Carrying a Pillion How-To

Bloody smart arse . Ok maybe if I wasn't so lazy I should have said " How to carry a PILLION PASSANGER" as aposed to carrying a passenger cowboy style LOL.

Seriously though alot of good info here. One mistake I made was I kept the bike on the centre stand while she got on, but then once we were on the bike I couldn't get it of the stand. Neighbours would have had a good laugh watching me rock backwards and forwards .

Everything else is mainly common sense, it's just the low speed wobble I need to take care of

 

Lots of really good tips and tricks in this thread!

I ride quite a lot with my girlfriend as co-rider and she loves it. In the beginning she was a bit afraid of twisties but nowadays I can hear hear laughing just as much as me as I open up the throttle at the end of the curves! :thumbsup:

Anyway, here are some of my reflections regarding this subject:

1. I find it helps a lot to keep a more upright position when going slow. Kind of like you do (or should do) when braking. Keep your back straight and the eyes up ahead. Also, it helps if you keep the rpm up a bit higher than usual and control speed with the clutch, like you do when you are solo and have to make a slow u-turn in a parking lot.

2. You should work out communications before you ride. That is of course if you do not ride with a intercom system. For example, if we meet a big truck I pad her left knee on the outside which she interprets as "hold on tight, turbulence could be coming". I usually do the same thing when I'm about to overtake slower vehicles.
If she needs to stop for some reason she taps my right shoulder distinctly.

3. Tell your co-rider to be the bike and to keep a firm grip with legs and just go with the moves of the bike and driver. To act like a bag-of-potatoes works fine as long as the road is open and line of sight is good, but whenever riding twisties she has to be more active and she says it helps her to keep her eyes over my inner shoulder (the one facing the turn). That way the leaning comes natural for her.
Also, teach the co-rider to keep their feet on the passenger pegs at all times. It can be difficult in the beginning when they're new to leaning, but they will learn it quickly if you repeat the rules.

4. Teach your co-rider the basics of braking on a motorbike. That way there will be less moments when the passenger comes sliding to your back resulting in poor or totally uncontrolled braking.

Wish you many hours of safe and happy 2-up riding!!

 

my best advice is to never, ever ride withthe misses on the back. i already made that mistake and now i cant keep her off it. i hate riding two up ( probably because the vfr handles like a 1980s caddy with chopped springs when i do. im 6'8 265 and the misses is 5'4 120...with gear we end up at about 400 lbs which i think is really pushing it) now im pushing the msf/ninja 250 route. GOOD LUCK!

 

Wobble. Wobble. Thanksgivings not here yet.

I have problems with the wobble too. I have found that by stopping more aggressively will settle the bike more. Not endo style but a firm stop. Not one of those riding a Harley stops that take forever coming down a 1/2 mph at a time. Same with taking off from a stop. Be assertive and go. I have found this bike is not great at slow speeds or low rpm's. Two up riding is awesome though once you get going.

The rest of the advice here so far is dead on. I just wanted to pass on what I found for wobble.

 

I rode with my wife on the back of my bike for the first time a few weeks ago. My wife is the perfect passenger. She has ridden with her dad on on big cruisers and her brother on sportbikes. She knows how to behave on the back of a bike. I, on the other hand, have never riden with a passenger. I was a basket case, she was having a great time.
The most important thing I learned is that riding with a passenger is just like riding a heavier bike. A good way to parctice would be to strap about 3-50lb bags of cement to the pillion and go for a ride. Or you could ride a Harley and pretend you lost a front brake rotor, good handling and about 30 bhp!
Keep the speed reasonable in all cases and slow the transitions a bit. I'm now looking forward to the next time we can go for a ride toghether.