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Short pillion can’t see


Jacobyte
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After years of trying to convince her, wifey finally relented and agreed to join me 2-up on the bike, and discovered she loves it, but it’s not all good news... The long and the short of it (heh, see what I did there) is that I’m 6’3 and wifey is 4’10 and she really can’t see much other than sideways when she’s got my fat ass bulk in front of her.


I ride a VFR1200x tourer which is very upright and great for 2-up touring but it’d be better if wifey could at least see a bit more than she does at the moment.


I don’t even know where to start googling but I’m sure someone on here does, so I’m asking for some advice on what can be done to enhance the experience for her.


Damn, I know this post is open to so much ridicule and I’m sure I’ll get a laugh but hopefully someone can suggest something that’ll help. Is there a safe pillion booster or something that’ll actually make a difference out there that I’ve just not been able to find?

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Would she get on the back of someone else's bike (that you trust) who has a sports/low bike?

If so, do that. She will then be super grateful that she has a tall person sheilding her from the wind! (I was when I rode pillion).


Alternatively, book her in for her CBT :wink:

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Guest Richzx6r

The highs and lows 8-) are that there is nothing that will go on the back that is stable enough to use and not upset the handling of the bike, maybe she should start riding herself unless you retro fit a ladder to the back and she climbs to the top, she might be able to see over you then

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Explain to your wife that 99% of pillions can only see to the side of the rider. Very few are so tall that they can see over the top. If that does happen, I suspect balance would become an issue.


Point out people in the back seat of cars have a restricted view forwards.

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And you think you have problems

 

Yea the dog is a takeaway and it don't know ....

 

Which one ? ( Look closely )

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It is better if her helmet doesn’t stick over your, my wife is tall and she can almost see over my helmet, on fast rides turbulence and wind blast is much more affecting her helmet than mine.

So your pillion is considered lucky

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Would she get on the back of someone else's bike (that you trust) who has a sports/low bike?

If so, do that. She will then be super grateful that she has a tall person sheilding her from the wind! (I was when I rode pillion).


Alternatively, book her in for her CBT :wink:

:stupid:


Arwens pretty much summed it up. You could look at altered seats but that's changing the ride a lot for both of you for something she might not enjoy.


Having a go on another bike is a good way for her to see better while also experiencing other ride types. But in all honesty, doing a CBT is a great idea.


It's a one day experience course, if she doesn't like it she never has to ride again but she might love it! :mrgreen:

 

Explain to your wife that 99% of pillions can only see to the side of the rider. Very few are so tall that they can see over the top. If that does happen, I suspect balance would become an issue.

I'm 5ft3 and take pillions happily, but it does look pretty silly.

My seat is naturally built to give pillions a good view, but most of my pillions are taller than me anyway! :D


I also am grateful that I've always taken pillions since my 125cc as it's definitely a very different way of riding for someone short like me.


These days I normally have my partners brother on the back of mine and he's just under 6ft I think. He can see Clear over my head and loves it; gets all the perks of being on a bike without having to learn to ride himself :mrgreen:

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Thanks for the suggestions and inevitable piss taking. :cheers:


There's no way she'll ever get on a bike other than as pillion so CBT is out of the question, so it's a case of accepting what we've got and enjoy it for what it is, and that'll do just fine.

She's never complained about the lack of view, we were just considering options to make it better.

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Thanks for the suggestions and inevitable piss taking. :cheers:


There's no way she'll ever get on a bike other than as pillion so CBT is out of the question, so it's a case of accepting what we've got and enjoy it for what it is, and that'll do just fine.

She's never complained about the lack of view, we were just considering options to make it better.

 

Have you got comms between the helmets?

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Have you got comms between the helmets?

 

No we don't yet but we saw a Sena in the shop the other day and I'm pretty sure we'll go down that road. They seem to have pretty decent reviews although I've not looked into it much to be fair.

I know there'll likely be discussions threads on this topic somewhere on here and I'll get around to checking them out for sure before I buy.


Are you asking from experience of having used? If yes, any advice would be appreciated.

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Have you got comms between the helmets?

 

No we don't yet but we saw a Sena in the shop the other day and I'm pretty sure we'll go down that road. They seem to have pretty decent reviews although I've not looked into it much to be fair.

I know there'll likely be discussions threads on this topic somewhere on here and I'll get around to checking them out for sure before I buy.


Are you asking from experience of having used? If yes, any advice would be appreciated.

 

https://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=69935


:thumb:

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No we don't yet but we saw a Sena in the shop the other day and I'm pretty sure we'll go down that road. They seem to have pretty decent reviews although I've not looked into it much to be fair.

I know there'll likely be discussions threads on this topic somewhere on here and I'll get around to checking them out for sure before I buy.


Are you asking from experience of having used? If yes, any advice would be appreciated.

So I rode for about 8 years I think before my partner bought us a set of comms and I wouldn't go back to not having them now.


Since then, we brought his brother a headset too, as he's my resident pillion, and he say's its made a massive difference to him.

He's not getting half so bored on the back of the bike, he feels much more included in whats happening as he can hear us talking about everything going on around us and chat away back to us about random crap.


We have the units that Stu linked and really like them.

For Jays brother we bought the next set up and went for the PackTalks instead, which I think Jay and I will upgrade to as well in time.


Hope this helps.

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It is better if her helmet doesn’t stick over your, my wife is tall and she can almost see over my helmet, on fast rides turbulence and wind blast is much more affecting her helmet than mine.

So your pillion is considered lucky

 


Yeh this , she wouldn't like it I don't think if her position was higher than yours she'd be getting all the wind last .... tell her to turn her head left or right there are views in either way .

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