When a rider carries a passenger, he is taking that person’s life into his hands. There are few times most civilians will have this huge of a responsibility for another person’s life. I feel thisresponsibility ranks up there with the responsibility a soldier in combat has for the lives of his fellow soldiers. When carrying a passenger, your every act impacts on the safety of the person that trusted you enough to get on the back of your motorcycle – don’t let her (most passengers are female) down.
When a rider carries a passenger, he is taking that person’s life into his hands. There are few times most civilians will have this huge of a responsibility for another person’s life. I feel thisresponsibility ranks up there with the responsibility a soldier in combat has for the lives of his fellow soldiers. When carrying a passenger, your every act impacts on the safety of the person that trusted you enough to get on the back of your motorcycle – don’t let her (most passengers are female) down.
Before you load up and head out for that ride, talk with your passenger. Explain what you expect her to do and not do. Go to a parking lot and do some turns, curves, and stops. Do some turns from a stop, both directions. Practice braking. Do some swerves and weaves. Let her feel what the motorcycle is going to do out there on the road.
Your passenger’s body movement should pretty much copy yours. She should lean with you and look into curves and turns as you do. Even though you are riding through a beautiful countryside, she should keep her head swiveling to a minimum. Whipping her head around to keep her eyes on something can easily cause you balance problems. If either of you wants to get a better look at the view or take pictures, stop.
When you take your friend out for her first ride is not the time to show off your extreme abilities on a motorcycle. Don’t take that 40-mph curve at 60 mph. Showing her how many times you can dart from lane to lane in a ¼ mile while barely missing the bumpers of the cars isn’t acceptable (you shouldn’t be doing this while you are alone). Do I need to mention that showing her just how powerful the brakes are and how quickly you can stop at an intersection isn’t a good idea? Launching off on a green light like you are at the drag strip might be fun for you, but not for her. While you may be able to do these things easily on your own (I hope you aren’t because you aren’t being a safe rider if you are), you will just end up scaring her. She will probably not want to ride with you again. Now this may be what you are trying to achieve, but wouldn’t it be better to just tell her you don’t want her riding with you rather than scaring the crap out of her and endangering her life? Not only does scaring you passenger likely keep her from wanting to ride again, it can impact future generations. Several times I’ve been told “Mom won’t let me ride a motorcycle”. Talking with Mom reveals that she had a scary experience on a bike in her past and she will do everything she can to keep future generations of her family off of those dangerous machines.
Passenger riding gear – I’m hoping you are wearing proper gear. Your passenger deserves to have gear just as good as yours. NEWS FLASH — If you go down, she does too. If she won’t wear the proper gear, don’t let her get on the motorcycle. If she doesn’t have the proper gear and you can’t provide it for her, don’t let her on the motorcycle.
While on the ride, take breaks. She probably doesn’t spend as much time on a motorcycle as you do. You may be able to ride a tank empty, stop for gas, and hit the road again like you were serviced by a NASCAR pit crew but she probably can’t and doesn’t want to. Take more breaks than you would if you were on your own. If she has to ask you to stop, you’ve waited too long. Taking frequent breaks will make her feel a lot better about the experience. Discuss the route before you leave and be sure to include places she wants to see or stop in your plans.
Adding a passenger to your ride can greatly add to the fun of the ride. But do it right.
I hope you share many happy miles together.
1 COMMENT
As a long time passenger you touch on some very valid points. I might add that it’s also the responsibility of the passenger to ask relevant questions about safety and time on 2 wheels. Ride safe….you might not get a second chance. Thanks for the experience.