Sorry Jettster, I was not trying to be a wiseguy. When I have a passenger, I find thatsmooth is always best,and my passenger always appreciates that, even when "on the gas" I try to apply it fairly gradually so as not to disturb the passenger. They will feel the g's pushing them back, but if not done to aggressively, they can compensate without hanging on or even using the backrest. Only in rare situations would I need to crack the throttle open so much that it throws my passenger back. Braking on the otherhand, may need to be applied "aggressively" in more situations, but this would bring the passenger forward, into me and stop any further forward movement.
If I am going to be doing very aggressive driving to the point that the passenger will be affected by it (not something I do often), I would tell the passenger this and in this situation, I would ask them to hang on to me and not depend solely on the backrest.
Take care.
Rumble