Numb throttle hand -new rider

[52pickup]

I got my bike today, finally and :rockon: it's a blast even though I'm taking it slow...usually under 35 mph. i did notice a numbness that came on quite quickly in my throttle hand and I am hoping for some advice to sooth the problem. Is it rider position? Poor technique...my own nerves as a newbie?

 

[granda080]

There is probably a variety of reasons for this. First loosen the death grip you probably have on the bars. If you have the stock bars toss those aside and do the FZ1 bar swap. It will help tremendously. Until then loosen your hand. Try sitting up on the tank more using your legs to squeeze the tank vs letting your wrists take the brunt of braking.

 

[52pickup]

Thanks brother...I'll have to figure things out...FZ1 bars...are they more upright?

 

[Lefty]

There is probably a variety of reasons for this. First loosen the death grip you probably have on the bars. If you have the stock bars toss those aside and do the FZ1 bar swap. It will help tremendously. Until then loosen your hand. Try sitting up on the tank more using your legs to squeeze the tank vs letting your wrists take the brunt of braking.

I had the same problem on my bike until I did the FZ1 bar swap, it was a huge improvement for me and a cheap mod to boot. :rockon: And forcing myself to learn to put less pressure on the bars not only helped reduce the fatigue but it's much better way to increase control in the corners.

 

[nthdegreeburns]

There is probably a variety of reasons for this. First loosen the death grip you probably have on the bars. If you have the stock bars toss those aside and do the FZ1 bar swap. It will help tremendously. Until then loosen your hand. Try sitting up on the tank more using your legs to squeeze the tank vs letting your wrists take the brunt of braking.

I, too, would like to know how the FZ1 mod is different than the stock bars.

 

[Lefty]

Thanks brother...I'll have to figure things out...FZ1 bars...are they more upright?

No, just flatter with less angle toward your wrists. I actually got rid of the risers that were on my bike when I got it.

 

[FinalImpact]

^^ ++ for all posts above!!!

in addition I'd like to add this...

Regarding hand strength, hand cramps/pain, endurance and setup up of levers....

When your on the bike and in position, rotate your levers so the imaginary line from your shoulder, through your forearm, wrists and fingers are all parallel. The factory location for the levers usually has most of us pointing our wrists upwards which pinches nerves and cuts off circulation. In short - lever position is dependent on torso length and your lean angle.

Notice how far the levers are rotated? The levers angle in relation to the bar nearly makes a straight line to my shoulders rotator cuff. My fingers are nearly straight in line with my wrist and forearms.

Point: adjust those levers so your wrists are parallel to your forearm so you have a straight pull. If they were really high, be careful as it will take far less effort to pull the levers!

 

[52pickup]

Awesome. :thumbup: thanks!

 

[Lefty]

Great tip Randy. I find me correcting myself all the time to get to the proper riding position you demonstrated. :thumbup:

 

[elus1ve]

A pair of heavy 'bar ends' did help me loads on that problem. Plenty of choices on eBay. The heavier they are, the less vibration you will get on your hands.

 

[bdevries]

I've only been riding for a couple months and found that as soon as I loosened up the numbness went away.

 

[FinalImpact]

I've only been riding for a couple months and found that as soon as I loosened up the numbness went away.

I basically just float my hands and let the abs do the rest.

If this issue is induced by actual vibrations vs setup, alignment, rider tension, some bikes get vibes at all RPMs and there is a solution for that. See - http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...tion-cure-bad-vibrations-spark-plug-caps.html

Not to be confused with drive chain or wheel balance issues.

 

[Marcin]

A pair of heavy 'bar ends' did help me loads on that problem. Plenty of choices on eBay. The heavier they are, the less vibration you will get on your hands.

Heavier than stock ones?

 

[agf]

+1 on bar ends
the HVMP bar ends are 17.5 oz of stainless steel, look great and kill most of the vibes coming thru the bars. They are considerably heavier than the stock bar ends, cost about $80 to Australia, but the company do seem to give us a good price when we ask( a group purchase price), or at least they did when I bought them a few years ago
I also used grip puppies, or actually some hi density foam tubing that does the same job.
I have just(yesterday) put on "grip buddies"( load this into google....Original Grip Buddies) and I'll let you know what I think when I ride with them to work tomorrow.

but first off, I'll add to what Randy (Final Imapct)said: relax the shoulders, un-lock the forearms and loosen the grip on the bars..... bear i mind that you are sitting astride the bike and if gets away from you, and lets hope that never happens, you will not be hanging on for long however you think you have a tight hold on those bars. and I DO speak from experience there. My Bad!!!!

enjoy and remember ATGATT...(All The Gear, All The Time)

 

[bdevries]

I basically just float my hands and let the abs do the rest.

If this issue is induced by actual vibrations vs setup, alignment, rider tension, some bikes get vibes at all RPMs and there is a solution for that. See - http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...tion-cure-bad-vibrations-spark-plug-caps.html

Not to be confused with drive chain or wheel balance issues.

Same, they say that you should pretend the bars are a little bird that you've caught. Hold tight enough that it can't escape, but don't squish it.

 

[Brandon]

I had this same problem when I first started riding and it's was user error with me gripping the bars like there was no tomorrow. Just a bit looser grip on them really changed things

 

[Botch]

I still have the stock bar; what really helped me were a $10 set of Grip Puppies (these slide over the existing grips, both giving a cushier grip and increasing the diameter).

 

[elus1ve]

Heavier than stock ones?

Yes, I got some slightly heavier than stock and they look better too. Then there are even heavier ones made by HVMP, apparently they are very effective against vibration on the handlebar but I never tried them.

 

[DeepBlueRider]

I got my bike today, finally and :rockon: it's a blast even though I'm taking it slow...usually under 35 mph. i did notice a numbness that came on quite quickly in my throttle hand and I am hoping for some advice to sooth the problem. Is it rider position? Poor technique...my own nerves as a newbie?

As other mentioned, could be death grip.

I would like to point another reason that happen to me. Wrong position of controls. My initial setup of brake and clutch levers was exactly parallel to the ground when front wheel was centered. That forced my wrist to bent up and that caused pinching some nerves. Then I've switched handlebars back end forth which required reposition of controls. Ive rotate them little forward and I don't have that problem since then.

Something to look into.

Most of riders found different bars working better for them. For me initially it was true, but then I've went back to stock and it was fine. I think one other member shared similar story lately.

 

[Kingwu]

There is probably a variety of reasons for this. First loosen the death grip you probably have on the bars. If you have the stock bars toss those aside and do the FZ1 bar swap. It will help tremendously. Until then loosen your hand. Try sitting up on the tank more using your legs to squeeze the tank vs letting your wrists take the brunt of braking.

+1^

I got the FZ1 bars when I bought my bike, works great. :thumbup: