I will try to make this breif.

 It has been my experience while being a passenger on a bike NOT to lean into a curve.  The rider and the bike do the work, I naturally move with the rider.  I have read comments even here on CF saying the same thing, I don't remember who off hand.

Recently I have read a few ladies comments here and on other pages about lady passengers leaning into a curve.  Gentlemen... could you please clear this up...? Should your passenger lean or not?  I say no, let the rider control his bike...

As a general rule if the passage is not an experienced passenger. I prefer they let me control the bike and do the leaning. Even with an experienced rider I ask that they let me control the leaning as I know my bike and it limitations.
How yes there are some here and elsewhere that would say to lean. I would say this works for folks that have been together for a long time riding together there are some technics for the passenger can do. But it only works when two can think as one.
But as a general rule I say just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Not lean,,,,,stay in line with my body. No matter their experience level. IMO.

WHAT I'VE FOUND OVER THE YEARS IS"BUY YOUR OWN BLOODY BIKE AND LEAN AS MUCH AS YA WANT".. YES I'M AN ADVOCATE OD SHEILA'S RIDING THERE OWN..CHEERS BOOF

Sometimes the perfect way for passengers to work this out is if they have a sissybar back rest. Lean back on that and just allow the rider to worry about the curves. Let the back rest secure you in a neutral position so as not to impact the rider and the bike.

Thanks Chaz & Edge for taking the time to comment. I think it is a worthy conversation to have. In general I don't think men really tell a lady anything when he puts her on the back of a bike. Not from my experience nor from what I hear from other ladies who are passengers....
Boof ... Thanks for being an advocate of Ladies who ride their own... I hope that sooner rather than later I will be a member of that group. But for now I must be content with being a passenger.

By the way Darla, very well put together vids for the ladies! Good job!:-)

@Black9 Thank you very much. It has been great fun working on my blog page IEDarla.com and YouTube channel and dedicating the subject matter to ladies who love being on the back seat, and those who are new riders. The feed back has been great. I especially like to hear from the guys. The feed back from the men has been especially surprising.

It has been 50 years since I have ridden 2 up and normally I defer to Black9 on all things motorcycle related however;

Don’t “help” the person on the throttle, just be predictable.

This is no problem if the passenger & the person on the throttle are or opposite genders, the passenger wraps their arms around the waist of the person on the throttle at all times save straight sections of slab.

MSF SAYS AS FOLLOWS.

Instruct passengers to hold onto you at your waist or hips, or the bike's hand-holds. Ask them to lean forward slightly when you leave from a stop or accelerate along the highway.

Also, when you brake, passengers should be firmly braced against your waist and should lean back slightly.  You don’t want their weight to shift forward.

Advise passengers not to lean unless you do.  You do not want the person behind hanging off the bike at 30 degrees; that will do funny things to the steering.  However, when you lean going around a corner, passengers should definitely lean as well.  So have them look over your shoulder in the direction of the turn when you go through a corner; that will put the weight where you want it.

 

When riding 2 up with another guy about the most contact I want or are willing to give is to pinch the jacket of the guy on the throttle with a couple of fingers. – Fortunately when guys ride two up either there is a desperate situation or both are drunk.

Never seen women ride 2 up but would like to.

it has been my experience in riding with a group that some of the near accidents I have witnessed, especially on twisties, were caused by the passenger trying to control the bike by leaning. I always tell my "navigator", always my spouse, just to hold on to me and let the bike ride the road. I actually don't lean into the curve...I think that that idea is an old one...instead I push down on the handle bars in the direction I want the bike to take. ReggaeRider Central Arizona Bikers Dot Com

I think there are a few different opinions on this subject but I go with what makes me feel safe and comfortable and to keep my passenger in such a likewise disposition!

1) Could be that I have grown into the habit of just having the passenger sit back but of course to hold onto me if the need arises.
2) No monkeying around, this is not just MY life it is yours that is put in jeopardy when you do impulsive things sitting back there like combing your hair, texting on your cell phone or whatever it is your passengers do these days!
3) Stay awake, stay alive! Some trips are longer than others, DO NOT doze off! If you slip off the peg or floorboard that can be disastrous!
4) If we are on a long trip you have a saddlebag for your shit and the other is my shit, and if at anytime you are no longer enjoying your riding experience I will be more than happy to drop you off at the first Grey Hound bus station and I might see you when I get back!
5) Communicate all these things with your passenger, if you just met them, you DO NOT know them.

So do whatever makes you feel comfortable and safe.

Darla...my wife has rode pillion with me for 30 years and probably half a million miles, she just sticks to my back, even when we have splashed in ditches or traffic, she always does the right thing...go with the rider, he/she is in control and pillion follows...and we have survived. She says the best advice she ever got when she first pillioned with me was from her dad..... " sit still...hold on...and shut the fck up"...just enjoy the view.

and i'm +1 with Boof...ride, it can't be beaten..altho Liz prefers pillion.

Yeah my lovely bride has her own but on trips she prefers holding on! :-)

Ahhh, the question, to lean or not to lean...

Here's my 2 on this, from both a passenger's and a rider's point of view.

When I first got behind my husband, on his Low Rider, I did what came natural, to ME. What felt right.
Mostly, I was leaning against his back, in the beginning. With my hands on his belt loops. As time went on,
and I relaxed, I sat back against the "sissy bar". In either case, I let HIM move the bike, and I mimicked his
movements. (He always told me that I was the best passenger, he'd ever had.) I knew not to "tense-up" or
go rigid. It's important for both rider and passenger to move as one. And that DOES sometime take a few
rides together, to achieve. If you're riding with someone new, just try and stay as flexible and relaxed as possible.
I don't recommend riding with people that you don't know. But if that happens, stay cool.
As for being a rider, and having passengers (which I don't do often), I always ask that they hold onto my waist,
and that they put their chest, right on my back. I tell them they can see better that way, but it's really for me.
I like to "feel" where they are, especially in corners. The added weight, can and does make a difference, and I
don't want any "surprises". That's just me. Ladies???

Ride Free
Tweek

Well as a female rider that has had many passengers from kids to adult males and as a passenger once in a blue moon I say this. don't get on any bike until you know if the rider can ride the dam bike or not. Its your life and you are putting it in the hands of someone you don't know, and there are a shit load of folks that are new riders that have almost zero skill in riding let alone with a passenger.
What I say is this to all passengers, your job is to move with me, it is like riding a horse shoulders line with shoulders, that's it in a nut shell if the adult passenger doesn't understand what that means well they'll be beating feet for sure. You job is to move with driver, when the passenger goes against what the bike is doing they are countersteering the bike in some curves this can be really freaking serious. So it takes a lot of faith in both driver and passenger. have a great one! "T"

As a guide to instruction...You can feel the way to sit in your arse. You are trying to center your butt with the gravity and if you are new you should wrap your arms around the driver and feel them as they lean...its not to give you the same feeling but for you to understand just how little it takes to change a bikes attitude as its being blown by the wind and other vehicles and every pothole dodge changes the position as well. If you don't have a windshield, as I don't, you can even steer the bike with a slight change in your chest angle against the wind.
I always say DON'T lean and the sissy Bar idea is fine if you carry someone all the time...
I also agree with the Ladies Ride their OWN concept. Its the best way to understand what goes into a ride and it will settle down the fidgety ones a bunch

I have NEVER been a "Holder On'er" personally, even on some jacked up special construction bike I have the BAD habit of not holding on and gotten busted from my rider for it. But, this isn't for me. I did a video the other day on passenger safety and this was something I touched on. Again, I said go with the feel of the driver and that the lady may with to discuss this with her rider.

My reason for the question was to make sure I am giving sound advise. Even with 20 years on the back seat, I know what MY experience is and other ladies that I know. But I have read this about three or 4 times just in the last few days about ladies leaning. So I want to make sure that my readers are on the right track and have some concept of what they need to do or not do in this case.

@Black9 I forgot about the dozing off part, I couldn't if I wanted to, But I do have a lady friend that has a problem falling asleep on the bike, Her rider was always smacking her to wake her up, I can't imagine it...

@Tumbles I HIGHLY advise my lady riders NOT get onto the back of a bike of someone who is not a skilled rider. I go into with them questions that they might ask a biker to help her decide if she should ride with them or not. Lots of wonderful sound advise here.

Since most of my passengers have been friends, I expect them to sit back against the sissy bar rather than wrapped around me. If they are holding on to me physically, then they should only be leaning if I am leaning. This happens more on a sport bike when there is not a sissy bar. When the passenger has her arms wrapped around the waist of the bike operator, then they naturally move as one. As a passenger, let it happen, and do not force any weight shfts.

But for a cruiser with a sissy bar, the passenger can sit back against it and then shouldn't conscienciously move at all. They should just be dead weight, like luggage. Any side-to-side weight shifting is a noticable distraction, and is not a welcome surprise when going through a turn. Some passengers are instructed to lean WITH the driver when the driver has had experiences with passengers leaning the opposite way than they should be. If a passenger is nervous about going around a bend, and shifts their weight to the outside, the bike won't make the turn, and the driver has to react by forcing the bike further down, which may result in scraping the pegs...which can make the passenger even more nervous.

Most cruiser riders don't lean anyway...their shoulders stay centered over the seat and square with the handlebars and they make the bike lean with counter-steering. But, if they have also ridden sprtbikes, you may see their shoulders lean into turns. If you are instructed to lean, then you only need to keep your shoulders in line with what you see happening in front of you.

If you get on the back with someone new who hasn't given you any instruction or guidance, then just watch their shoulders, and either stay centered, or stay in line with them, whichever feels more natural to you. And once you pick your style as a passenger, don't change unless instructed to do so.

Love this topic, it's good to know the "throttle masters" viewpoint. I've been a passenger all my life. My daddy told me (at 7 years old) to hug his back and hold on tight. The older I got the more relaxed I got. There are many schools of thought on the subject, so it is best said to ask before you hop on back....That's great if you aren't distracted as I was as a youngster...Back then I never had time to ask, I was told to get on, hold on and shut up! lol.. dozing off? really? how does that happen? .Ive had a few bad experiences but it always came naturally to flow with the rider, he was in control of the bike. The best rider is one who cares for their bike and their passenger as much as themselves.They should tell you if you're doing something that's not right, to make the ride easier and more enjoyable. I have my own bike now, learning to ride my own is a scary thing for me, I have a healthy respect for the rider as I will be one...soon!

To sum most of this up: The 'Throttle Master", as was so eloquently put by the feistyredhead, is the one who makes the rules for his/her passengers when riding. Personally I don't get the whole leaning with the driver especially if they have a sissybar, sit back and enjoy the ride I say! :-)

This year for the Sturgis trip I want DebraJo on the back with me for a while so she can pass me a beer or whip up a quick jack and coke for me just so i dont dehydrate ya know..Cheers BOOF

Glad to see that this question has opened up conversation. In reality Black9 what I hope that men take away from this, is you need to have a conversation if you are riding with someone new. I tell my ladies to ask questions and I tell them what to ask, because men tend to hand them a helmet and say get on...

@Rex... Your experience is good example of why all riders should have this conversation with whomever they are riding with. Even an experienced passenger may have a different style and lean. It is up to you to let her know what you do or do not expect while she is on your back seat.

While you may say it is a "hard and fast rule" it really isn't. It really is an old school thought that the passenger should lean and like most myths it passes through the generations. Never assume that your rider will know anything and simply have the discussion before she gets on.