Does anyone actually like carrying a pillion passenger?

Does anyone actually like carrying a pillion passenger?

Author
Discussion

Tribal Chestnut

2,997 posts

182 months

Friday 13th May 2022
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Hugo Stiglitz said:
You ain't a knee down trackday type riding a SV650 laugh
Why not?

EL11SEG

1,849 posts

180 months

Saturday 14th May 2022
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poo at Paul's said:
I love it. But then I got a proper bike for it, 1290GT, my daughter is a nutter and loves wheelies, we chat away for hours on the intercom, it’s some of the best times of my life taking trips with the kids on, particularly my daughter, who is bike mad.
Take the missus out and it’s good to scare her a bit.

It depends who you have on the back, where you’re going and what to do when there.

We are off to Moto GP lemans next week2 up on a 300 cc Honda! Don’t ask! But it will be excellent!
Pretty sure you recommended the intercom, got one now and the bike arrives next week my 10 yr old daughter super excited to be pillion.

I never minded taking a pillion as long as they had been on a bike before, sitting at 5’4 on a fireblade didn’t give me much room for error if I couldn’t take the weight of both. I never liked taking folks taller than me tho as I thought it looked stupid laugh

poo at Paul's

14,147 posts

175 months

Saturday 14th May 2022
quotequote all
EL11SEG said:
poo at Paul's said:
I love it. But then I got a proper bike for it, 1290GT, my daughter is a nutter and loves wheelies, we chat away for hours on the intercom, it’s some of the best times of my life taking trips with the kids on, particularly my daughter, who is bike mad.
Take the missus out and it’s good to scare her a bit.

It depends who you have on the back, where you’re going and what to do when there.

We are off to Moto GP lemans next week2 up on a 300 cc Honda! Don’t ask! But it will be excellent!
Pretty sure you recommended the intercom, got one now and the bike arrives next week my 10 yr old daughter super excited to be pillion.

I never minded taking a pillion as long as they had been on a bike before, sitting at 5’4 on a fireblade didn’t give me much room for error if I couldn’t take the weight of both. I never liked taking folks taller than me tho as I thought it looked stupid laugh
The intercom is a right laugh. paying for fuel with my lid on, and all my daughter does is heckle me and say stupid stuff about the guy serving, or the person in front of me! Seeing if i can keep a straight face. Evil little cow!

Brett748

919 posts

166 months

Saturday 14th May 2022
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I’ve never ridden with a pillion but I’d be more concerned about slow speed riding having a 80kg bloke with a very high centre of gravity on tight slow turns at junctions etc.

Is it as noticeable as I think?

bogie

16,382 posts

272 months

Saturday 14th May 2022
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Brett748 said:
I’ve never ridden with a pillion but I’d be more concerned about slow speed riding having a 80kg bloke with a very high centre of gravity on tight slow turns at junctions etc.

Is it as noticeable as I think?
Not that bad really. Once you are moving above walking pace its manageable. Ideally you adjust the suspension preload/damping for the combined weight. A tall lightweight bike may feel worse than a 300-400Kg tourer that has a low CoG.

Riding with a pillion is like any other skill on 2 wheels, it just needs practice.







TorqueDirty

1,500 posts

219 months

Saturday 14th May 2022
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I have always hated it. I don't like the responsibility of having someone else on the bike and I don't like having a big weight on the back that moves around without your control.

Took my brother out once years ago on my first big bike - Kawasaki GT 750 - and the silly sod decided to anticipate a bump in the road by jumping up off the seat just as we were going over it at about 50 - 60 mph. The bump was on a slight bend and we bloody nearly crashed because he jumped slightly sideways too to add insult to injury.


HustleRussell

24,691 posts

160 months

Saturday 14th May 2022
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The first time I carried a pillion passenger it was two Vietnamese men up a steep dirt track in heavy rain after a land slip. The bike was a Honda Win 125.

I went a bit too slowly at one point and the bike bogged down in a pool of wet sand, it was funny to look down and see two extra pairs of flip flop shod feet trying to scoot us along hehe

five50

520 posts

186 months

Sunday 15th May 2022
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Just the title made me laugh!!

No pillion pegs on the KTM. I take the kids on the Xmax 300 - completely changes the ride - which in itself is much less fun - I try to ride as smoothly / safely as possible.

But am always keen to do it for the shared experience. My two kids have different helmet sizes - need to see if there is an intercom which switches between helmets.



Rob 131 Sport

2,516 posts

52 months

Sunday 15th May 2022
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I’ve had my 2015 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 for 6 years and never taken a Pillion Passenger.
However i always include Pillions on the insurance and have often considered it.
It just seems that the pillion seat is really small and the only thing to hold onto is a strap type thing. Does anyone else have any experience on taking pillions on sports bikes.

Charliecloud

302 posts

197 months

Sunday 15th May 2022
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NO

anonymous-user

54 months

Sunday 15th May 2022
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No. Happy to accept the increased risk to my health if I took a spill but don't want to have the responsibility for a passenger.

Hugo Stiglitz

Original Poster:

37,122 posts

211 months

Sunday 15th May 2022
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Rob 131 Sport said:
I’ve had my 2015 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 for 6 years and never taken a Pillion Passenger.
However i always include Pillions on the insurance and have often considered it.
It just seems that the pillion seat is really small and the only thing to hold onto is a strap type thing. Does anyone else have any experience on taking pillions on sports bikes.
My next bike is going to be a adventure bike with back box so I'll be happier that he won't have to hold my waist and that'll remove the holding me, swinging back and forth due to proximity. To be honest he's purched right on top of a small patch of seat. He's alot braver than me!

black-k1

11,923 posts

229 months

Monday 16th May 2022
quotequote all
Hugo Stiglitz said:
Rob 131 Sport said:
I’ve had my 2015 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 for 6 years and never taken a Pillion Passenger.
However i always include Pillions on the insurance and have often considered it.
It just seems that the pillion seat is really small and the only thing to hold onto is a strap type thing. Does anyone else have any experience on taking pillions on sports bikes.
My next bike is going to be a adventure bike with back box so I'll be happier that he won't have to hold my waist and that'll remove the holding me, swinging back and forth due to proximity. To be honest he's purched right on top of a small patch of seat. He's alot braver than me!
I find one of the best things for pillions, especially if they're young and/or inexperienced as a pillion, is the Pillion Pal belt. Gives them something easy to hold on to that is where their hands want to be and is connected to the rider.

https://jsaccessories.co.uk/product/bike-it-pillio...


Drawweight

2,882 posts

116 months

Monday 16th May 2022
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My now wife had never had anything to do with bikes till she met me.

I took her pillion for a couple of years without complaint till we had a test run on a ZZR 1100. ‘Buy that’ she said.

Only after riding the Kwak did she realise that not all bikes were like my GSXR 750 laugh

If you get a bike built for it then a pillion can be fun.