Spare helmet?

[Leo]

Bonjour party people.

Hopefully, by this time in 14 days, I'd of passed my test, therefore pillion enabled.

What do you do about pillion helmets? My thinking was, I'm not likely to have a regular pillion, so a helmet for one and all would be a reasonable good idea, I thought.

What do you think? Also, what sort of size do you think I should get to cover my bases?

I know you should wear a helmet that fits when riding, but I doubt anyone I know will fork out £150+ for a helmet they will rarely use!

What do you guys do about pillions?

[harriebird]

i would never ever take one, just too much responsibility. but this is just my personal choice. it'd be pretty impractical for me anyway because everyone i know is so much taller than me.

if i was gonna have a go on the back of someone else's bike i'd expect to provide the helmet myself!

honestly? give it a while, really get confident in yourself (esp on new bandit!), save your cash and get a really tasty exhaust instead

this isnt meant to sound patronising by the way! :grin2

[SonOfABiker]

hey mate.

I have to agree with harriebird on this one. seriously, for your own safety as much as theres (and the bike) give it a few MONTHS at least before you consider pillion! especially at this time of year, this is the best for solo learning on a bike, i promise you after a while you'll be so used to riding then that is the best time. (as you know, coming from the guy who just passed his test in november..im getting my pegs soon for pillion and im worried i havent had enough in that amount of time)

with regards to helmets though (may as well, if your anywhere near as stubborn as me you wont listen to advice lol) its up to you really. do you go cheap, and hope you dont have an accident..or spend up, and although be financially worse off, have a better chance of your pillion coming out of a possible accident? Personally...if I HAVE to supply the helmet..i would go for the more expensive one, for my own minds peace. nothing like making yourself more worried about pillions whilst riding around!

just my two cents, mate, do what you will!

[WebTone]

Agree with all before. My tip? Make your first legal pillion an experienced full licence holder. Ask them if they mind you tootalling around a car park, industrial estate or similar to you get very used to the effects a pillion has on your bike.

Braking takes longer. If the pillion doesn't lean with the bike then corners are harder. If they suddenly lean once you are committed in a corner its very unnerving the first couple of times.

Make sure you adjust tyre pressures and suspension if required and if they are really heavy take a look at your chain.

Don't dump them straight off the back when you pull away and remember not everyone is happy at 100 plus if they are not in control.

If this is teaching gran to suck eggs then apologies. Just my opinions.:grin2

[superstacker]

hey mate.

with regards to helmets though (may as well, if your anywhere near as stubborn as me you wont listen to advice lol) its up to you really. do you go cheap, and hope you dont have an accident..or spend up, and although be financially worse off, have a better chance of your pillion coming out of a possible accident? Personally...if I HAVE to supply the helmet..i would go for the more expensive one, for my own minds peace. nothing like making yourself more worried about pillions whilst riding around!



Says the guy who wears his helmet he got free from Two magazine! :)

[the captain]

with regards to the helmet...as long as its got the gold acu sticker on the back it dont matter how cheap or expensive it is...they wouldnt be allowed on sale in this country if they didnt meet the nessessary road safety standards!
All you pay for with the more expensive lids are the name, the graphics and all the fancy bits like removable cheeck pads etc....yeah theyre a lot more comfortable and a lot less noisy too but like you say..its for the occasional pillion so who cares!!!

[Juvenilerider]

Agree with all before. My tip? Make your first legal pillion an experienced full licence holder. Ask them if they mind you tootalling around a car park, industrial estate or similar to you get very used to the effects a pillion has on your bike.

Braking takes longer. If the pillion doesn't lean with the bike then corners are harder. If they suddenly lean once you are committed in a corner its very unnerving the first couple of times.

Make sure you adjust tyre pressures and suspension if required and if they are really heavy take a look at your chain.

Don't dump them straight off the back when you pull away and remember not everyone is happy at 100 plus if they are not in control.

If this is teaching gran to suck eggs then apologies. Just my opinions.:grin2

I agree with that, the first and only pillion I have ever taken was the worst 6miles of my life. The pillion wasn't a rider, and I didn't know what to tell him to do, i didn't know what to expect, and it's horrible. And that was after months of riding, personally, i wouldn't bother, make 'em walk.

[DoodleBug]

First time I took my mate pillion he was very nervous. He wasnt leaning with the bike and I was laughing at him 'cos he was all over the place. Once he started getting used to it, he was yelling at me to go faster. So I built up the speed to a *cough cough* respectible level just in time for the bike to completely break down and the engine to shut off. The feeling of motoring along at high speed, with a pillion, with no engine power is not one I want to ever repeat.

I think it will be a while before my mate accepts a lift from me again.

[bayonet]

If you've never taken a pillion before or you have a nervous first timer here are some tips.

1. Show them how to put the helmet on and do it up for them. Get on first (obvious I know, but you'd be amazed what I've seen)

2. Grab as much of the seat as you want before the pillion gets on, telling them to move back because your nuts (or gurly toilet areas) are now squished on the tank upsets pillions who fear they are portly.

3. Tell them not to get on without warning, or you'll end up under your own bike. Show them where to stick their left foot (or something will be snapped off your bike as they stand on the exhaust or caliper) and let them use your shoulder to steady themselves as they fling themselves on in a flurry of ungainleness
.
4. Get them to sit as close to you as is decent (depending whether you fancy him/her or not) as this makes controlling the bike much easier at slow speeds.

5. Tell them not to worry about all this leaning into corners rubbish they've heard over the years. Say If they sit still and keep behind you, they are in exactly the right place. Also tell them if they have cramp, itchy piles or some other problem, to only have a fidget when you're actually moving properly, not just as you're pulling up at the lights next to a rozzer with a midlife crisis.

[Mistress Pussycat]

If ya want someone for pillion practise I'll volunteer! I got my own lid too just need to get another bike now! But yeah I agree with the general jist of it all. Personally from before I had bikes and just being a pillion it was great that there was luckily always access to someones spare lid if need be. If you really want to be the biker Gent then yeah get a cheap one as the boss said they are all road legal.

[Juvenilerider]

If you've never taken a pillion before or you have a nervous first timer here are some tips.

1. Show them how to put the helmet on and do it up for them. Get on first (obvious I know, but you'd be amazed what I've seen)

2. Grab as much of the seat as you want before the pillion gets on, telling them to move back because your nuts (or gurly toilet areas) are now squished on the tank upsets pillions who fear they are portly.

3. Tell them not to get on without warning, or you'll end up under your own bike. Show them where to stick their left foot (or something will be snapped off your bike as they stand on the exhaust or caliper) and let them use your shoulder to steady themselves as they fling themselves on in a flurry of ungainleness
.
4. Get them to sit as close to you as is decent (depending whether you fancy him/her or not) as this makes controlling the bike much easier at slow speeds.

5. Tell them not to worry about all this leaning into corners rubbish they've heard over the years. Say If they sit still and keep behind you, they are in exactly the right place. Also tell them if they have cramp, itchy piles or some other problem, to only have a fidget when you're actually moving properly, not just as you're pulling up at the lights next to a rozzer with a midlife crisis.


That's fantastic :D thankyou, I might try taking pillion now I know ha

[bayonet]

The worst pillion I ever took was a student from Plymouth to a pub on Dartmoor (The Highwayman if anyone knows the area). Everytime I leant round a corner (on my FJ1200 in them days) she'd lean right over the other direction, causing me to fill my pants (and not in a good way) as the bike weaved madly. I kept asking her not to do it, but she was so hyper she just ignored me.

When we got to the pub, she said her old boyfriend used to lean his RD350 (see my age is showing) right over till his elbow was touching the ground and why didn't I do the same. They've never found her body!!!!!!

[Mistress Pussycat]

Cheek! Lol! Not the best thing to say methinks!


The worst pillion I ever took was a student from Plymouth to a pub on Dartmoor (The Highwayman if anyone knows the area). Everytime I leant round a corner (on my FJ1200 in them days) she'd lean right over the other direction, causing me to fill my pants (and not in a good way) as the bike weaved madly. I kept asking her not to do it, but she was so hyper she just ignored me.

When we got to the pub, she said her old boyfriend used to lean his RD350 (see my age is showing) right over till his elbow was touching the ground and why didn't I do the same. They've never found her body!!!!!!

[bayonet]

Cheek! Lol! Not the best thing to say methinks!I found out a few months later she was a millionaire's only daughter who was playing at being a poor student. If only I'd been more polite, I'd have a newer bike now....ho hum.

[Mistress Pussycat]

Nooooooooooo!! lmao!

I found out a few months later she was a millionaire's only daughter who was playing at being a poor student. If only I'd been more polite, I'd have a newer bike now....ho hum.

[superstacker]

:)

Only take a pillion when YOU feel comfortable enough with your riding skills. I mean that person is your responsbility and you have to consider that last minute wobble they make as you are filtering through traffic.

The brief i give to a new pillion that I haven't taken before is as so:

Ok im going to get on the bike and start the engine, when i give you the nod, get on the back making sure your feet are on the pegs and your facing the front.

Ignore the grab rail behind you and just hold on to me, particularly when pulling away. If i tap your knee when riding it means im about to speed up.

When we ride make sure you keep your feet on the pegs at all times, even if you see me put mine down. If you must wobble and fidget, do it when we are away from other cars and doing a fair bit of speed. I will lean the bike into corners, you dont have to steer for me, just don't oppose my movements.

In the unlikely event of a crash, the emergency kill switch is on the handlebars here----> this will stop the engine. If i am unconscious do not let anybody remove my helmet until the ambulance crew arrive, I will do the same for you.

Lastly just relax, Ill ride carefully and wont put you in danger. Its up to you what you do with your visor but i would advise you put it down at higher speeds.







How military am i???

[bayonet]

:)



In the unlikely event of a crash, the emergency kill switch is on the handlebars here----> this will stop the engine. If i am unconscious do not let anybody remove my helmet until the ambulance crew arrive, I will do the same for you.


That must really make them relax!!!!

[bayonet]

Nooooooooooo!! lmao!It's no good, I've sat here scratching my head instead of working for the last 10 minutes and I know it's gonna be obvious and everyone will laugh, but what does Imao stand for.

[harriebird]

laughed my arse off

[harriebird]

now can you guess what lmfao is?

[Juvenilerider]

5. Tell them not to worry about all this leaning into corners rubbish they've heard over the years. Say If they sit still and keep behind you, they are in exactly the right place. Also tell them if they have cramp, itchy piles or some other problem, to only have a fidget when you're actually moving properly, not just as you're pulling up at the lights next to a rozzer with a midlife crisis.

That.. and Superstackers advise are fantastic, I actually wanna try taking a pillion again now.

[bayonet]

laughed my arse offI thought the first letter was an L (bloody italic fonts). Still wouldn't have got it though, thank you.

[bayonet]

now can you guess what lmfao is?I can now yes.

[Mistress Pussycat]

:laugh1 We should release a dictionary on jargon speak! Bayonet you have made my day cause it's normally me asking questions like that!!
I can now yes.

[bayonet]

:laugh1 We should release a dictionary on jargon speak! Bayonet you have made my day cause it's normally me asking questions like that!!
Or people could type the Queen's english for us elderly folk. I mean I'm only using the one finger to type and I can manage it. I tried two once, but the letters don't always come out in the right order :-(.

[EmpyEll]

On the crash helmet thing, presumably you're not just buying it cos the law says so, but also for the wearer's protection? In which case it's probably worth bearing in mind that if a crash is serious enough off that the wearer finds out the difference between a cheap lid and an expensive one, then it needs to be a good fit. If it isn't, then even an expensive lid wouldn't do much better than a cheapy.
So the way I see it, buying an expensive lid for pillions is only going to be worthwhile for those of them that it fits. For the rest of them, you might as well have bought a cheapie. So perhaps you may as well just get a cheapie anyway.

(There's also the consideration that someone who don't bring their own lid is unlikely to bring their own leathers/boots/any other protective gear, so any significant off's likely to leave them pretty well ******ed anyway. But that's another story...)

[EmpyEll]

:laugh1 We should release a dictionary on jargon speak! Bayonet you have made my day cause it's normally me asking questions like that!!
Wot - like this you mean?
http://www.assessmentpsychology.com/internetglossary.htm

GTBOS ;)

[the captain]

well done that man!

[Mistress Pussycat]

Waahoo yay! Just like that!! :D

Wot - like this you mean?
http://www.assessmentpsychology.com/internetglossary.htm

GTBOS ;)

[FasterThanU]

Little muffins form access openings?

[bayonet]

Little muffins form access openings?Have you posted something here by mistake instead of somewhere 'adult'? Or is it more of this talk I don't undertand?

[WebTone]

Have you posted something here by mistake instead of somewhere 'adult'? Or is it more of this talk I don't undertand?

I reckon if Mr Lateshift were to contribute some forces acronyms it would have most baffled

[Lateshift]

:grin1 ;)

[harriebird]

:grin1

i always think this little smiley man is picking his nose :clap

[superstacker]

I reckon if Mr Lateshift were to contribute some forces acronyms it would have most baffled

The military language is whole new language, there are thousands of acronyms and most of them are job and trade specific. People at work still come out with some and im like.....eh????

[Leo]

Cheers for all the advice, people. All very handy.

I don't plan on taking any pillions out for a while. I'm gonna get a few thou miles under my belt first. Plus everyone I joke it to nearly wets their pants.

CAN'T WAIT FOR FRIDAY!! Hope I pass. *touch wood*

[Leo]

Oh, and great little speech Superstacker. Very handy I bet. You'd make a good flight steward!

[gixerkid]

Just out of interest how many forces guys on here, i know lateshift, i'm ex engineers how about you superstacker, what reg or arm you from bruv?

[Lateshift]

He is Crab Air on Heli groundcrew i think? ;)

I remember Webtone mentioning he is Ex RAF too, and if memory serves correct Fall Off is ex Army aswell ;)