Safe Sleep for Pillon Partner?

[TimberGuy]

Riding partner loves our adventures and often gets relaxed & drowsy (great change from her regular routine so I want to encourage it). Trying to find a safe way for her to sleep since I can go for hours easily. Don't see a big safety issue if she is secure or constrained from slumping over. Sure that some will think we are nuts, others know we are nuts because we choose a bike in the first place. Have not found anything in forums about this. What am I missing?

 

Riding an R1100RT w/ bags & trunk.

 

Best idea yet is velcro connection from her jacket to mine - shoulders to shoulders when she wants to hook it up.

Another is a single jacket that we both fit into at same time - oh yeh!

Can see additional luggage strapped on for a nook - don't need that much stuff.

[Fightingpiper]

As a kid I always slept on the back seat of a goldwing and never had a problem. I think your body will instinctively keep itself upright while riding.

[notacop]

Lots of friends wives admit to dozing on the back. Some read to while away the hours. My wife dozed a lot in the sidecar but that's a fairly benign confine.

If you ride really fast she may find the terror keeps her awake if not happy.

[Harry_Wilshusen]

Maybe something like this buckled to the trunk.

 

http://sj.blacksteel.com/fetters-sj/

 

 

 

 

Harry

[Ken H.]

I don’t think it’s an issue. In all the years of hearing about, reading about and knowing pillions who fall asleep (including my current one!) I’ve never heard of anyone falling off because the were asleep. I think the body still keeps some natural sense of balance going even when asleep and (s)he corrects themselves regardless.

[Selden]

My wife has also admitted to falling asleep, but like others, I am unaware of a report of a sleeping passenger ever falling off or coming to harm. I suspect that it only happens on long straights, and that pillion passengers never fall asleep in the twisties.

[John Ferris]

Its no problem until she fluffs the pillow and turns over.

[snod]

My experience has been that a sleeping passenger is not a problem. The problem arises when they wake up, and don't recall that they are on the back of a motorcycle. Nearly low sided a interstate exit ramp once due to the sudden jerk caused by my wife waking up while leaned hard over. She sat straight up, and I overcorrected. After that incident, I always made sure she was awake prior to any hard corners. I have always had either a trunk or a backrest installed for long two up tours.

[Smoky]

My wife sleeps on the back of my RT. Sometimes she just nods off and her helmet bonks on mine.

 

For a longer nap, on straight roads, she looks right, and puts her helmet on my back, and her left arm around my middle. I hold my left arm over hers to hold her securely. He nap can last as long as I don't have to reach for the clutch, or until my arm cramps up or gets tired.

 

Works for us.

 

Still working on a method for me to nap!

[LeftCoastMan]

Unless your passenger has some sleep disorder (walking in your sleep is going to have very bad results), I'm sure that they will not go into the deepest sleep, causing them to lose all muscle tone and fall off the bike. I did a quick search on Medline to see if there was ever a report of this happening (and ending up in a hospital), and I couldn't find a single one over the past 10 years. This doesn't mean it can't or hadn't happened, it has never been reported.

 

If, however, your passenger does have a sleep disorder or is taking any medication that might cause them to go into a deep sleep, please strap them in!

[tallman]

closng but may have something in stock

the Buddy Belt might provide a way to link her to you.

 

this could also be used to cobble a link

[jfremder]

As a kid I always slept on the back seat of a goldwing and never had a problem. I think your body will instinctively keep itself upright while riding.

 

Carol sleeps on the back of the RT all the time. Never had a problem. I suppose it's different for different people, but I never felt like she was going to fall off. I think your body keeps you upright, even if you're napping.