BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I've experienced a lot of numbness, especially in my right hand on anything other than short rides. Then I started to grip the bars like I do my golf clubs, nice and light, and numbness is all but gone. That improved my riding as well. Cheaper than farkles, try it.

Doug

peckhammer wrote:I ride with the pads of my palms just resting across the tops of the grips. This was the technique I learned from someone after experiencing handle bar palsy, something that happens on bicycles and motorcycles from too much vibration and too strong of a grip on the bars. Could it be that some of ya'll are gripping the bars too tightly?

I know I grip the bars too tightly, but by the time I notice, It's too late. Once my hand is numb, it's numb, lightening up doesn't help. If I could just remember to relax from the get-go...

I think I'll try foam, as others are saying. It can't hurt.

famousperson wrote:

peckhammer wrote:I ride with the pads of my palms just resting across the tops of the grips. This was the technique I learned from someone after experiencing handle bar palsy, something that happens on bicycles and motorcycles from too much vibration and too strong of a grip on the bars. Could it be that some of ya'll are gripping the bars too tightly?

I know I grip the bars too tightly, but by the time I notice, It's too late. Once my hand is numb, it's numb, lightening up doesn't help. If I could just remember to relax from the get-go...

I think I'll try foam, as others are saying. It can't hurt.

I think you re focusing on the wrong part of the body. The trick is to use the muscles on the inside of your leg and those of your back for braking, and your stomach muscles when accelerating. Doing the elbow-test* frequently helps you make sure you are not griping too tight.

*Elbow test: hands on the handlebars, elbows bent, bike moving. See if you can easily and loosely wiggle your elbows horizontally, vertical to the bike's direction.

Another method to keep hands loose is to imagine a valve on the bottom of your elbows that constantly drains tension from your neck and shoulders out onto the ground. Let it flow!

(Don't worry: it's colorless, odorless and no more slippery than hydraulic fluid!)

Seriously, I learned this trick while learning something called the Alexander Technique to control back pain and it works. It's a habit now, as I start every ride. I just sense a flowing down the circumference of my arms, out the elbows. And another outflow down the circumference of the forearms, into the hands, and out the fingers. Works wonders at the keyboard, too.

This "Direction" as Alexander called it, actually triggers some postural reflex receptors and counteracts our tendency to over-use our muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints for any given task.

deilenberger wrote:All the above are good ideas if your hands go numb or tingle.. as a long time sufferer of CTS I've tried all of them. Some bikes just can't be "fixed" (my old R1150RS - nothing I did cured it.. it was basically unrideable for me..) I have a dead-man throttle, O ring under the bar-end weight - throttle stays where I put it, foam grips, put my wrist watch in my pocket when riding (or wear a pocket watch), foam grips from Beemerboneyard, loose cuffs on my gloves and Aerostich - and even then - sometimes in the AM on the way to work my right hand goes a bit numb... but longer trips - like last weeks looking for a straight road in West Virginia - no problem. Go figure.. I can't explain it.

There is a moral here: Stay on the long trip roads!

For those of you with right hand issues, one thing that worked for me is that I trained myself to use the computer mouse with my left hand instead of my right (I am right handed). I have a desk job and use the computer a lot. Now my right hand feels fine on the throttle.

NeilS wrote:For those with right hand problems, try a Throttle Rocker or a Cramp Buster. They let you hold the throttle open using the weight of your wrist and forearm rather than having to keep your hand and forearm muscles tight. One of the better $10 investments you can make.

+1
Just like the AirHawk I don't leave home without the throttle rocker too.... the best $10 spend on the bike!

I have this item, I kept it from my f650CS of yesteryear. The Hand grips are smaller on the R12R and I guess smaller then average because the throttle rocker isnt tight and slips, where every half hour I need to adjust it. Would buying the foam grips make it wider, more comfortable and a better fit for the throttle rocker? Where does one buy the foam grips, and for how much? Also, how can I firm up the slippage of the throttle rocker without the foam? My idea was to slip a rubber sleeve or something in there to take up the extra space and reduce slippage to nil.

Rubber covers for grips - www.beemerboneyard.com - about $7/pair.

And dunno on the rest of your questions..

The old style (one-piece) Throttle Rocker came with exactly that--a rubber sleeve to slightly reduce the clearance to smaller and harder grips. The new-style (Velcro) Throttle Rocker allegedly doesn't need the sleeve. I haven't tried it but I'm skeptical. I don't know if the Cramp Buster comes with a sleeve.

yes...crampbuster comes with a rubber sleeve.....

The Throttle Rocker comes with an adjustable strap, secured with velcro, that you can tighten down to any diameter. I find that it does tend to slip some, requiring a clutch-in-and-pull-the-rocker-up adjustment every now and then.

My solution is the Kaoko throttle lock - easiest to use on the road (have tried the Wunderlich and Throttlemeister).

Method (don't ask about the madness) .. Apply a little tension just to slow the twitchiness of the R12R's throttle - for open-ish road with many tighter corners. Wind on quite tight on the wide open road so you can rest you hand - still easy enough to back off when necessary. Wind right off for sustained tight corners and aorund town. Repeat as necessary.

I've use the wrist-rest, cramp-buster etc on my F650CS - good, but the Kaoko is a better solution. Don's O-ring obviosuly works, but this is more flexible.

Interesting comment on using your torso muscles instead of hands / arms to hold position on the bike ... works on a desk trial, might try it on the bike ...