http://www.rideforever.co.nz/home/ http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/back-seat-rider-part-1/#PageComment_25 Suzanne - thanks, there are some very handy tips in there. Many of which, coming from an experienced female pillion's perspective, I hadn't considered. BUT - you should NEVER take the 'spongies' as you call them out of your helmet! They are essential parts of the lining, providing the fit and contributing towards the protection you need from your helmet. In some cases it is possible to replace some or all of the liner components in a helmet, to adjust the fit. But only up to a point. The most important thing is to find a good, snug, comfortable fit from the outset. And while some manufacturers 'fine tune' that fit with the thickness of the cushioned liners, the fundamentals are the shell size and the overall shape around your head. Removing parts of the liner is dangerous and should not be considered unless replacement parts are to hand. No, helmet fit. That's given me an idea... Wed, 09 May 2012 05:36:16 +0000 Mario McMillan http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/back-seat-rider-part-1/#PageComment_25 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/back-seat-rider-part-1/#PageComment_24 Before embarking on a Biking Tour, assuming you have surpassed the clear protocols of mount and dismount, signing, and “being the machine” with your pillion, there are some other ‘must-knows’ contained here-in. Please give this to-do list to your soft pillion, who will be glad for this preparatory informational:- • Ensure that you have pillioned at least 3 hours in one stretch in the kit you plan to wear for the Bike tour, as this way you can see if you are sized correctly. • Tight pants look fantastic, however on a bike in a permanently squatting position will cause you to lose all feeling in your legs, which frankly on the back of a bike is not a condition you wish to be suffering. It will also leave you with red welts that will take weeks to disappear. Not nice! • Prepare your rider (out of consideration of his pillion) to stop every half hour to check on you. • If the screen on the bike is adjustable, do work out with your rider which setting prevents the wind turbulence from ripping your head off, and do this within the first half hour preferably, unless you have a promise of a neck and back massage the other side of your ride. • Your helmet does have little spongies inside which you can remove if you are suffering brain squeeze. This is why you have the half hourly stops, so that you only have to suffer shorter stretches. • Your boots should not be a tight fit, as after just 2 hours of balancing and vibration on a little rod in the arch of your foot, your feet will be in agony, and you will wish you could ride barefoot. Rider boots flex, but it is rare that an occasional pillion will have proper rider boots in their kit, so rather select boots that still have proper ankle support, but do have room for your feet to ride comfortably for hours. • Every rider and pillion suffer “Helmet Hair”, and for this reason you should just accept it. Do not put little buns all over your head in the attempt to arrive at the other side, and shake out your long hair into a mass of wild gorgeous curls. All that happens it that during the trip, a half hour in, these little buns start squeezing on your head, and eventually the pressure points cause your head to want to explode. No matter how much you try to grope out the buns under the tight helmet, laced with balaclava, you will not get your hands under that helmet. (This is when that code with your rider will come in handy, as eventually these torturous buns make one nauseous.) When cruising with a group of bikers at high speed for 2 hours solid, you will wish you were rather dead. Just don’t do it! You can try all the hair fixes, but once again do this in the trial run. Ps. let me know if you find one that does not entail hard labour, or have me looking like a boy. When you are embarking on that 2500km stretch, over 6 gruelling days, weather irrelevant, with hard core bikers who have worn their kit in forever ago, have all the snags sorted, don’t leak a drop, who stop for nothing, believe me, they will have no empathy or understanding when you tell them your feet are in agony - as these haven’t walked a step in over 200km, or you have a headache because of your buns, or you can’t feel a leg. * BMW (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd Susanne Schneider BMW ZA Insurance Corporate Finance Dept Code: ZA-F-11 P.O Box 2955, Pretoria 0001 Phone: +27-12-522-2203 Cell: 082 3318 222 Fax: +27-12-522-2410 mailto: Susanne.SA.Schneider@bmw.co.za Url: http://www.bmw.co.za/ ----------------------------------------------------- Registration number 1960/000196/07 This e-mail and its contents are subject to the BMW (South Africa)(Pty) Ltd Email Legal notice and information available at http://www.bmw.co.za/legal/directorsnotice.asp Directors: F-P Arndt*(Chairman), B Donauer* (Managing), U-B Sanne*(Finance & Human Resources), J Ginglseder*(Technical & Logistics), Dr JP Fegbeutel*(Legal Services), W Luhabe(Non-Executive), MS Phalatse(Non-Executive) *(German) ----------------------------------------------------- Tue, 08 May 2012 11:33:40 +0000 Susanne Schneider http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/back-seat-rider-part-1/#PageComment_24 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/don-t-get-a-grip/#PageComment_23 That's good to know, Rick. Worth getting checked out if you ARE relaxing your grip but still getting tingling. Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:48:21 +0000 Mario McMillan http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/don-t-get-a-grip/#PageComment_23 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/don-t-get-a-grip/#PageComment_22 While I agree with your points above, there is at least one other cause of tingling in the hands, which I suffered from on and off on our recent motorcycle tour around Europe. Occasionally I would suffer severe tingling in my right hand and initially I put it down to gripping the throttle too hard - however it turns out the tingling - in all fingers, apart from my little finger, and thumb - is a common symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome. On my return to NZ I went to see the doc who sent me to a neurology specilist, who in turn conducted nerve tests which clearly showed that I had "medium" symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. It is not at the stage where an operation is required but it is being monitored. So I suggest if you suffer from tingling in the hands, have them checked out for CTS. Cheers, Rick Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:18:00 +0000 Rick http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/don-t-get-a-grip/#PageComment_22 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/don-t-get-a-grip/#PageComment_21 Very good point, Rachel. In fact pillion riding is an art in itself - for both rider and passenger. Thanks for the suggestion and watch this space! M Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:51:07 +0000 Mario McMillan http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/don-t-get-a-grip/#PageComment_21 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/don-t-get-a-grip/#PageComment_20 Mario I am not a rider but have been a pillion for more years than I care to tell. You blog a lot about riders but I think it is important to also teach people how to be a good pillion or even how to ride with a pillion. I watch them out on the road and wince when you see the pillion shifting all over the place or sitting to the side. My old man would be less than impressed with me as it used to affect his ability to control the bike. Not so much now as we have a CanAm and I ride in comfort but it may be worth a post. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:00:25 +0000 Rachel http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/don-t-get-a-grip/#PageComment_20 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/summer-riding/#PageComment_19 Peter Smit Sage advice. Even a little drink impairs one's riding. And it's absolutely the things other road users can throw at you that are hardest to deal with. Look, I'm no drink-drive Nazi and I think it's okay, under normal road conditions, to drive cautiously home after a couple of beers or a glass of wine. But the degree of impairment that even a little alcohol can have was brought brutally home at a race meeting I was competing in just over a decade ago. (This was in the MIddle East, a bit of a wild frontier.) I'd won the meeting, and was feeling pretty chuffed. So I had just taken two sips of a well-known Dutch beer that comes in a green can ;-). Literally, two sips when a competitor generously decided to let me have a go of the machine I'd been competing against. I came in after one lap because i could tell my machine control was beyond pathetic. Okay, that's at the equivalent of qualifying. But two sips? Drinking and riding - nah. And if you do have even one beer on a ride, knock it right off and bimble home. Happy New Year! Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:39:37 +0000 Mario McMillan http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/summer-riding/#PageComment_19 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/the-world-s-best-motorcycle-ride-it-s-right-here/#PageComment_14 Oh dear, Trent, you have gotten the wrong end of the stick! I found Cole irritating because of his presentation abilities, not because he was British. All my favourite TV presenters happen to be Poms, especially when it comes to things motor-orientated. The Top Gear lads and Ewan and Charley spring immediately to mind (plus Moody & Ryder on the bike racing). Previously, I found Mr Cole’s enthusiasm feigned and his moaning all too genuine. (Never a good look on TV.) In the NZ episode his enthusiasm seemed genuine and inspiring. Was I chuffed that he took to NZ and riding here so fondly? Guilty as charged. Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:00:21 +0000 Mario http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/the-world-s-best-motorcycle-ride-it-s-right-here/#PageComment_14 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/summer-riding/#PageComment_13 Never ever drink and drive especially when someone else is also on the road. Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:34:33 +0000 Pieter Smit http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/summer-riding/#PageComment_13 http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/the-world-s-best-motorcycle-ride-it-s-right-here/#PageComment_12 What a nasty little posting: I hated the presenter because he was British, but ended up accepting him once he'd heaped sufficient praise on New Zealand. Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:27:02 +0000 Trent http://www.rideforever.co.nz/blog/the-world-s-best-motorcycle-ride-it-s-right-here/#PageComment_12