Pillion Ride

[Willow]

So this past weekend I had the opportunity to ride (for a very short distance) on a Valkyrie pillion.  I hadn't really thought about it before but I believe it had been over forty years since I was on the passenger seat of a moving motorcycle.  Sitting on my own doesn't count.

I was sincerely frightened.



So how long has it been since the rest of you were on the back of the back of a bike?

[Serk]

Besides the fact that I just wouldn't fit... I just couldn't do it. No "I'm too manly to sit on the back" BS to it, I'd be too utterly terrified to be on a motorcycle that I'm not the one in control of...

[Big IV]

but I think I would be terrified. I've been in control of the bike for way to long to sit behind someone. I'm also afraid that I will try to steer from the back of the bike and un-correct the rider.

[Goody]

I can't do it any more.  I want control of the bike too bad.  Probably won't ever ride passenger again unless it's an emergency.

[DFragn]

But my last pillion position was my only pillion position in my entire 35 years of MC life.

AND, it SCARED the Livin' Crap out of me just a few years ago. I wanted to drop my bike at my shop while out cruisin' with KingBee. It was only 9 miles back to my house on rural roads.

I thought he'd found me a part time job de-tasseling corn for a moment when my fat a$$ threw him & the 1800 Wing off on a left turn 'T' intersection with multiple cambers.

To be honest. He's the only one I would ever get on the pillion with. Heterosexually of course.

I'm OK in a car with someone else driving, but on a bike I'm not comfortable at all.

[LemonDrop]

Before I got my first bike, I rode pillion twice.  Both times I was scared to death.  Didn't think I would ever ride my own because of this fear...but when I was in control and could see what was going on around (in front) of me, I loved it, and got my own.

[flatsixrider]

Never.  Not once.  I am the first and only rider in my family and the opportunity never presented itself. 

[Black Pearl's Captain]

To the best of my memory I've never rode bitch. I have been a little too drunk to ride a time or two and that doesn't count does it?

Raymond

[R J]

I rode Bitch at InZane 8, there are several pictures of me there, so I can't deny it.

The pilot was a great gal also....

Thanks Messy, I enjoyed the ride.

[Kendall]

My first ride on a bike was the back of my cousins in 1972 i believe.  That was the only time on the back of a bike.

[Jabba]

I don't recall the LAST time I was there.  A few years ago I recon.  I don't like it either.  Not one bit.

Jabba

[Jess from VA]

The only way I could ride back there would be unconscious.

Last year at Inzane, a bunch of us went on a fast and furious ride thru the mountains with NormanDog and SmokinJoe.  NormanDog led that hairy ride with his spouse on the back.  When we stopped for a break, I told her she was without question the bravest person in the crowd.  Everyone smiled, but no one disagreed.

[Normandog]

two or three yrs ago I climbed on the pillion of Lucky 13's bike in the parking lot @ Mt. Mitchell. He did a few wheelies.  The wheelies didn't scare me. In fact, I kinda enjoyed them. It was those U-turns that scared the crap out of me. I don't know how my wife and other women ride back there all day. 

[Normandog]

The only way I could ride back there would be unconscious.

Last year at Inzane, a bunch of us went on a fast and furious ride thru the mountains with NormanDog and SmokinJoe.  NormanDog led that hairy ride with his spouse on the back.  When we stopped for a break, I told her she was without question the bravest person in the crowd.  Everyone smiled, but no one disagreed.

I agree 100% Jess. I could not do what our wives do. Even if they rode slower. 

[Gilligan]

1966. I guess she really trusts me. 

[hubcapsc]

I can't remember sitting on the back of a motorcycle since sometime in the early 70's... maybe I'm just
blocking it out.

A couple of members of a band I was practicing with drove the Mini Cooper the first afternoon
I showed up with it. We were practicing at the fiddle player's house. She drove down a
very curvy road that she obviously knew very well while telling me a story about how
her daddy taught her to drive in a mustang in the mountains of Virginia. She also told the
bass player that I was screaming like a girl, but I deny it.

-Mike

[PharmBoy]

When I was 12, this girl wanted to ride my Cushman scooter, so I crawled on behind her.  She made it all the way across the street before crashing into the curb.  It was a good lesson and no real damage.  Won't be doing that again!...JTL   

[Lyn-Del]

I can handle riding on the back of the trike, but not a bike.  My most recent pillion ride on a Valkyrie was about 8 months ago, across a mostly deserted shopping center parking lot, and though I trust Wizard, I was terrified back there, it's a helpless feeling.  I opted to walk back.

[RedValk]

last time.....in the mid or late 70s...ie....at least 30 years ago. AND....it scared the ever lovin' ....well....you know what out of me. i needed a ride back from the YAMAHA shop (yes, i had an XS1100 i think at that time...if not that bike....my XS750?). dropped off my bike, and another young airman (US Air Force...i was a young enlisted troop at the time)....was giving me a ride back on his Honda 750-4. He was taking corners and intersections/turns HOT....and there would be gravel in these turns....we'd hit the gravel...in the middle of the turn....and my ....eh.........rear end, would pucker up and i'd dang near squeal like a ...........

scared me to death. NEVER AGAIN I told myself....and....so it has been to the VERY best of my knowledge!

Like others have said...once YOU HAVE BEEN IN CONTROL (AND......know the inherint risks and dangers of the situation)....it's VERY hard for most of us to "let go" and let someone else be in control....while you sit back there helpless.

Passengers who have NEVER ridden a bike....as in controled it themselves, JUST DON'T KNOW....they are fine riding beeaach. But most who have ridden, don't ever want to ride "b" again!!!!!!!!!!! 

[RedValk]

actually, that last comment...passengers not knowing better...reminds me of a story about Sherry...that i have shared with many of you. But it's worth repeating.

when i was a young airman in Southern Cal....i met Sherry. I invited her out on a date...and the ONLY vehicle i had...was my trusty motorcycle. Now, i THINK it was my Yamaha XS 750 that this happened on?

Anyway, first date....i take her up in the mountains...i mean the REAL mountains of Southern Cal....like up about 10000-11000 feet. I'm taking corners pretty hot....like i'm used to doing....BUT I'M USED TO DOING IT....SOLO. So now, she is on the back...and frankly, i'm pushing it a bit much....to have a passenger back there....and i haven't been riding double much for sometime.....

Finally, i go into one hard corner TOO FAST. Bottom line, i keep trying to turn the corner....i've got the bike all leaned over....pegs are dragging....my foot is getting pushed up on the peg that is dragging....and we're running out of road! It's a SHEER drop off ....the side of the mountain.....NO GUARD RAIL! finally....all leaned over....the inevitable happens. I GO OFF THE ROAD! There was like a raised section of asphalt...kind of like a curb. I LAUNCHED off that asphalt...landed in the grass and dirt and rock on the side of the road! We're probably about 10 feet from going off the side....

the launching action...and sudden jarring when i landed....made me ACCIDENTALLY give the bike EVEN MORE throttle! the rear end fish tales in the grass and dirt on the side.....and we lurch BACK TOWARD THE ROAD....hit the asphalt 'curb'....and land back on pavement......the rear tire squealing like mad!

i ride on....get things under control....look down to see if any bodily fluids have left me and stained any clothing? Nope..........good to go.

I'm shaken up. I ride a few miles to a safe place to pull over down the road and pull over on  a little turnout area. I wanted to calm down....pull myself together. I get off the bike, take off my helmet....look back at my "virgin" date...and ask Sherry "well, what did you think about all that?"

She replies she thought it was pretty exciting.....but figured......I HAD THINGS UNDER CONTROL ALL THE TIME....so it was cool.

I say nothing............let her think, yea....i had things under control...

Fast forward several years. I'm a Motorcycle safety instructor...teaching a class (i even have all the bikes for the class at my disposal). She wanted me to teach her to ride. So i do. Then i get her a bike. Then months later....when she was ready...we go riding in the mountains. At one point, we stop for a break....she walks over and HITS ME. I say "what the hell was that for?"

She says "that's for that time you almost killed us on our first date....i just didn't know any better at THAT TIME. NOW, I KNOW...."

End of story...........about riding "b" 

TRUE story......

[motomama]

To the best of my memory I've never rode bitch. I have been a little too drunk to ride a time or two and that doesn't count does it?

Of course it counts!!!!!!

[Baloo]

One of my friends used to have an early Goldwing when I was a teenager. I rode on the back a couple of times then and it didn't scare me. Then, the last time I sat on the pillion of a bike was 2 years ago. I stopped by a Honda dealership because I was looking for a new jacket. The owner started trying to sell me a Goldwing. I told him I was not in the market for a new bike at all. When I told him that I rode a Valkyrie, he tried to make me road test a GW, saying how much more confortable they were, etc... I declined the offer as I had no time for this. So he told me to get on the bike and he'd show me how steady a Goldwing was. So I got on the pillion and he started off. At first, he scraped the pegs on both sides in the dealership yard. At that point, I already had enough! But then, he turned around and told me that he'd do a "little" acceleration. That funny fellow got the machine up on it's back wheel!!. Then, he dropped me off, went at the other end of the yard, turned around and got back to me standing on the saddle with both hands up in the air saying " See! ya can't do this with you Valk, can you?" I replied that I sure could not do this cause I expected to stay alive a few more years. So if you ask me if I liked the experience, I'll tell ya: NEVER AGAIN!! I guess it's a matter of confidence in the pilot. I suppose if I really had to ride behind someone I really know well and trust, I could, but then again, I wouldn't enjoy the ride.

[R J]

She replies she thought it was pretty exciting.....but figured......I HAD THINGS UNDER CONTROL ALL THE TIME....so it was cool.

I say nothing............let her think, yea....i had things under control...

Fast forward several years. I'm a Motorcycle safety instructor...teaching a class (i even have all the bikes for the class at my disposal). She wanted me to teach her to ride. So i do. Then i get her a bike. Then months later....when she was ready...we go riding in the mountains. At one point, we stop for a break....she walks over and HITS ME. I say "what the hell was that for?"

She says "that's for that time you almost killed us on our first date....i just didn't know any better at THAT TIME. NOW, I KNOW...."

End of story...........about riding "b" 

TRUE story......

TimBob, you is lucky she didn't kill ya............    If it would of been my Red, she would have.........

[Chrisj CMA]

I think I have only been on the back of a bike just twice (as an adult)  First time....in 1999 I visited my brother in Denver and rode on the back of his Kaw 1100....then a couple years ago on  a local ride I lost a front valve stem and had to ride with a Valkyrie riding buddy back to get my truck....only he had a solo rack and I used my jacket for padding......ouch

Wasnt scared either time, however I would have rather been in control

And RJ......the passenger seat of a trike dont count as far as this thread goes

[ChromeDome]

The last time I road B---- was when I went back to the dealer to pick-up my brand new 2001 Valkyrie Interstate. It was Albuquerque,NM. ... May of 2001 and my 84 GoldWing had broken down. Long story short, decided to just trade in the wing and get the Valk. So I climb on the back of my buddies Goldwing and turns around in the seat, lifts my visor, lifts his visor, looks me dead in the eye and says ... "You're a package, just a F*$#ing package. Don't move!" Needless to say I didn't move and that was the last time I rode B----.

[doubletee]

Wow. That made me think! It's been 30 years for me since I've been on the back of a moving bike.

[Black Pearl's Captain]

To the best of my memory I've never rode bitch. I have been a little too drunk to ride a time or two and that doesn't count does it?

Of course it counts!!!!!!

OK so I rode bitch ONCE, like I said, I had a bad excuse.

Raymond

[Tundra]

Never have, never will. Couldn't trust my life with any rider.  Too many THINK their good riders.

[Jesh]

Forty years ago. a buddy picked me up hitch hiking after my bike broke down. He had a little suzuki.I damn near fell off when he hit first gear, just about had a hold of his shirt and he hit 2nd. By third gear I was doing a backward roll down the road. Had my helmet on,had a good laugh,had my last ride on a pillion.

[Stanley Steamer]

when my Yamaha Vision 550's stator crapped out and one of my riding buddies had to bring me home...about 30 miles one way...the second time was when one of my Valk buddies took me to pick up MY Valk...that was about a 200 mile ride...not very fun...but it was worth the final reward.....

These pics are of one of my SCRC friends named Sloppy Joe...his Hardley picked up a screw in his tire, and he needed a ride home to get his truck and trailer...I rode back over to help him get it loaded back up...since we were at a WOW Lunch..with MANY Lady riders, there was NOOOOOOOO way they would let us sneak off without taking tons of pics, but we decide to "Ham it up" for the camera, yeah, Iknow...not usually my style... ...

[F6Mark]

Didn't anybody ride on the back when they were a kid?  When I was growing up in W Tx, all the big guys had Honda 90's, 125's, a Cushman or 2, and one guy had an Automatic Yamaha 80... They'd give us rides all the time.  Then my good friends big brother got a Triumph, Holy Jeezus that was the most exciting thing around- I wanted one!
But someone asked the other day when I was leaving a party if I was riding on the back of our friends bike.
My response:  That'll be the day.
I don't need that kind of excitement! 

[Lyn-Del]

Nope, didn't ride on the back of a bike when I was a kid.  I wasn't allowed near motorcycles as a kid. 

When I was 15 and dating a guy with a Suzuki, I sat on a bike (driver seat) for the first time.  As a long time horse rider, I habitually tried to grip with my knees.  Not a good thing on a hot bike, worse if you're wearing shorts.

Four years later, my first husband taught me to ride.  Twenty five years later, an MSF instructor (now a good friend) taught me to ride RIGHT.  And I haven't looked back.

[R J]

And RJ......the passenger seat of a trike dont count as far as this thread goes

Why not, it is still a bitch seat..............  It didn't have a back rest either.....

[sheets]

Good stuff!  I couldn't handle it either.  I have to be in control.  I follow a commuter bus every day for nearly 50 miles, one way, on nearly the same schedule as me.  I don't like the way the driver handles that thing on the mountain roads - summer or winter.  No thanks.  I'll drive.  Thanks for the laugh!!!   

[Scott in Ok]

I sat behind the Captain of the Black Pearl out in Albq at the Blast.  Didn't scare me a bit, but then again I wouldn't ride bitch with just anyone.

There's a picture floating around somewhere, so go ahead and post it...I ain't skeert. 

-Scott

[Al in Arkansas]

My bride started riding when she was 9.  Worked her way up to her first 750 Honda when she was 17.  In those days a 750 was still a big bike.  I will ride behind her any day.  

Al

[SlowRoad]

  Probably been about 20 years for me. I am sure it was a sight to see. I was going with a friend to pickup his truck from the shop. He said we would just go on the bike. Now those of you who have seen me know that I am not a small person. So, you can imagine me on the back of a "650 BSA" with the 200# driver.    I am sure it looked like a clown show. I wasn't too scared at the time, but wouldn't even consider it now. ??? Especially on something that small.
  I do have to admire our wives for trusting us, but Angie wouldn't even consider riding her own bike. She likes to be the passenger since she always has to drive when we go anywhere in the car.

[fudgie]

I rode on the back of a new wing in 02 after my buddies softail fell over on my Valk. I rode about 30 miles. It felt weird! So back in the RV I went.
Last time was on a back of a Dyna in 06. Was at a local beer tent and didn't want to leave my scoot there since I was drinking. Rode it to a friends house and a guy I didn't know picked me up on the Dyna. As we back out of the drive he dumps it! Picked it up and we rode a mile to the tent.
Don't like it a bit so i'll stay up front. Heres GiG riding bitch at the CBR. 

[GreenLantern57]

Have to say I learned how to ride on the back of a 67 Honda 90. Can't remember the model, but it wasn't the scooter looking one. Ended up being my first bike. Rode on the back of several bigger bikes with my friends. We never thought twice about sharing rides. Once I turned 18 and bought my first "big" bike, 75 cl360. I have only rode back seat 2 or three other times since. Usually to the shop to pick mine up

[RP#62]

I asked my wife why she won't ride on the back.  She looked at me like I was stupid and said 'cause you can't reach the handlebars.
-RP