To pillion or not to pillion....that is the question...

[chaindad]

The pillion seat....yeah or nay????

My Aero looks SO sweet with the pillion off & that big ol' retro fender shinin' in the sun....BUT....I lose the ability to strap schtuff down. I don't have bags....don't want 'em.....I love the way my scoot looks "naked" if you will....not alot of add ons. The wifey seldom rides....the pillion on the Aero is way small.....but at least when its on I can strap down things I need to take....a small backpack....a small cooler....my Bibles & stuff if I'm headin' for church....my helmet when I'm wearing a doo rag....when I'm "pillion less" on a ride I'll wear a fanny pack....they make a nice chrome fender rack for the Aero that I'm contemplating....


So I'm interested in what my other cruiser brothers & sisters do.....keep the seat on as a necessary evil or look cool & show that fender????

[internationalballer]

Every now and then I take off the pillion seat, and with that off I also pull off my saddlebags and support brakets. Like you I love the way my big ol' fender looks naked, plus the bags also cover up the ghost flames on the rear fender :(. I kind of sucks like you said cuz then I can not carry anything, but when I ride with my friend who has bags he lets me put atleast my pop in his so I don't go thirsty. I used to be the same way I never like having bags on my bike and I used to only put the rear seat on when the wife wanted a ride, I broke down about a year ago and bought bads because when we went on long hauls I needed the space and the look of the bags being on have kind of grown on me.

[SuperSherpa197]

i can't imagine not having a passenger seat or area to strap things to......never know when an emergency situation might arise. 'bout as well carry a half helmet for a passenger with ya :P

in all honesty i wouldn't ride with the intention of picking up a passenger, but it's whatever. if it's just you and that's it, leave it like that. any would be passenger worth your time would have a way to follow you to wherever you're going.

[black27696]

My pillion won't come off separately but even if it did I don't think I'd remove it. I use it and the sissy bar constantly to attach stuff that I need to the bike. Although I have to admit I love the looks of solo seats on a bike. I'd say if you would rather have the rack on it than the pillion, go for it. Just make sure your wife doesn't mind...

[jesse v]

I like riding without it unless I know (or suspect) I'll be carrying something or someone. Gotta go for that lone-rider vibe, ya know.

[ShadowOrange04]

I didn't know the back came off the aero. I don't think I'll take it off though, I really like the look of the bags, pillion, etc. I'm thinking of adding a backrest to bulk up the look of the back end even more.

[roflol]

Definitely with you regarding the looks, Chaindad. The nakier, the better.

But sounds like you also need to have something to carry stuff with, so if that fender rack will hold what you want then go with it - bonus that it looks cool as well! :]

If it's not strong enough to hold all you want (or too spendy), sounds like you may be stuck with the pillion for now as am I (have not found a strong fender rack for the V-Star).

I did find a nice low Harley sissy upright and coupled that with the Willie and Max "Hooker" which basically is a sheet of thick material with D-rings attached, to which I can bungee anything that will fit on the pillion. This way, I haven't needed saddle bags when I carry bigger stuff. And I do have a little fanny pack cinched around the pillion that you can barely see, for little stuff I always carry.

It's not naked, but it's as close as I'll probably get.

Question for the Aero - can you get "hard bags" and use that with the fender rack? That would be nice IMHO...

[chaindad]

I may get a fender rack this winter....they do look sweet. Interestingly....the Hondaline rack has a weight limit of like 15 pounds.....?????.....that makes no sense to me.....the rack is obviously heavy duty & well made.....& if the pillion seat was on (in the EXACT place the rack would be) the weight limit is however big your passenger is....lol.....I reckon Honda is just coverin' their butt in case someone does something stupid.....ie.....loading a piano on the rack.....heh.....in a related story.....2 weeks ago I was at WallyWorld on my scoot....doin' a drug run....lol....& I saw this NICE suitcase/travel bag thingie on sale.....we were going on a trip out of town the next week to a ministry summit & didn't have a good suitcase....so my mind starts spinnin'....I wonder if I could strap that big sucker on Faith's pillion seat.....hehe....its about 4 feet high.....3 feet wide & 2 feet deep.....purty big. So I go to hardware & but some BIG bungee cords.....buy the suitcase thingie & take it outside & strap it on the seat......boy did I look goofy riding home (25 miles).....I shoulda took a pic.....made it home safe & sound but I'm quite sure I had the "you might be a redneck...." look goin' on.....

yes brother.....they make some sweet hard bags for the Aero but man they're pricey.... Someday perhaps.....till then I'll keep usin fanny packs....

[bdavison]

What about a tank bag?

[chaindad]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Hehehe.....no offense....I have a buddy who uses a tank bag & it looks cool on his bike but.......NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! It would just ruin the lines....imo.....

[Peter Darby]

When I was single I couldn't imagine driving a female magnet without a place to put her. Now that I am married I have to have a place to park the wife while riding or I would be caging it a lot more. They are also a lot softer on your back than nothing.