pillion virgin

[captainsmelly]

i want to give my wife her first ride tonight, trouble is i've never taken anybody on the back before.
sorry that was so smutty i couldn't help it.
do i ride any different to normal (Obviously even more slow for sure)
how does the bike handle compared to when its just me?
any advice appreciated..

[G]

I'll say one thing.

Its cold, it will be dark, possibly icy, probably damp..........are you hoping she will enjoy it or hate it?

Because I know what the result will be if you take her out tonight.

Edit: You will need to think further ahead when cornering and breaking. How it ultimately feels depends on how she reacts to being on the back. Just take it slow.

[Ceri JC]

Front will go light, don't accelerate too hard, particularly whilst cornering. Main performance difference is stopping, try and avoid having to brake really hard. I prefer pillions to hold onto me rather than the bike as that way they get dragged whichever direction I lean, which is what I want. You'll have a few wobbles at low speed/walking pace to begin with, but you'll soon get used to it.

[petevtwin650]

Yes I did wonder that too.

Can you not wait for a more temperate day and in daylight too.

[MoDaddy]

any advice appreciated..

Set your expectations low.

Agree to go for a pint afterwards to laugh about it.

Have her lean with the bike and keep her feet up at all times.

No matter what happens, it will be your fault.

[SoulKiss]

i want to give my wife her first ride tonight, trouble is i've never taken anybody on the back before.
sorry that was so smutty i couldn't help it.
do i ride any different to normal (Obviously even more slow for sure)
how does the bike handle compared to when its just me?
any advice appreciated..

I took my wife out on the back of my SV 2 weeks after passing my test - was just a short trip from Covent Garden to Oval.

It helped a lot that she was an experienced pillion.

I would agree that a November evening is not the best time to do it, why not wait till the weekend?

If your wife hasn't been pillion before, maybe you have a mate that has that can let you practise with?

[petevtwin650]

If your wife hasn't been pillion before, maybe you have a mate that has that can let you practise with?

Kinky :smt047

[_Stretchie_]

Mate I started off riding like you do in the rain (if you are sensible that is) then you'll get the feel for it and carry on from there.

Apart from that, I'd listen to what PeteVTwin says for sure. Those two live on a bike!!

[Ceri JC]

If your wife hasn't been pillion before, maybe you have a mate that has that can let you practise with?

Alternatively, why not lend her to a more experienced mate to "break her in" for you. ;)

[lily]

I would go with the others, are you sure tonight is a good time to do it.

Other than that when she does go on the back, tell her to learn with you/the bike, not make any movement when you are not excepting her to.

And point for you, when you think that she is getting use to it do not go into a corner like you are solo!!!!

[petevtwin650]

And point for you, when you think that she is getting use to it do not go into a corner like you are solo!!!!

Did Drew then Lily?

Can't imagine that at all.:D



Apart from that, I'd listen to what PeteVTwin says for sure. Those two live on a bike!!

Only cos I can never get rid of her Stretchie. Not matter how hard I try.

[captainsmelly]

G, i hope she will enjoy it, she's very excited. weather is crap but i've got good kit for her to wear
Ceri JC, i wobble already, oh dear! point taken about holding on to me too. also saves putting grab rail back on
modaddy, it always is!
soulkiss, all my friends are either (really) fat or hate bikes

[lily]

Did Drew then Lily?

Can't imagine that at all.:D



He did i had been a pillion for a total of an hour when he decided i was enjoying it a lot and he would show me what the bike could do!

I WAS NOT IMPRESSED! :(

[Drew Carey]

Neither was I, can still remember the smack around the head!!!!!

[petevtwin650]

G, i hope she will enjoy it, she's very excited. weather is crap but i've got good kit for her to wear
Ceri JC, i wobble already, oh dear! point taken about holding on to me too. also saves putting grab rail back on
modaddy, it always is!
soulkiss, all my friends are either (really) fat or hate bikes

Plan further ahead, use the rear brake and only use the front sparingly. She may prefer holding on to the grab rail. She may use the tank to brace against under braking. Avoid aggresive acceleration. Up the rear preload one or two notches. Also your headlights may dazzle oncoming drivers.

[Ceri JC]

Oh, one other thing, tell here to only wriggle to "get comfy" either at a standstill when you have both feet down or when in a straight line at speed. I've had 2 seperate pillions do it when I was making slow, very tight turns on the grounds that, "it felt safer because we were going slowly" :)

[captainsmelly]

that wasn't a very nice thing to do, drewcarey!
how do i adjust the preload?

[captainsmelly]

Oh, one other thing, tell here to only wriggle to "get comfy" either at a standstill when you have both feet down or when in a straight line at speed. I've had 2 seperate pillions do it when I was making slow, very tight turns on the grounds that, "it felt safer because we were going slowly" :)

bloody hell mate, i hope you banned them after that!

[hovis]

ive never had a pillion:(

[Dangerous Dave]

Be smooth and plan ahead, you don't need to ride any slower but it would be a good idea if it is her first time.

[kitkat]

when i first took my kids on the bike, I used love handles and told them to sit still and only to move into different position when bike was going in a straight line. I also told them to close their eyes when going round first few corners and relax, seems to help with the leaning with the bike. saying that kids are lighter and you dont really notice them on the back. good luck dont know if a wet night in november is the best time to try it though

[Frank]

ive never had a pillion:(
AAAHhhhhhhhhhh bless

[Frank]

The bike wont be as quicv to flick around ,but you will find that it feels much more planted on the road ,and not as twitchy.I prefer to ride two up for those reasons.

[hovis]

AAAHhhhhhhhhhh bless

but have been swampped with offers via PM ;)

[Frank]

but have been swampped with offers via PM ;)
Big hairy men dont count.

[Miles]

Once your moving you wont really notice she is there if you're being gentle and smooth with everything.

Progressive is the main thing, no sudden actions.

I took my bird out after about 2 weeks from passing my test and all was fine.

[Drew Carey]

I haven't done no where near as many miles as Pete & Lissa 2 up, but a large majority of my fun riding has been 2 up.

First off, as peeps have said, the slow speed light feeling is scary at first, but just be smooth and use the back brake only and its fine. But, once at speed, if I'm honest I can hardly tell. If anything, the additional weight makes the rear of the bike feel more planted. I found that I rarely use the front brakes, as easy to just lightly adjust speed with the rear.

As others have said, the main thing.......have a good chat to your lady, make sure she understands she can't move, unless your ready. Also, she must must must must lean with you, not against you. Finally, if she can, get her to watch where you are going over your shoulder......it means she will brace before brakeing and will be ready when you accelerate. Nothing worse than the head / lid banging.

[missyburd]

My first ride on the back of YC was on the Isle of Man, one of the short TT circuits, he broke me in gently....NOT! :D I loved it though, didn't scare me off, much to his disappointment :lol:

It depends very much on the person too, if someone hasn't been on the back before and is just too nervous before they've even got anywhere then don't risk it. As someone mentioned, try get a mate or experienced pillion to practice with beforehand. Although a lot of folk might think the pillion doesn't have to do much, they couldn't be more wrong, both rider and pillion should be anticipating everything going on so they can act accordingly. Admittedly the pillion can get away with a fair bit before owt goes tooooo wrong but there ain't no point testing how much they can get away with!

YC wouldn't take me on the back until he'd done 1000 miles (that was the condition of me going on the back), then, having had that time to adjust to the bike and his own riding style could he then consider being responsible for someone else.

And make sure your lady goes with the bike round corners as opposed to leaning the opposite way. I was told that before I got on and that was all I pretty much thought about the whole time that first ride :rolleyes: I was paranoid for ages about doing something wrong and putting him off, he had to keep reassuring me I was doing fine and he didn't notice anything amiss!

[Ceri JC]

Probably only a problem with my gf as I've not noticed it with anyone else, but if she like "looking at the scenery" tell her not to do it over your right shoulder. I turned to check my blindspot to see 50% of my view obscured by her lid.

How did the ride go? Hope we didn't put you off too much. :)

[_Stretchie_]

Quote:
Originally Posted by _Stretchie_ http://forums.sv650.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?p=1688276#post1688276)

Apart from that, I'd listen to what PeteVTwin says for sure. Those two live on a bike!!

Only cos I can never get rid of her Stretchie. No matter how hard I try.



Wheelies mate.. :smt003 Be careful what you wish for. You'd get cold without that sheep behind you... ;)







No, not Lisssssa

[captainsmelly]

we chose to wait to the weekend, lets face it, you lot know better then me! cheers everyone