Riding with a pillion passenger is completely different from riding solo. For this article, here’s a few tips for those people who want to ride two-up and don’t want to come unstuck.
Introduction:
Riding a motorcycle with a passenger can be enormously enjoyable. Both you and your passenger get to share the thrill and the fun of the ride. But, before to launch headlong into the experience, there are a number of essential elements that have to be taken into consideration.
With some care and attention, you can make the experience safe and comfortable for both you and your passenger. OK, so a few things to know about riding with a passenger. First off, there’s no need to be afraid of doing so. With some advance preparation, and the acquisition of some new skills, it's great fun to share your hobby with somebody. In this article we’ll talk you through the basic things that you need to consider. Some of the tips may sound pretty basic, but its worth reminding ourselves nonetheless.
Your Riding Skills:
You may be a good solo rider, but riding with a passenger is quite different. First and foremost, please remember that you are potentially taking someone’s life into your hands. You may choose to ride like a nutcase when you’re alone, but you’ll need to rethink that attitude when riding with a passenger.
If you’ve not ridden with a passenger before, please don’t just dive in and expect it to be easy - because its not. It requires some adjustments to be made and for you to develop some new skills.
You may be fully familiar with how your bike handles and performs but, once you have a passenger on board, all of that is about to change. The biggest challenge to overcome is how to manage all of the extra weight. This will have a huge impact on the way that your bike performs/handles, which is something that you’ll have to make allowances for. Even the simplest things, such as lifting your bike off its side stand or balancing the bike at a stop, all require more focus and control.
Before you ride on the streets with a passenger, you’ll need plenty of practice. There are a couple of ways that we suggest you start this process.
• Practice with and Experienced Rider:
If possible, make sure that your first passenger is an experienced rider. They’ll know exactly what to expect, they’ll know how to be a passenger, and they can anticipate/recognize problems.
Arrange to meet them in an empty car park, so that you can practice in a safe environment. Acknowledge that you’re not ready to ride on the streets yet. Your first few rides will probably be very tentative, as you get familiar with the extra weight and how it affects the handling of the bike. However, the more you practice the better it will become.
• Add weight to the passenger seat: If you prefer to practice alone, you can try loading the pillion seat with weight to simulate a passenger.
The way to do this is to load a large bag, with lots of heavy items in it, and strap it securely to the passenger seat. The closer the weight is to an actual person the more realistic it will feel.
Whichever method you choose to weigh down the bike, we recommend that you practice some technical skills. These skills include U-turns, emergency braking, rapid direction changes and plenty of slow speed manoeuvres.
The more you do these, the more proficient you will become and you’re confidence level will increase. Once you’ve mastered riding in the safe environment of an empty car park, you can start to consider actually riding on the road.
Setting Up Your Bike:
To get the most out of riding with a passenger, it’s essential to make sure the bike can handle it. Naturally, big bikes handle the extra weight of a passenger far better than smaller ones. Regardless of the bike, you’ll probably need to make some adjustments to it. The extra weight will affect the way that your bike handles. So what do you need to do to prepare the bike to carry a passenger?
• Passenger Foot-pegs - Make sure your bike is equipped to carry a passenger with pillion foot-pegs and a suitable rear seat. There may be grab handles, or a strap on the seat, that the passenger can hold on to.
• Adjust the Suspension settings - Wind on the pre-load on your suspension to cater for the extra weight of carrying a passenger. Check your owners manual for appropriate settings. Some bikes come with electronic suspension, so adjust to suit. Again details should be in the owners manual.
• Adjust Tyre Pressures - Check the recommended tyre pressures for your bike for carrying a passenger. This is usually printed on the swing-arm (or in the manual).
Briefing Your Passenger:
Before riding with a passenger, make sure that the passenger knows exactly what to expect. This is especially important for passengers who have never been on a bike before. Here’s a brief checklist of what to tell the passenger so they know what’s expected of them.
• Proper Motorcycle Gear - It’s your responsibility to ensure that both you and your passenger wear proper protective motorcycle gear - including helmets, boots, jackets, pants and gloves. This will protect both of you from the elements as well as provide protection in the event of an accident.
• Communication - You could consider how you are going to communicate with your passenger. The easiest way to do this is with an intercom system - if you have one. The alternative is to use hand signals. It doesn’t really matter what these signals are, so long as you both know what they mean. Every time you come to stop, its a good chance to check on your passenger and exchange a few words about the ride.
• Smooth Acceleration & Braking - In order to make your passenger is comfortable and relaxed during the ride, make acceleration and braking as smooth as possible. Therefore, please don’t use sudden bursts of acceleration, or dramatic braking, as this rapid shift in weight can seriously affect the balance of the bike. Aside from constantly bumping your helmets together, this destabilizes the bike and can be extremely dangerous for both of you.
• The Bike’s Behaviour - Take the time to explain to your passenger exactly how the bike will behave during the ride. For example, the bike will dive forward slightly under braking and the front end may lighten during acceleration. This will ensure that the passenger knows what to expect and help them to relax.
• Remain seated - Tell the passenger that they shouldn’t wriggle around on the bike, as this movement of weight will affect the bike’s handling.
• Cornering - Explain to your passenger that its perfectly normal that the bike will lean in the corners. Tell the passenger to follow your movements and lean with the bike. Basically, they need to remain in a neutral body position with their back at right angles to the seat at all times. There’s no need for your passenger to over-lean into the corner or counter-lean either. Both of these shifts in the neutral body position will unsettled the bike and may cause handling problems.
• Seating position - Show the passenger where to sit, where to put their hands & feet. If the bike doesn’t have grab-handles, tell the passenger how to hang on to you. Tell the passenger to keep their feet up on the pegs at all times - even when at a stop.
• Getting on and off - Make sure that the passenger knows not to get on or off the bike unless you tell them to do so.
• Situational Awareness - Make sure that the passenger knows to be aware of what’s around them at all times. They are an extra set of eyes and ears for you and can help identify any potential hazards for/with you. For example, if the traffic ahead has stopped, they should brace themselves for some braking.
• The Passenger is the boss - This may sound contradictory, but the passenger is the one who’s really in charge. You are just the rider. If they want you to slow down or stop, for whatever reason, you should do so. If we put it another way - your job is to pilot the ship and your passenger is the Captain of that ship.
Protective Gear:
It’s essential that riders know that they are entirely responsible for their passenger’s safety. The passenger’s life is in the hands of the rider. We know that sounds a bit dramatic, but it’s fundamental to understand this.
When it comes to riding gear, both the rider and the passenger should be properly attired. This means, proper motorcycle jacket, pants, boots, gloves and a full-face helmet.
If the rider chooses not to wear protective gear for themselves, that’s bad enough. But to allow a passenger on the bike with no protective gear as well, that’s just plain fool-hardy. If your passenger is not suitably attired, we strongly suggest that you don’t take them on your bike.
Getting On And Off The Bike:
To enable your passenger to mount and dismount the bike safely and securely, you’ll need the bike to be as stable as possible. As the rider, you should sit on the bike first. Then put the side-stand down and rest the bike on the side-stand and put both feet down on the ground. Then put both hands on the bars and hold the front brake. This will give you a stable platform that won’t move when the passenger gets on/off the bike.
The easiest way for the passenger to get on the bike is to hold on to the riders shoulders, stand on the left passenger foot-peg with the left foot, and throw the right leg over the seat and place it on the right passenger foot-peg. The passenger can then lower themselves onto the seat.
To allow the passenger to get off the bike, the rider simply puts the side stand down, rests the bike on its side stand, places both feet on the ground and holds in the front brake. Once the rider has the bike in this stable position, they can signal the passenger to dismount. The best way for the passenger to dismount is to place their hands on the rider’s shoulders, stand up on the foot-pegs, then swing their right leg over the seat and onto the ground and, finally, step off the left foot-peg.
Some Final Thoughts:
With a passenger on the back, the bike will handle completely differently. This can be extremely un-nerving for riders carrying a passenger for the first few times. Braking distances are increased, acceleration is reduced, steering will feel heavier and rather vague, low speed manoeuvrability is harder, cornering will feel completely different, and ‘fork dive’ under braking will increase.
The key to riding with a passenger is to keep everything SMOOTH. No harsh braking and no aggressive acceleration - as this will unsettle both the passenger and the bike. Periodically, throughout the ride, make sure the passenger is OK and listen to their feedback. The key is to make your passenger feel as comfortable as possible at all times.
Riding with a passenger takes plenty of experience and great deal of practice. Take it very easy for the first few times in order to build up your confidence. Better still, take the time to practice in a safe environment - such as an empty car park - until you’ve become proficient.
At a stop, be prepared to balance the extra weight. When carrying a passenger, some riders like to get both feet down at a stop in order to increase stability. For anything complicated - such as parking the bike - ask the passenger to get off while you perform the manoeuvre.
Don’t be tempted to show off. The bike may be very powerful, but there’s no need to prove how fast it can go, or how far it can lean over in a corner. This is probably not going to end well.
Lastly, for both the rider and the passenger, we highly recommend that you ONLY RIDE WITH PEOPLE THAT YOU REALLY TRUST.
Even though this isn’t meant to be an exhaustive or comprehensive ‘how to’ guide, we hope that you found the information useful. We’d love to hear about your experiences of riding with a passenger. What advice do you have for your fellow riders? Contact us and let us know.
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