Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey there, when riding with a pillion I have trouble changing gears smoothly! Not all the time but my wifey crashes into the back of my helmet on the occasion.

When riding by myself I have no problems making smooth changes.

Is it an issue that lots of people experience or is it just the pressure of trying to make the shifts smoother for your other half?

Anyone have any tips/ do anything different when riding with a passenger? Or just practice makes perfect?

Practice makes perfect mate, besides isn't it more fun pissing her off?

vanrootn wrote:Hey there, when riding with a pillion I have trouble changing gears smoothly! Not all the time but my wifey crashes into the back of my helmet on the occasion.

When riding by myself I have no problems making smooth changes.

Is it an issue that lots of people experience or is it just the pressure of trying to make the shifts smoother for your other half?

Anyone have any tips/ do anything different when riding with a passenger? Or just practice makes perfect?

Make slower "clutch in longer gear changes", she will learn in time when you will change and when you will brake and momentarily brace herself automatically, then when you stop banging heads you can step it up a bit. Some pillions like to put their hands on the tank to support them, some like to hug the rider and other like grab rails and racks for security, few hang on with their legs, each to their own on this.

She could also look over your shoulder on the straights instead of the back of your helmet which is the start of learning to lean with you on corners. You know look over right shoulder through right corners etc

I have seen pillion pairs ride like they are solo, smooth and flowing in perfect unison. Great to watch but they have been riding together for years.

Yeah she is learning! She has the right idea around corners... We rode to macclesfield on the zxr and she was a good passenger will try clutching it in for a little longer.

Otherwise just keep doing what you are doing and she will not want to go riding anymore
Then you can go riding with your mates, whilst she cooks and cleans at home

smithy5 wrote:Otherwise just keep doing what you are doing and she will not want to go riding anymore
Then you can go riding with your mates, whilst she cooks and cleans at home

Now there is an idea!

vanrootn wrote:

smithy5 wrote:Otherwise just keep doing what you are doing and she will not want to go riding anymore
Then you can go riding with your mates, whilst she cooks and cleans at home

Now there is an idea!

Wheelies are good for that too.

Try clutchless shift, you only roll off the throttle and up.

I found that in lower gears it was always a pain, you either rev it harder and change slower, ie longer clutch work or go without the clutch.

Nick

Practice...

vanrootn wrote:Hey there, when riding with a pillion I have trouble changing gears smoothly! Not all the time but my wifey crashes into the back of my helmet on the occasion.

When riding by myself I have no problems making smooth changes.

Is it an issue that lots of people experience or is it just the pressure of trying to make the shifts smoother for your other half?

Anyone have any tips/ do anything different when riding with a passenger? Or just practice makes perfect?

whats happening here is you've got a bit too much throttle happening when you get round to doing the gear change and thats what causes her helmet to bang into the back of yours, as well as her being too close to you (is she?) to fix this you got to decrease your throttle output to almost none , say 5-10% throttle, when you make the gear change, and then that'll make the ride a lot smoother not just for her but for YOU as well.

the other thing is she may not be paying all that much attention to whats going on with you and is not preparing herself for the gear changes. it does help having a pillion who's aware of whats going on, that stuff will take time.. the more she gets on the back with you, the better.

ive never found longer clutch in's to do anything worthwhile really, cause if youve goosed it a fair bit off the lights then pull it in to do a slow change up to 2nd, the whole bike tilts forward an awful lot, so the more efficiently you can make the gear change, the less you have to roll off the throttle to smooth it out and you can maintain the acceleration momentum. it takes practice but once it clicks you'll be fine.

having the bike set up for pillion work will help a lot too, i didnt skimp on this part though and the end result was my bike (GSXR1k) handled like i was riding solo (but that was with a pillion i'd trained over a number of years).. i assume in your case, there's the lateral movement backwards and forwards when you change gears and thats adding to the helmet banging.. kind of brings me to the next point.

i dont know how you ride in each gear but in the top gears like 4th to 6th, they'll offer the least engine braking when you have to adjust your throttle inputs while riding, changes in traffic flow or corner approaches will give you a fair bit of engine braking if youre in 1st/2nd or even 3rd at higher rpm.. so riding in higher gears will make things a lot smoother, helps if you have plenty of torque at low rpm too. i guess what i'm saying here is to minimise your gear changes and use what torque you have, to move along.

Thanks for the advice gixxerdave! I took wifey out today, what you say about her sitting too close seems to be true she is almost riding me i have been trying to give her a few pointers on how she should position herself and how to know when I will change gears.

It was a smoother ride today, definately not perfect however! There is no problems 4-5-6 gears. The worst is first to second in traffic, I have been having a little success putting a bit of load on the gear lever and dipping the clutch + flicking the gear up quickly.

More practice is required, no complaints though

Good to see.

What I do though after taking off from the lights is I get up to say, 60-70, then ease up on the throttle so forward momentum is almost nil, so any gear change is barely felt by said pillion, and then short shift from 1st straight to 4th (or even 6th), and then just use the torque to keep moving. Bear in mind I had a bike with a big fat dose of grunt down low so that was especially handy. I do a lot of clutch less shifts, other times I only clutch it a small bit just to facilitate up/downshifts.

Another tip is to pick your gear changes according to the gradient of the road. Uphill gear changes will be felt far more than if you upshift when you're on the crest of whatever road you're on. Make sense?

Also, do you make full use of the rear brake with a pillion? I can't recommend this enough, this will cut out a lot of the forward movement that you get when you hit the front anchors while having a pillion.

And... How does she sit on the back with you? Does she sit forward far enough to be almost straddling your... Lower back? Knees on your sides locking you into the seat and unable to move? Hands on tank constantly and upper body weight pressed into your back?

And.. What bike? ZXR something? Pillion grab handles or nada?

I ride a z1000 (2010) so there is no problem with shifting 1st to 4th plenty of torque, and it sounds like a good idea for the next ride. Not really any grab handles for her though...

I use the rear brake a lot with her on the back, makes life much easier when coming to a halt.

She seems to be putting weight on my upper back, I have been trying to get her to brace herself a little more with her knees when we are slowing down so she doesnt end up on top of me.

I have a girl where i contract work at and she tells me if they go for a trip to port Macquarie or coffs she will hop on as a pillion and goes to sleep whilst he weaves his way over the hills and she would weigh more than him quiet easly I am not a experianced rider but wouldnt that make life hard for the rider or wouldnt it be to bad

vanrootn wrote:I ride a z1000 (2010) so there is no problem with shifting 1st to 4th plenty of torque, and it sounds like a good idea for the next ride. Not really any grab handles for her though...

I use the rear brake a lot with her on the back, makes life much easier when coming to a halt.

She seems to be putting weight on my upper back, I have been trying to get her to brace herself a little more with her knees when we are slowing down so she doesnt end up on top of me.

just get her to lean backwards a little when you slow down, that will help. if im right the Z1000 pillion seat is at a bit of an angle isnt it? like on an R1? if so then maybe putting some rubber based material on the pillion seat, one of those wrap around thingy's, i cant for the life of me remember its called.. but it helps a lot with bum grip especially on an somewhat slippery seat. (and for gods sakes dont put armorall on it!!!)

dont really need grab handles, just eyes to watch what is going on in front of you on the road and to prepare herself accordingly. more time on the back with you and she *should* at least make a significant improvement.

and tell her you'd appreciate it more if she was pressing her tits into your chest instead of your back...

keep us posted.