First Time Pillion

We (my wife and I) have toured all over Europe and the British isles by bike and have never used or wanted to use a comms system. We can and do often sit quietly for long periods of time without the need to constantly chatter away. I like the peace and quiet of this way of touring. Each to their own but definitely recommend trying a few rides without comms before spending a lot of money on something you might not need or want.

 

99% of the time we wear open face helmets, no intercoms thank you, been shouting and pointing for 45 years, but enjoy the shared peace in-between.

 

In case no one else mentioned it, let your pillion hold on around your waist if they need to feel secure (expect the occasional helmet bump), or grab rails if they’re happy enough with them. Don’t let them hold your shoulders or they can pull you backwards when you accelerate, which is not what you want when you have the throttle in your right hand…

Mostly, as people have said, take it nice and easy to get used to riding together. You’ll work out what’s best for you as you go along. Happy smiles are the goal.

 

It's like dancing. If the pillion holds you, they will be one with you and dancing through the twisties is fun. You will bump helmets occasionally, it happens. I used the shoulder tap technique for communicating, Ended up buying my own bike and eventually got comms.

 

I always taught my pillions to hold onto my waist (and I found that very useful as I could "feel" their emotions depending how tightly they held!)
However I'm getting older and larger around the waist so arms no longer go all the way around and I the last few times I've been concerned about losing my wife off the back, so this week, when I decided to take my youngest son out for his first ride(s) I bought one of those pillion handles (the Oxford one https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002XLKLCG/) and my experiences are:

Firstly it took a few minutes to work out how the 2 belts fitted (there are 2, one clipped and one velcro, so even if one fails then it won't come off) and I felt very comfortable wearing it and secure knowing my son would be safe.
However it did cover the zip to my pockets, so getting into pockets was a bit more difficult.
In terms of in use, I felt more secure knowing my son had a good grip and he also felt very comfortable holding them (he still can't get over the fact that there's no seatbelt like a car )
He was relaxed and in fact a model pillion just going naturally with the lean of the bike and never upset the balance with odd movements.
It was very comfortable in fact I almost forgot he was there.
I lost the "feel" of someone holding around my waist (but I also never got that if they had a grab-rail to use, either).
The only thing we did notice is that on the third long-ish trip he relaxed too much and didn't keep his back straight so could feel his back from slouching poorly.
Overall, it's a great item for the pillion and gives them additional options, and I'm extremely glad I bought the item.

 

He's now 16 so getting him a moped (he's currently doing his CBT today, so I'm sat here waiting to hear from him ). As such we got him some proper gear, suitable for both the 30mph model and a longer high-speed ride.
The bits that look like bike gear are the helmet, jacket and gloves, then we got some leisure style, though still bike specific jeans and and short boots. My ethos is that a pillion needs to be as safe as the rider and so should wear similar clothing dependent on the journey.
My personal minimum if I take someone pillion is, arms, legs and hands covered plus some stout shoes, then choose the roads and ride according to what they are wearing.

 

It's better if the pillion does all the wriggling about before you get going!

 

Glad you had a good time Daniel. It might be worth noting that the Speed Triple is not really the best bike for carrying a pillion. The higher and further back the pillion is the more effect there is on handling and balance of the bike.

My Mrs has ridden pillion on just about every bike I've had and the last two I've owned have been the best for carrying a passenger, a Bonnie and a tiger 800.

The thing she dislikes most is an uncomfy saddle on long rides, and let's me know all about it. For this reason alone I recommend you don't get on bike communications.

 

And if they must do it on the move then only when you are bolt upright

 

The angle of the pillions legs tell you everything, when riding you are moving your feet frequently for gears and brakes and feet down at stops and junctions etc. The pillion however is expected to keep their feet and body generally still for long periods of time, this is exacerbated by a sports style bike. Keep rides short and build up to longer distances to accustom pillions to sitting in that position, take more fag/pee/coffee stops to allow for a stretch.

 

@DanielB:
Because my wife rides a motorcycle herself, I only sometimes have my daughter with me as a passenger. We communicate verbally only when the machine is stationary. During the ride, we have established a few hand signals.
Stop because of ... = hand with thumb down
Is everything all right with you? = Thumbs up
Everything else is secondary from my point of view.

On the subject of holding on, I also have a little story:
On our first trip together, I told her that she always has to hold on to me. My challenge was then only that she almost "crushed" me and I nearly lost my breath, so tightly she held on to me.

I do not think of the handles on the bike, because you can easily "lose" the pillion when accelerating hard! When holding on to the driver is then also when braking the forward movement of the pillion not so strong and the helmets also do not bump against each other.

If she does it like the woman in the photo, then you´ve a problem!

 

38"?!

 

"What's yer missus like, Dawsy?"

"Legs up to here..."

"...?"