Responsibilities when riding with a passenger

[nakedape]

I forgot something...when my dad was dumb enough to tell my mom how many cagers tried to kill him every day, she refused to get on his first two bikes, 900RR and 1998 R1. Absofuckinglutley not!

He matured or something and coaxed her into a ride on the gixxer 1000. Apparently, their stories differ, he ran it up to a ton+ in second gear, slowed down and said "wasn't that awesome?" Mom said something like "i've had enough" and they went home. As soon as she got off the bike safely at home, she handed him the helmet and said "I can't believe you did that. You said you would go slow! Asshole!"

It's been a few years and dad's gixxer lacks a pillion seat. It sounds funny as I think it, but he should really get a Harley or Gold Wing and show Mom what a good, careful cruise can do for the soul...NApe

 

[spddrcr]

I used to ride with passengers until my neighbor went to prison after he dumped his girlfriend off the back of his bike while doing about 90+mph on highway 4, he safely made it home but she didnt fare so well, she was hit by a semi instantly after falling off and was obviously destroyed beyond all recognition. the only way they found out it was her was by dental records and the fact that they found a couple of teeth imbedded in the semi trucks tires.

After that incident i dont want to put anyone besides myself at risk while on a bike, not to mention i dont like how bikes i ride perform differently with a passenger:thumbup

 

[Karbon]

A little bit of an O.T. question.

How much riding experience did you have before you took your 1st passenger for a ride?

 

[ucdoughboy]

A little bit of an O.T. question.

How much riding experience did you have before you took your 1st passenger for a ride?

i took my first pasenger after a little less than a year and 10K miles. When i first started riding i thought that after a month i'd know enough to do it but i'm glad i didn't =D.

 

[Enchanter]

:bump

 

[jdubau]

I ride like a grandpa when my girls on the back. I keep everything very smooth and roll to a stop using more rear brake than normal to keep the front from diving.
If it's someone new I def have a pre chat and always make sure they wear gear too.

 

[Razel]

Funny, this getting bumped...gave a friend of mine a ride from Concord to Fremont last night, and some of these questions got an initial "rhut rho..."

How many of you ride differently when carrying a passenger?

Ride much less aggressively. Larger focus on being smooth

Do you speak to your passenger before the ride to ensure you both know what to expect from each other?

Only talked about how to get on... :blush

What type of behavior will you not allow from your passenger?

If I think they're the type to misbehave, they don't get on.

Do you have adequate insurance to cover your passenger?

Found out today that I do...

Would you take a someone for a ride if they did not have health insurance?

They're covered by my policy (found out today)

Are you able to resist showing the passenger what you can do/what the motorcycle can do?

Almost... :teeth

 

[socal_sumo_78]

1. health insurance required
2. no moving around on the seat unless they know how/when to do it
3. I ride slower - always - it's one thing to push it when it's just me but I don't want to have something bad happen to someone else (or me really)
4. no fatties!!

EDIT: ATGATT!!

 

[Starshooter10]

How many of you ride differently when carrying a passenger? What do you do differently?

Do you speak to your passenger before the ride to ensure you both know what to expect from each other?

What type of behavior will you not allow from your passenger?

Do you have adequate insurance to cover your passenger?

Would you take a someone for a ride if they did not have health insurance?

Are you able to resist showing the passenger what you can do/what the motorcycle can do?

i do everything differant

i do speak to my passengers first...
i tell them to keep there spine lined up with mine or we will go down (normally scares them into doing it)
tell them to not adjust there ass unless they let me know first or we are at a light
they keep there head on the INSIDE of a turn (this helps ALOT)

i do not let them release hold... and if they do a quick quick of the wrist makes em hold on....

i carry state min for my bikes....

health insuance is up to them... my job is to warn them of the dangers of not having a cage... getting on is up to them

i can resist... though sometimes my GF wants to take turns fast..

forutunally my centerstand hangs low... so with her added weight it's easy to drand it and that makes her happy =-P

my biggest runle for a passenger....

be a hot chick =-P

i've given some of my guy freinds a ride to there car ect... always told em... sit FAR back (and i sat FAR forward) dont grab me... and hold on the the rear handle/rack

 

[filamklo]

sorry for the bump but I have a question about riding pillion..

How do they get on the bike? I'm scared that when they're trying to get on the bike, it's gonna tip over.

 

[ucdoughboy]

1. Tell the passenger that you will always be the first to get on and the last to get off the bike

2. Tell the passenger that she must not get off the bike until you tell her so.

3. Show the passenger where she must put her feet

4. Make sure that you can pretty much flat foot the bike. When you tell the passenger to get off make sure you are ready to support the bike as the passenger tends to put a lot of weight on one of the passenger pegs when getting on and off. This tends to tip the bike in a certain direction and may cause you to drop the bike if you aren't expecting this weight shift.

5. Generally speaking ... try not to have a passenger heavier than you unless the passenger has experience

6. Looking at your join date, I hope that you have not decided to take passengers after only 4 months of riding. We all want to impress that girl but please think of her welfare first

 

[Razel]

One thing to add...makes life easier for everyone involved.
Have the passenger put their hand on the shoulder of the rider on the side they are getting on from (left or right). Have them stand on the peg all the way up (stand straight-up on the peg). THEN they can swing their leg over, put their second foot on the other peg, and sit down. Does away from the weight shift of trying to get your leg over to the other side by pulling on the rider for support. LOTS of clearance when you're standing up and swinging your leg to the other side, too. Besides, when both legs are on the pegs first, the passengers butt lands pretty much right in the center of the seat. No secondary shifting needed, usually.

 

[turkishdelight]

i removed my Bi*tch seat. just got the cap on there. its not worth it to me. if anything happens god forbid...insurance wont help you sleep at night if your friend is in a wheelchair, scared for life.

 

[ST Guy]

Quite simple. You have their life in your hands. Ride accordingly. The details of what that entails is already spelled out here and from other sources easily sourced.

 

[slowpoke]

As of late, I've stopped taking passengers. As fun as it is, it's just not worth the risk. Riding is something I love, and I'm prepared for death or paralysis, but most girls that want to ride aren't prepared for that. They just want to romanticize on a bike

But when I did take passengers, I'd give them a little talk before we set off, prepared them for things they'll experience when on the bike. I would tell them how to sit and what to do. I explained some basic signals. I made sure I had adequate protection for them and that they had some sort of coverage since my insurance doesn't. Usually, girls would decline wearing gear :confused I'd bring a helmet, jacket, gloves, and ask them to wear jeans and high-top shoes, and they'd be like "Pass!" and hop on in a tank top and shorts :rolleyes

I don't carry passengers because of that. I had a buddy in high school ride with his g/f once and they were hit by a drunk driver. She was killed and he lived. It's one thing that sticks to my mind when people ask me if I could take them as a passenger...

 

[littlebeast]

have a friend who's looking to mod his 999 to a bip so he can take his wife for a ride. i suggested that might not be the best thing to do for a first time passenger.

and in case it hasn't been mentioned - be sure to tell them not to lean the opposite direction you do - not an uncommon instinct for uninitiated pillions.

 

[z32zzr]

newbie question: would the "race hump" on the jacket create enough gap between passager and rider to reduce "head bump"??

 

[Enchanter]

newbie question: would the "race hump" on the jacket create enough gap between passager and rider to reduce "head bump"??

"Helmet Kisses" as I call them, are wholly the passengers responsibility. Once the figure out how to stop them, it is relatively easy to never do it again. Just take the time to explain it to them and tell them to stop.

 

[Nemo Brinker]

+1. Helmet kissing is all about the passenger's abdominal strength, proper bracing, and anticipating and following the riders' motion. My more experienced pillions never do it anymore. Tim, do you have suggestions for how to properly communicate helmet bump avoidance techniques?

I've ridden with a passenger while wearing a race hump, and I didn't like the diminished feeling of contact--made it harder for the passenger to anticipate my moves, too.

Also, as a short person, I agree with the poster who mentioned that you ought to be able to flatfoot or near it to take a passenger on a particular bike. The "slide your rump off the seat in order to put your foot down at stops" technique, which works so well on tall bikes when you're solo, is much harder to pull off with a passenger.

 

[clutchslip]

Also, as a short person, I agree with the poster who mentioned that you ought to be able to flatfoot or near it to take a passenger on a particular bike. The "slide your rump off the seat in order to put your foot down at stops" technique, which works so well on tall bikes when you're solo, is much harder to pull off with a passenger.

Yeah, it's harder, but not impossible. Here is my suggestion:
Tell your passenger, BEFORE you ride, that if you yell, "bail", that they jump the hell off. You can't anticipate everything.

I am REALLY anal about not hurting anyone else while riding on my bike. I have (on the intra-web) beat the crap out of BARFers for "railing" with a passenger.

I have posted before about going 135 mph with a passenger. AND I STILL feel guilty about it!