was a piece of cake. I should mention we were on the big C14 and once this beast is in motion it tends to hold its lines well. Recently a friend down here, who does a lot of contracting (house) work for my mom had his 15 year old son with him, who loved Yogi. I asked if he wanted to walk Yogi for an hour every few days, since he seemed to love the dog, and I would pay him $20. He asked if I could pick him up at his house, 10 miles away, by bike since he loved my 2 bikes and had never been on a street bike. He did already in his short life have quite a few hundred miles on a shifting off road bike. His dad OK’d it and I first picked him up with the FZ1, his choice.
There were several sharp turns out of his neighborhood, crowded with kids and other goings on and Ellery (his name) is nearly my size. There was an initial, and what I consider normal, response on his part to resist going into the turns by staying upright. Being the homophobes we are in this country no guy wants to hold on to another guy. So he held onto the rails like we were on a roller coaster going into a sharp turn. I knew my job was not to talk him into leaning with me but rather to extract his confidence by showing I could and would make those turns with or without his help. I simply sped up a bit so as to be able to use the handlebars more (countersteer) and lean less. When starting I started quickly and with authority and when slowing I made sure that the last 5 MPH or so we would stop abruptly, so as not to allow the bike to wobble, as it did in the beginning. I know that by myself I could coast down to 0-1 MPH nice and easy. But with him shifting weight even minimally at this speed the bike wobbled. That’s because you’re losing the inertia of the bike going straight and your individual masses are becoming a bigger part of the balancing equation. A trick you’ve heard about, and it works, is to look far in the distance when you are stopping. Believe me, your brain will still see the car right in front of you but this maneuver takes the higher level “thinking” that you are inevitably trying to do when stopping and uses your natural balance to keep you centered. Over think and you will overbalance. If you are not comfortable coasting down to 0 MPH and keeping balanced try stopping harder (when you are by yourself) and you’ll see that you come to a nice upright stop. Another trick I use is I plan on stopping about 5-10 feet before the place I really want to stop and this way if there’s a little wobble I simply let off the brakes, wobble stops, then brake hard with my extra 5 feet and stop nice and upright.
It didn’t take long. When he believed (not by me telling him but by him seeing and believing) that I wasn’t going to let him fall our ride was smooth as silk. Your ideal pillion is the 20 something girl wrapped around the 20 something guy on the sport bike, her with her arms all around him and head resting on his shoulder. The masses are completely linked and wobble and rough turns are mitigated. But for most of us your pillion won’t be hugging you quite that tight and maybe they’ll be holding the railing, which is more likely.
Ellery had lots of bicycle and dirt bike experience, and even though the dad and I have become very close, the dad OK’d the ride, and his son wanted to ride doesn’t mean he trusts me deep down in his heart. I had a big job. I had to earn his trust so that he truly believed I needed no assistance from him (which is very hard for most of us because just like cars, we want to be in control of any particular vehicle we are in; we are “riders” after all) and he could relax, let his body move naturally and allow us to ride as one mass to the extent that it is possible. The next day I picked him up with the C14. At over 200 pounds more weight the C14 had a lot to say about balance and Ellery and I were more along for the ride. The ultra smooth suspension, the car quiet engine, and its weight seemed to keep us on track better. Still, Ellery had learned I could handle bike and the ride was smooth. I picked him up today (his choice, I offered him truck or bike he chose bike) and I truly felt like there was no one in the back.
A trusting pillion and a skilled rider are the best components of a smooth ride. You must be absolutely sure-footed and confident in slow speed maneuvers before taking on a pillion. The best pillions are usually kids, because they are trusting by nature (they haven’t learned to be as jaded like us old farts) and they rarely make trouble aft of the vehicle to cause you to feel unstable. They are also lighter and more flexible, in mind and body. I love what a good friend of mine from another forum, Steve, has done with his three daughters (he has 4 but one inexplicably doesn’t want to ride, lol). The best vehicles for pillion riding are cruisers and maxi’s because of their low center of gravity and the extra bend in your knee by being close to the ground gives you more leeway as you are stopping and stay stopped. The heavy sport tourers are harder but by no means absurdly harder. It is little wonder many people choose cruisers: they are comfortable, low seat height, the big V-twins have nice torque for plus size riders and pillions, usually have nice back rests and speaking from personal experience, are more comfortable for the pillion. I have been a passenger on Rollie’s VStar and Harold’s FJR. The VStar, with its back rest, is a delight. The FJR, high up as the pillion will be, scares me just a little. I’m not so much advocating taking kids on as passenger as I am taking someone who believes you won’t kill them. Also remember, that because you can ride a 120 pound woman or small man on the back doesn’t mean you could take on a 200 pounder, especially one with a little mistrust.
Your pillion’s first ride should be short, have a few twists, turns, stops and starts. A ride around the block is nice. Regardless of how much time that pillion spends with you remember the tremendous honor they are giving you by placing their life in your hands. Ride slower, anticipate better, keep conversation light and ask if they’re comfortable. Keep aggressive riding for yourself and yourself alone. Let the passenger experience a smooth delightful foray into the open air with no expectation of sudden leans, acceleration or deceleration and you are likely to earn a repeat request for a ride. Take this as the great honor that it is. You’ve done well!
