Kids as Pillion
Discussion
None of my kids or my wife have ever shown any interest in riding Pillion but my super confident, thrill seeing granddaughter is very keen to have a go.
Whilst there is no specific minimum legal age for passengers, I’d be keen to hear others experiences on the subject if they’ve ever had children ride pillion.
Whilst there is no specific minimum legal age for passengers, I’d be keen to hear others experiences on the subject if they’ve ever had children ride pillion.
Lambo FirstBlood said:
None of my kids or my wife have ever shown any interest in riding Pillion but my super confident, thrill seeing granddaughter is very keen to have a go.
Whilst there is no specific minimum legal age for passengers, I’d be keen to hear others experiences on the subject if they’ve ever had children ride pillion.
My kids loved it for the short trip into town.Whilst there is no specific minimum legal age for passengers, I’d be keen to hear others experiences on the subject if they’ve ever had children ride pillion.
Started taking them when they were 10
I guess as mentioned above, as long as their feet are firmly on the foot pegs.
As mentioned, feet must be able to reach footpegs but there is no minimum age.
I take my son, age 10 sometimes and have since he was 8 or 9. I would not do it without a top box as it provides a backrest and some confidence they won't fall off the back under acceleration. I also don't take him on any roads over about 40mph. Or on long journeys. He's not old enough to assess the risk himself, so I minimise it for him... and also the trips are also used for transport more than recreational rides so there is a purpose for the remaining risk which cannot be eliminated.
I have a helmet to helmet intercom. He likes that. He's also more comfortable holding on with child size gloves on. I still filter with him on but if I overtake or use any solid acceleration, I tell him beforehand over the intercom.
Also have a daughter who has been on the bike a few times, again for transport, but she is less keen on it.
Advise them not to fidget too much, esp if stopped and you only have a single foot down. A big fidget could topple the bike over.
I take my son, age 10 sometimes and have since he was 8 or 9. I would not do it without a top box as it provides a backrest and some confidence they won't fall off the back under acceleration. I also don't take him on any roads over about 40mph. Or on long journeys. He's not old enough to assess the risk himself, so I minimise it for him... and also the trips are also used for transport more than recreational rides so there is a purpose for the remaining risk which cannot be eliminated.
I have a helmet to helmet intercom. He likes that. He's also more comfortable holding on with child size gloves on. I still filter with him on but if I overtake or use any solid acceleration, I tell him beforehand over the intercom.
Also have a daughter who has been on the bike a few times, again for transport, but she is less keen on it.
Advise them not to fidget too much, esp if stopped and you only have a single foot down. A big fidget could topple the bike over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0kgfgmFZhk
Sylvain Guintoli has recently put out a video on his son’s first pillion. I found it interesting.
Sylvain Guintoli has recently put out a video on his son’s first pillion. I found it interesting.
My daughter has since flown the nest, but I picked her up a couple of times from a farm where she was doing summer holiday work a few years back. Much easier due to the traffic. I started all super smooth - gentle acceleration & hardly any overtaking. However, at the first junction, she screamed at me to get a bloody move on, so I did. She absolutely loved the rush of acceleration, lean angles round corners & being able to overtake just about anything.
My 2p worth: getting a pillion to not lean the opposite direction round a corner is pretty important IMO - explain this properly & you're good to go....
My 2p worth: getting a pillion to not lean the opposite direction round a corner is pretty important IMO - explain this properly & you're good to go....
trickywoo said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0kgfgmFZhk
Sylvain Guintoli has recently put out a video on his son’s first pillion. I found it interesting.
I like him, he comes across well, I like the look of that Suzuki as well.Sylvain Guintoli has recently put out a video on his son’s first pillion. I found it interesting.
What’s the white car in his garage?
tight fart said:
trickywoo said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0kgfgmFZhk
Sylvain Guintoli has recently put out a video on his son’s first pillion. I found it interesting.
I like him, he comes across well, I like the look of that Suzuki as well.Sylvain Guintoli has recently put out a video on his son’s first pillion. I found it interesting.
What’s the white car in his garage?
black-k1 said:
My kids went pillion when they could ride a push bike and could reach the pegs.
They all liked the Pillipn Pal belt with handles.
My youngest, in the picture, now rides his own ER6F.
Do you really think that is a good idea?They all liked the Pillipn Pal belt with handles.
My youngest, in the picture, now rides his own ER6F.
https://begin-motorcycling.co.uk/uk-motorcycle-acc...
Alickadoo said:
What do you hope to achieve with this post?I pillioned to school regularly from 9 with my dad, my son was a similar age.
I can't wait to take my girls pillion but the eldest is 11 and doesn't want to be seen with daddy. I hope she changes her mind and lets me drop her off at secondary school. Anyone dropped off my bike when I was at school was automatically cool.
The 7 yo wants to ride but her legs are too short. Maybe next year...
The wife was very anti bike when I got one but is now encouraging taking them out.
The 7 yo wants to ride but her legs are too short. Maybe next year...
The wife was very anti bike when I got one but is now encouraging taking them out.
Alickadoo said:
I think riding pillion for one of your children on a motorbike would be on the list:-
Daft Things To Do. (In no particular order)
Smoking
Vaping
Riding motorbikes
Doing illegal drugs
Taking financial advice from me,
Add to that: Daft Things To Do. (In no particular order)
Smoking
Vaping
Riding motorbikes
Doing illegal drugs
Taking financial advice from me,
Riding in the car
Riding a horse
Using park play equipment
Riding a bicycle
Riding a scooter
Running instead of walking
Using stairs
I mean, why let the kids leave the house at all? much safer at home
In serious response to the OP question, I've been taking my daughter on the back of my bikes since she was about 9 (13 now) To be fair she'd been riding her own PW50 and PW80 occasionally since age 4, but had never been pillion.
I explained the rules to her before hand, bought her some decent kit and we went for a few local Sunday runs for some pub lunch. I found this helpful as it let her get used to how a bike behaves, and let me see that she was sensible enough in a relatively safe environment. The added bonus of some chips and ice cream made the trips seem a treat and help her enjoy it.
She felt comfortable and enjoyed herself so we went further a field, until this year we did a return trip to the Nurburgring and had a blast.
I've always ridden much more sedately with the kid on, not that I ride particularly fast anyway. I can't do a great deal about the dangers from others, but riding defensively and preemptively at least lessens the risk of me screwing up.
Give it a go with the granddaughter. Be prepared for her to dislike it at first, and you be able to drop the idea for a while. Try again next year. Hopefully though she likes it from the off and you can go make some great memories.
Edit to add: I'd seriously recommend investing in some sort of rider/pillion comms. It makes these trips immeasurably better. I bought a set of Freedconn units for about £60 all in, and with some earplugs in you can hear eachother perfectly, albeit you need to speak up a bit on the motorway.
Edited by Pebbles167 on Sunday 20th August 13:53
Alickadoo said:
What a stupid postand31 said:
Alickadoo said:
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