Ive been noticing my right fingers going numb while riding lately and remembered hearing that if you touch your index finger and your thumb, that it goes away. It really works. If anyone has this problem, I recommend at least giving it a try
Even better when you wrap them 'round a shot glass full of vodka!
You can also lower your elbow a bit to better improve blood flow at the wrist.
I rode to Sturgis from Baltimore in 2006; 5000 miles in about 10 days. My right hand was numb for 3 weeks afterwards.
I've been having this problem with my whole right hand. Jesse Risers on my 1100 helped a ton, but still some numbness. I'm looking for some different grips (Slightly larger diameter?/softer?) as this point to see if more relief can be had.
Quote from: R0CKETMAN on April 27, 2010, 12:42:09 PM
I've been having this problem with my whole right hand. Jesse Risers on my 1100 helped a ton, but still some numbness. I'm looking for some different grips (Slightly larger diameter?/softer?) as this point to see if more relief can be had.
See if you can find Oury grips, I got mine from my local dealer for about $14. I also have them on my mountain bike and I love them. They're just a hair larger, in diameter, than typical sport grips but they are extremely comphy. Large gel squares and they stay sticky in the rain! The only thing is I think they're only available in a closed grip but you can cut them with a razor blade very easily.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/black-rubber-hand-grips-7/8/p2002130.jcwx (http://www.jcwhitney.com/black-rubber-hand-grips-7/8/p2002130.jcwx)
The road grips on that link are the ones I'm talking about.
If you have numbness in your hands its one of two things. Its either carpel tunnel syndrome or you have some thing going on in your neck/shoulders like thoracic outlet syndrome. I have had both for years. My hands go numb blow blow drying my hair every morning. Its caused by repeated use of swollen inflamed muscles in the neck/shoulder area pinching off the nerve and blood supply to your arms. I have had it for years, lots of rest makes it go away 9like 2 months of not doing anything at all and very restrictive weight limits like 5 lbs at a time ) but it will come back if you go back to your old habits. If I raise both my arms to shoulder height there is no pulse in either wrist.
To get a better ride, you need to change your riding position, the grips generally don't help that much, its all about your shoulders and wrists. Do some strength training in the abdominal area and then may I suggest some kid of riser or maybe clip on with a rise in them.You have to keep the blood and nerves open all the way into your extremities. I am not a doctor but have suffered from this for 15 years or more and have tried everything. I am open to new suggestions !
Thats my 2 cents and from experience.
Have a happy ,
BGB.
Try repositioning your grips. You might have to switch to some adjustable clip ons.
I swapped to LOW mount clipons on my S2R and the numbness stopped. For some reason, the higher riding position messed with my back and my hands. After dropping the grips about 3 inches and tweaking their camber position both problems disappeared.
Your wrist should have as natural as possible of an angle.
If you have an extra grip, you can hold it and relax your arm/wrist holdign the grip as you would ride. Now lift your forearm. That is how your hand should look when you are riding (or as close as you can get it)..
Bear in mind this exercise is an IDEAL positioning -- it is nearly impossible to achieve. But if you get your riding position close, I bet the numbness will go.
Part of my problem is wide shoulders-- I wear a sz 46 jacket. I can't squeeze my wrists in as much as I'd like
I do believe that the lower position may help, during my ride today, I noticed that my wrist's were bent backward a couple of degrees and I'm pretty sure this is the cause. With the grips further away, I would be forced to reach further straightening my wrist and use more of my abdominal muscles. (which I really need to do)
Angling your levers further down towards the ground may help force you to keep your wrist straighter.
I have found my numbness was due to a combination of vibration and too much pressure on the grips while riding. found that relaxing my grip and using grip puppies has eliminated the problem for me.
I used to have some problem with finger numbness. in the end, it's a combination of things. First of all, I had poor posture and tend to grip the bars too hard without even knowing it. After correcting that, it help quite a bit. Now I have to remind myself to relex the grip every now and then and move fingers around, etc.
One thing I didn't notice till much later though was the gloves I used to wear. I have small palms with long fingers and the gloves I had (Rev'it monster) only fit me width wise acorss my palm. The length for the fingers was ok but much too short for my thumb. It's no big deal when I just wear it around. But when I ride with them, the thumb part of the gloves would pinch the area between my index finger and thumb, casuing thumbness and pain at the base of my thumb....
I couldn't figure that part for the longest time. It came to light in the fall when I switched back and forth between the Rev'it gloves and winter gloves.
Just my $0.02...
I have been going around this issue for the past few months while riding my S2R1K. There is a thread to that affect in the TECH section. What Goat Herder says is what I have experienced. Try this test. Ride as you did with the same gloves as you did when you got the numbness. Remove the right hand glove and ride bare handed over the same roads again. I suspect you will find relief. What this tells me is the glove doesn't fit your hand well. Why just the right and not the left you ask? Yesterday while riding my BMW touring bike I tried some four year old First Gear mesh summer gloves I stopped wearing that I had cut the finger tips off the gloves because of numbness. No numbness but the glove is still too small. I really need a glove between a L and XL size. Some size L gloves cause the same issue on the BMW and it's smooth. My XL gloves don't cause the numbness in the fingers. I also believe that gloves with extra leather or padding in the area where the fingers flex toward the palm bunch up and reduce throttle grip tension to the point that you must tighten the grip which presses the glove into the finger tips and webbing which can cause numbness. It doesn't happen to me on the left glove cause I don't need to hold a throttle open, IMHO. I will now make a point of buying gloves with only one layer of leather and no padding on the palm side. Gloves are disposable so if I only use their abrasion resistance one time that is okay with me. Finding the right fit in gloves can be a PITA.
Also I suspect that throttle sensitivity may play a role here too. I'm still examining that issue.
Just to add another thought about gloves fitment... The numbness only occurred to my right hand when I had the ill-fitted gloves on. Problem might be that, for most right-handed people, their right hand is slightly larger than the left. Therefore, the shortness of the finger part was felt more on my right hand.
Also, I tend to grip with my right hands harder at time since that's the throttle hand. my left hand is just resting on the grip. In combination with the issue mentioned above, my right hand goes numb more often.
New gloves + relaxing the grip + better posture (less weight on hands) = comfy hands
A* gloves are narrower and have longer fingers!
... if you treat the problem but don't remove the underlying cause, it will become chronic. I suggest you try riding the motorcycle more like a horse (which will improve your riding skills as well)... lock yourself on your bike with whatever you can with the exception of your hands. Use your abs and your thighs, knees etc to keep you in the saddle. you should be able to 1-finger steer the bike this way, and it will save your wrists. Try the riding clinic Doc Wong offers - he goes over this in great detail. Once you become good at this, you'll find riding around corners downhill is more fun than riding uphill around corners.
Cheers!
Princess
In addition to what everyone else said, try synching the throttle bodies on your bike as well. It won't cure the problem completely but, it will definitely reduce the amount of vibration you feel in the bars.
1) Lose your 'death grip' on the throttle/bars.....tension in your hands and arms/shoulders thwarts blood circulation.......lots of ab exercises help
2) Get the back of your wrist straight (parallel with the top of your arm) when riding....try 'reaching over' the throttle when placing your RH before starting off so it'll wind up in the correct position when the grip's twisted - you can see Rossi (and other top riders) doing this when leaving the pits in the recent Duc-test videos
3) Pay no attention to your hands (e.g., trying to touch your fingertips) or you'll lose sight of what's going on around you
4) FWIW - I installed ProGrip 714 Rally grips about 5 years ago; they're softer than superbike grips and are contoured to be thicker in the center so they fit the hand more ergonomically....love 'em - you may want to trim the flange and cut out the end of the grip to fit the bike (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/9/192/19546/ITEM/Pro-Grip-714-Dual-Sport-Grips.aspx (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/9/192/19546/ITEM/Pro-Grip-714-Dual-Sport-Grips.aspx))
if on a long run get a throttle buster
I saw a big difference when I used the Electrean Fast throttle body cam.
My wrist had to turn a lot less for cruising
bar risers and Pro-Grips #714.