Riders – Could you go pillion?
By Bikerchiq • 27th September 2011 • 132 viewsOnce you have obtained your motorbike licence, would you, indeed – could you, ever get on a bike as a pillion?
Once you have passed, presumably you now know a lot more about how a bike handles, its capabilities and its limitations. Knowing this, could you then put your life in control of anybody else by going pillion? I for one struggle with this. The very few times I have been on a bike as a pillion, I either hung on until my knuckles were blue, while praying to the biker god to just let me get to my destination alive or I needed a prompt change of underwear on arrival. One journey was only 3 miles from Mr Bike Fixit Man to my house. I took my bike to have some work done and had to leave it there a few hours. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your opinion) one of the male members of my old bike club ‘The Rusty Sprockets’ was at the shop and ‘kindly’ offered to give me a ride home. As we rode down the back streets of Cardiff I almost snapped the grips on the bike as I was gripping so hard. This chap liked to go down the back streets in first or second gear at what felt like 50mph either accellerating fast or braking hard. I believe his bike was a GSXR 1100 or somthing similar. It felt like I was perched on top of a vibrating flying brick.
Only once have I ever been on the back of a bike and trusted the person at the helm 100%. When I was still trying to master corners at speed (well faster than 20mph) a good mate of mine got me on the back of his bike (a Pan European) and flung me round the wild lanes of Wales like we were on rails. I was, at the time, majorly nervous of anything faster than 50mph as this is all I had ever done – fat chance of anything more in the Cardiff rush hour on the commute to work. This particular biker was well qualified to show me how to corner properly and was (is), I have to add, a particularly foxy specimen. I could have stayed on the back gripping round his waist all day! He did comment though beforehand that the speed I rode, I would have been quicker parking the bike and walking round the corner! Not sure this is quite fair but possibly too close for comfort.
So what about taking a pillion on the back of your own bike? I don’t like taking a pillion and have only done so on a very few occasions. If I am going to take a pillion I have to always remember to tell them how to behave on the back of the bike and to ‘go with the bike’. If you don’t tell them they will try to sit up straight on a bend and you will both end up in the hedge. I remember once when I worked in Thornhill in Cardiff, a colleague cut his finger badly and had to go to A&E. The closest was Caerphilly miners hospital which is just the other side of Caerphilly mountain. I offered to take him. The only problem was I had a Honda H100A at the time and he was 6ft 2. To be fair the little bike managed to get us both to the top of the mountain (albeit in 1st and 2nd gears). The bike then pegged out at the top and refused to start. We were forced to go and have a swift drink in the pub at the top (sshhh don’t tell) until it cooled down.
Fianlly I am going to post a pic of my bike – Kawasaki EN500. I owned her from about 1994 until 1998 and then sold her and bought her back again in 2003. She has a lovely squishy seat on the back for anyone ever brave enough to use it.
BQ x
Kevin Jones said: On September 27, 2011
I am not a lover of pillion riding myself, probably cos i have been a solo rider for so long. However I have taken a few on the back but I have to say my wife is the main passenger. She has been “indoctrinated” in the corerct way to behave on the pillion seat and I never have a problem Mind you it does help that I ride a rather large cruiser (Honda VTX 1800) with a large and comfortable rear seat and sissy bar. She has only been riding for just under two years but now loves it and can’t get enough. I must confess to riding only for fun as the car is the main mode of transport, but roll on next summer.
Keith Flook said: On September 30, 2011
I have only once rode pillion, a long time ago, on a friends Yamaha RD200.
Since taking up biking and passing my DAS around 4 years ago, I regularly ride with a pillion (my wife) who I met just as I was taking up biking and married 3 years ago.
As she has ridden pillion before she was a natural and the main problem was trying to keep her awake on the back of the Deauville and the Pan European.
When she is on we use a top box to stop it feeling like she will come off the back and gives something to lean back against.
Most of the time she rides with her hands resting on her legs and only when braking or on a twisty road does she take hold of the grab rails or me.
It’s a good job we have Autocom fitted as sometimes I really need to make sure if she is still on the back and awake (although her singing to the music on the stereo system is a downside to this
)
Bikerchiq said: On September 30, 2011
Keith – I have seen just the thing – a t-shirt, printed on the back with ‘If you can read this then the missis has fallen off’.
Keith Flook said: On September 30, 2011
Yes, Bc, I have seen that one too but it usually has a less polite version of “missus” on it.
stinkywizzleteeth said: On November 16, 2011
I havent ridden pillion for over 20 years. and i doubt if I ever will. Past experience and a strong survival instinct prevents me from taking such a foolhardy ride. When I was about 12 years old my uncle took me for a spin on his old bike and decided to show off by doing a wheelie, unfortunately he was crap at doing wheelies and we ended up in a heap in the middle of the road! Needless to say i didnt go pillion on my uncles bike again. Then when i was 19 I decided to risk riding pillon again this time on my own bike with my mate doing the driving. Yep you guessed it the pillock did a wheelie away from the lights unfortunately i wasnt expecting it and i ended up hanging off the back of the bike with my feet lodged under my mates arms and my head inches from the road doing about 60. Ill do the driving thanks !
Arthur Callaghan said: On November 18, 2011
My wife loves being pillion and we have good comms so she can tell me if she is feeling a bit uncomfortable… that’s usually a ‘Nooooooooo’ sound. It rarely happens because I know what she is OK with. I gave a friend a lift of the back to my house after work one evening and when we got there he complained that he couldn’t relax because he had to keep dodging the HGV wing mirros as I was filtering along the A12. I took it easier with him on the return trip. I haven’t been pillion for a long time but I didn’t like that I wasn’t able to lean the bike in and corner how I would if I’d had the handlebars.
Scotty said: On January 27, 2012
Yes I have ridden as a pillion on many occasions, but only with people I know and trust that can ride well. Saying that I must admit it is way nicer and better riding your on bike all the time. I have been riding legally since 1981. Before that it was trail / scramblers in the bush.
Carl Burtonwood said: On February 11, 2012
I passed my test 13 days ago I got insured so I can take a pillion on the bike, but I must say me and the wife arnt the thinest of people and I decided to take the misses on the back but quickly regreted it has the bike totally changed, so I would advise anyone who just passed their test to really get use to the bike with just you on it and dont take a pillion on the back untill you know how the bike rides and how it handle with you on the bike because its a totally differant bike when you take a pillion.
Respects Burti