P-Pads

P-Pads aka Pillion Pads

Short detour to Scotland: The Gaelic word pillean refers to a small blanket that you tie behind the saddle when you want to take someone along on your steed. The English adopted the word along with the part. And because the English have always been bad at spelling Gaelic, it became pillion in English. From the blanket, the sense of the word has transferred over time to the fellow traveler. From the rear passenger on the warm-blooded steed to the one on the steel steed, it was then only a small analogy.

P-Pads for Harleys

The pillion pad on the Harley-Davidson is therefore a small cushion on which the pillion rider sits. There are short and long pads, thin or thick padded, to screw on, clamp on or with suction cups to protect the paint. P-Pads are the indispensable companions of the Solo seat. Bates Tuck & Roll P-Pads do exceptionally well on a hardtail chopper. But the KRTT also benefits from them: in order to really stretch out on the track, riders in the 50s and 60s liked to slide their backsides behind the (actual) seat on these wedge-shaped "racing buns".