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I gave two different guys rides on my last Connie and had two totally different experiences.

The first was the guy I bought it from. I needed to drop off my rental car so he followed me to the airport, then I gave him a ride home on the bike. Well, he is a competitive racer and an experienced instructor. He gave me lots of pointers afterwards, tips on how to be smoother on the bike. These are things that could not easily have been done by an instructor just observing.

The second was my wife's brother, who had never been on a bike before. He sat way back on the passenger seat holding on to the rails, and with his 180+ pounds way out over the tail like that, the bike was very unstable. He enjoyed it but I was a little scared.

I know there may be some fodder in there for you all to make jokes, but I'm just passing along my experiences. I say give him a ride if he's not too heavy, and give him good instruction on how to be a proper pillion.

 
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I rode pillion when a friend took me to pick up my Feejer last year. He had a GW so there was more space between us than on a Feejer. Personally I did not care for it. I like many of you want to be in control.

 
Give him your FJR for the day. FJR is an easy bike to ride, low seat height. easy ergo's and plenty of torque a beginner can throw it in 3rd gear and ride for a day without having to shift gears. Then he'll come back knowing if it is for him ....without violating any man2man laws of nature.
Are you nuts? Giving your bike to someone who's never ridden to try it out?!? That's crazier than giving him a ride on the back!!! :dribble:
I know, I know...but it was a hotty girl in my youth, only in a parking lot, and the only damage was a crushed turn signal lense

but I learned

my wife and kids ride on the back all the time

 
OK , a twist how many guys would take the pillion seat with a woman rider?
An acquaintance attempted to teach his girlfriend how to ride on his bike by riding pillion with her at the controls. The ensuing crash took months to heal from. I'll pass on riding pillion with any rider and especially inexperienced ones! But if I had to ride "*****" I'd pick an experienced female rider.

I've ridden pillion twice in my life and both cases were with a male rider and due to broken or crashed bikes. On the other hand I regularly take a male passenger riding. See my avatar for the first time my son went riding with me - when his legs were finally long enough to reach the pegs on my Blackbird. He's approaching 16 now and I suspect our riding days will be over soon due to those Man rules (or perhaps Teenage rules that state you shouldn't acknowledge the existence of your parents).

 
I don't think I would post that ride report ...
You guys are silly... why not give the guy a ride? He obviously trusts you and wants to try it with someone else taking the initial responsibility. Doesn't seem like that big a deal to me... I've taken a couple of my girlfriends for a ride cause they couldn't find a male rider to take them. What's the big deal?
+1

 
So whatever happened?? Enquiring minds want to know... ;)
It just so happens that he asked me if I would take him on a long ride, to Laughlin and back... That's about 90mins each way...

I definately was not up for that but he has not mentioned it since.

Maybe he saw the video posted above!!!! B)

 
I make it a rule never to ride on back if I outweigh the pilot...so she'd have to be an *awfully* big girl! :)
Pffft... how about an *awfully* strong girl with great riding skillz? :p
LOL Maybe but I'm 6'3" and 270lbs. The bike's balance would be *way* off and I really wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on *any* rider, male or female. I don't want someone to have to rely on their strength to hold my fat self up. :)

 
I make it a rule never to ride on back if I outweigh the pilot...so she'd have to be an *awfully* big girl! :)
Pffft... how about an *awfully* strong girl with great riding skillz? :p
LOL Maybe but I'm 6'3" and 270lbs. The bike's balance would be *way* off and I really wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on *any* rider, male or female.
Just need to align the weight properly on the bike... center your weight by sliding up closer to the pilot (said the spider to the fly). ;)

 
So whatever happened?? Enquiring minds want to know... ;)
It just so happens that he asked me if I would take him on a long ride, to Laughlin and back... That's about 90mins each way...

I definately was not up for that but he has not mentioned it since.

Maybe he saw the video posted above!!!! B)
I guess for me it would depend on the individual, but I think the "can you give me a ride so I see what it is like" is a bit lame........ And asking for a 3 hour "show me" well, that doesnt fly..... I've given freinds rides when necessary, no big deal. Maybe 3 times in 20+ years of riding? But some guy I really dont know asks to ride *&@%^ for 3 hours?? I dont think so....... Here is what I would tell him. "I'll give your wife a 3 hour ride, and she can tell you what it is like" :yahoo: Did he want to stop at a biker bar too? :dribble:

But regardless of all that, my gut reaction would be to tell him if he is serious to invest the time and money in the MSF course. NO way he will be able to tell what it is like as a pillion. I mean come on, he has ridden a bike right? Just go find a big hill and coast, or pedal fast..... This summer my wife and I did some biking on the coast of Maine, and on some of the downhills we bombed down at 50-60mph....

 
I guess for me it would depend on the individual, but I think the "can you give me a ride so I see what it is like" is a bit lame........ And asking for a 3 hour "show me" well, that doesnt fly..... I've given freinds rides when necessary, no big deal. Maybe 3 times in 20+ years of riding? But some guy I really dont know asks to ride *&@%^ for 3 hours?? I dont think so....... Here is what I would tell him. "I'll give your wife a 3 hour ride, and she can tell you what it is like" :yahoo: Did he want to stop at a biker bar too? :dribble:
But regardless of all that, my gut reaction would be to tell him if he is serious to invest the time and money in the MSF course. NO way he will be able to tell what it is like as a pillion. I mean come on, he has ridden a bike right? Just go find a big hill and coast, or pedal fast..... This summer my wife and I did some biking on the coast of Maine, and on some of the downhills we bombed down at 50-60mph....
+1 to all that. The request for a 3 hour ride scared me off for sure. If he brings it up again it will be a "No". But hopefully he wont....

 
Tenchi: Careful, dude. Your brain is showing through. :p
Hahaha... What is it that Robin Williams says? "The problem is that God gives men a brain and a *****, and only enough blood to run one at a time."

I just remembered when I finished my MSF course, I sat on the back of a BMW K1200R where I outweighed the pilot by a good 30 lbs. in order to get home.

I didn't look like i was pushing 200 then, look closer to someone that weighs 160 or 170 at most, so when this guy rocks up on his Beemer to give me a lift back, I'm all, "Uh... you want me to ride that? *negative comment* You want me as a PILLION?! Oh dude... seriously... that is probably not a good idea..." Anyway, he steadied himself and gave the signal to jump on. I had no other way back, calculated the risk of being a heavy pillion vs. walking home, and decided to jump on the back. I put my hand on his shoulder, a foot on the foot peg, and double confirmed that I was getting on - and I did so very, very slowly. As I put more pressure on the foot peg, the bike started to tilt, he realised I was not the 160 lb lightweight he thought I was. Even though he's got a helmet on and I had my helmet on, I could still hear him yell, "Good god, you're such a fatarse." in his Russian accent.

To this day, this is our favorite story to share when we first meet someone and they find out we're riding buddies - always good for a beer and a laugh.

 
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