Sick and bed ridden, I was just browsing through facebook and youtube and I came across this really good video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f_MOue5rPw

He talks about the dos and dont’s when you have a pillion (he has his girlfriend as pillion in that video) … and it reminded me of my bike rides with my ex.

I never crossed 40mph in city riding when my ex was pillion… and she sometimes complained why I don’t drive like when I do a solo ride(over 100mph or even fast enough).

She probably never understood that I just couldn’t risk her life like I did with mine driving solo on a bike.

If there were to be a crash, I’d prefer that she walks away safe and if there needs to be a death then let that be mine.

So here are some tips for those “boyfriends” or “husbands” who love their (respective) “girlfriends” or “wifes”:

1. Buy proper riding gear for both .. dont buy awesome helmet for yourself and stupid roadside one for your wife.

Helmets are Very Very Important.

Infact, if i remember right, both our helmets (ex and me) were half faced.

I’d prefer full face protection for her, but she complained of suffocation when we went to choose helmet and she tried a full face one.

Her helmet had an inbuilt tinted goggles and a double top up full face visor and costed 1.5x more than mine,was IS-4151 approved. Infact, my first one was a fake ISO approved (there is no ISO standard for helmets) and I made sure that I didn’t do the same mistake when we picked one for her.

So if you love your girl, get her equal(considering your’s is not crappy) or better stuff.

If you have the buck, consider getting more than just helmets.. buy riding jackets, riding shoes, gloves, spine protectors, knee guards …….. and yes very importantly, not just for yourself.. but for your girl too.

2. What if you don’t have two helmets? Then give the one you have to your girl.. even if she is pillion

Happened to me when I sold my bike and gave away my helmet and then she got a scooter .. which if we both went out I’d drive. I always preferred she wear the helmet, but she would complain of stuff like hair, headache and have me wear it. So there are times I managed to get her to wear it, and times I couldn’t.

And only I know the nervousness I had driving the times when the helmet was on my head and not hers. (Even though I’m an experienced rider, I used to pray that I see her back home safe)

3. Proper/Good quality shoes

Very important. The first thing that a rider hits when falling off a sliding vehicle on accident is foot fingers.

Your fingers can scrape and you can end up loosing foot fingers, broken ankle, damaged Achilles heel and what not.

When my ex was just learning her scooter, I took her to shoe store and forced her to pick out a proper shoe.

It was white/blue girl style, proper protection, ample ankle, shin and heel padding.

She used it once or twice max and then they lay in the shoe rack forever eating dust.

Moral of the story for me: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink

But seriously, try to talk to your girl and make her understand that why that 2 mins of time of wearing a shoe is better than walking handicapped for rest of the life.

4. Know your speed limit

You may ride at 100mph doing solo on the bike, but if you have your girl behind.. please be responsible.

The flick-ability of a motorcycle gets worse when you have a pillion on it.

If she is asking for more speed, you should only know that she hasn’t experienced a crash before… and you should be wise to know that you don’t want her to experience that pain (if you love her that is 😉 )

Don’t try to show your manhood by zipping fast/rash (its more like you dont have manhood since you’re having to prove it by zipping fast)

And if you think your girl thinks less manly of you since you dont speed, then let her just leave.

Trust me, if you love her.. its better to see her safe than be handicapped.. even if it means she leaves you. It’ll only mean she had a peanut size brain and it can’t be helped. But you can ensure her safety.

5. If you have a sports bike, then show her proper riding position

Riding position on sports bike is way different from normal commuter bikes.

If both you and your pillion do not know the positions, then you could easily crash.

Here this video shows how



6. Safety for her before she gets on to the bike

Make sure you have both your feet firmly on the ground and both your hands on handlebars when she is mounting the bike. Don’t showoff/try to be a hero by holding no handlebars…even if you are fucking tall.. if the bike tips due to irregular tarmac/mud on the road…. her head will be the first to hit the ground. You on the other hand will be the safest since your legs will grip the tank due to body reflex.

7. Safety for her before YOU get off the bike

So you did a great job while she was getting on the bike, but managed to kick her when you got off the bike… isn’t really a happy scene.

Make sure she steps safely far away after getting off the bike before you swing your leg, ensuring that you don’t end up kicking her face/body.

8. Take care of her dress

Make sure you check that her dress isn’t getting stuck in the wheel. (So common with Indian dresses having chunnis/sarees/dupattas)

It could get stuck in the wheel and tighten on her throat, hence suffocate her and the force of pull could throw her off the bike too.

They may/maynot have the brains to think of all this.. but you should.

9. Protect her against cold wind, dust and pollution

A helmet again plays a role here blocking most of the pollution, but other than that you should block her from oncoming dust wind.

If you see a dust road ahead, ask her to shut her eyes/hide behind your back.

If it’s a cold wind/weather, make sure she has a warm jacket even if it means you have to take off yours and give it to her. Just give it.. no second thoughts on this one.

10. Keep her back-ache in mind

Back aches are pretty common for sport bikers, and more so for female pillion because of strenuousness in riding position and their other biological issues.

So slow down once in a while on straight road, let her sit straight up and relax her back.

It is very painful to see your girl go through backpain, so only imaging how painful it is to her who is bearing it.

11. Communicate

Every once in a while, especially during long rides.. be caring and ask her if she is comfortable, if she needs to take a break, if she needs you to drive slower, if she needs to attend a nature call and so on.

She might just be enduring some discomfort and still not saying anything.

Girls seem to feel that they are doing a sacrifice by enduring something that way, No its not.

Real men shouldn’t be needing her to do those. It is far better to ask her to point out immediately if something is a discomfort rather than endure it.

Overall pay attention to minor things(that can turn major threat) for your girlfriend/wife.

12. Try to take this attitude in normal life too… not just while biking.

Be considerate.. put her before yourself.

She may not do the same, she may treat you as least important and rate you in chart of importance after all her blood relations, friends or whatever….but then that only means she doesn’t love you as much as you love her.

But still, “as long as it lasts”… put her before yourself.

Don’t just “say it”, empty words don’t make sense.. “do it”.