We all love to ride to mesmerising destinations with our loved ones. A motorcycle adds more adventure and life to the plan. Not all riders are habitual of riding with a pillion, so here we have some pointers you should keep in mind while riding with a plus one to have a hassle free ride.
1. Gear up, all the time.
No matter at what speed you’re going to ride, you should always wear all the gears before saddling the bike. The need for riding gears is same for both rider and pillion. Due to the fact that pillions stand a higher chance of injury in a motorcycle crash, unless it’s your enemy sitting behind you, you wouldn’t want to hurt your better-half. We see a lot of female pillions across the country not wearing any gear neither a helmet. If you are one of them, beware ladies, the rider doesn’t want you to live for too long.
2. Try not to head-bang
Head-banging is when the pillion’s helmet hits the rider’s. The way to avoid it is to teach your pillion to sit at attention while braking or accelerating. Not everything is to be done by the pillion, even the rider needs to be gentle on acceleration, braking and shifting gears. Since the pillion is not a fortune teller, they cannot predict sudden changes in speed or rest. Talk to your pillion about it before the ride, it will pay off dramatically.
3. Mounting the bike or getting down
One of the biggest tasks on a ride with a pillion is climbing up or getting down off the bike. As a pillion always notify the rider that you’re getting on or off the bike, as the rider needs a firm grip on the handle bar and should have both the feet on ground. Else you could lose balance and both of you could end up lying on the road.
4. A patient pillion at slow speeds
Always tell your pillion not to move on lower speeds during traffic conditions. As the weight distribution plays a vital role in handling the motorcycle. The movement of the pillion on low speeds will make the bike unstable which can lead to tougher handling and even a crash. Balance is very important at low speeds.
5. If you need to talk
If your pillion wants to talk to you, tell them to pat your shoulder, the rider should lean a bit backward in order to listen to the tales, since we all know very well how easy it is to talk with helmets on. Here the helmet’s intercom systems aid in proper communication and are the best options to avoid shouting under the helmet.
6. If your pillion gets scared
Is your pillion a scaredy cat or a big woos? Don’t mock them for it because sometimes the conditions can get real tough, you never know what you are going to face on the road. Talk about it with your pillion, tell them if they feel uncomfortable in any situation, close their eyes and hold on tightly, and let the rider handle the situation. Once the scary event is over, pull over and let the pillion catch their breath. Sounds crazy, right? Ask a first time pillion about it.
7. Brush up on your braking skills
Both you and your pillion should know how it feels during emergency braking. A good suggestion would be to have some hard braking practice in order to face any difficulty on the road. This is aimed for permanent pillion rather than the once in a while pillion.
8. Preparing the bike for a pillion
All motorcycle behaves differently with different weights. You need to set the pre-load of the suspension according to the weight of both rider and pillion in order to get best comfort and handling. Riding with a pillion on the long run will result in forms of fatigue and unease, so to attend to these matters and achieve a longer smoother ride, opt for aftermarket back rest and foot pegs and several other comfort aimed accessories.
9. Hold on to the rider– not the clothes
I’m sure we all know a person who just wants to just rip the clothes off your body, but doing so while riding a motorcycle is neither the right time nor the right place. Tell your pillion to hold on to you or grab the rails of the bike, if the bike does not have grab rails, then lucky you, the pillion have no option but to hug and snuggle you. Some people don’t even know what purpose the grab rails serve. If the pillion is one of them, tell them it’s their own duty. Holding the rider or the grab rail greatly increases stability while braking, accelerating or shifting gears. So grab them rails or hug them riders.