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

After riding for 30 minutes or so my right hand goes slightly numb from the vibration, its not bad, maybe i am a little more sensitive to the freqency of the vibrations then others. I have over 2000 km on the bike now and was condsidering adding some bar-risers, would this make the situation worse? Was even thinking of adding a thin strip of rubber tape around the bars when i mount the risers to try and reduce the vibrations a bit. Any thoughts?

Thanks

I noticed after two days of riding some numbness in my hand and lower arm too. Personally not looking for bar risers but the rubber in the existing handle bar mount is interesting.

I would also be interested in anyone's thoughts.

The rubber strip is an interesting idea. The Kaoko trottle lock is what I use when my hands get tired. Maybe both would be even better.
Mark

Solution: Throttlemeister "Heavy" version ! This totally eliminated the numb hands, and is really great for cruising around. This is the new black crinkle finish that looks OEM Great product !

$8.00 cure - the foam grip over-grips from http://www.beemerboneyard.com - work wonderfully well. Also - if you're left handed and wear you watch on your right wrist - take it off before riding. Makes all the difference... 9 hours of backroads today - no numbness...

r12r-don wrote:I noticed after two days of riding some numbness in my hand and lower arm too. Personally not looking for bar risers but the rubber in the existing handle bar mount is interesting.

I would also be interested in anyone's thoughts.

Guys, the problem is that the felt vibration is a "resonance" issue that occurs with certain RPM combinations and the physical length of the bars. The rubber solution probably will not do much because the clamping necessary to avoid the bars rotating is going to somewhat negate any possible isolation of the vibration input anyway. Best fix is to change the resonance frequency of the bars by adding weight to them, preferably at the ends, or change the length of the bars. The foam grips will damp out some of the vibes felt too, like a shock absorber.

I have several friends with other type bikes that have gone to the extreme of putting lead shot in the bars, which actually cured their problems. Again, this added weight and changed the resonant frequency of the bars, thus eliminating the felt vibration and numb hands.

While resonance certainly causes the handle bar vibration, I disagree with the theory that that is what causes the numbness. Bicyclists also have the problem, which is why they wear the fingerless gloves with gel padding on the palms. My theory is that gripping the throttle mile after mile cuts off circulation. That's why the Throttle Master works--you can relax your hand on the grip. Unfortunately, that doesn't work in the twisties.

Hey ka5ysy, I can't find a throttlemeister listing for the R12, Is it the same bar end used for the R1150R?

Most people on there are looking for bar risers and setback, but I found that vibration was significantly reduced when I went to a straight bar... lower. So, I'm thinking taller bars would be worse. Maybe some people that have put on taller bars care to comment?

Acpantera wrote:Hey ka5ysy, I can't find a throttlemeister listing for the R12, Is it the same bar end used for the R1150R?

Here ya go:

http://www.throttlemeister.com/tm.html
click on "new" tab which shows the R1200R stuff

R1200R
2007
FT & AB14
$120 (standard weight version)

FH & AB14-H
$137 (Heavy version)

Black crinkle finish I have is $10 extra, and the site shows a new version with milled flutes in them.

Great stuff those folks make !

famousperson wrote:While resonance certainly causes the handle bar vibration, I disagree with the theory that that is what causes the numbness. Bicyclists also have the problem, which is why they wear the fingerless gloves with gel padding on the palms. My theory is that gripping the throttle mile after mile cuts off circulation. That's why the Throttle Master works--you can relax your hand on the grip. Unfortunately, that doesn't work in the twisties.

I find that when I ride my mountain bicycle my wrists are in an odd position and eventually my wrists go numb from circulation constriction. I find a lot of the harmonic vibration damped out with the heavy bars, and my hands do not get weird like without the bar end weights.

FInal chapter in this episode?: Stay tuned !!!!!

Anybody ever use this product http://www.barsnake.com/ ?

OlyVR wrote:Anybody ever use this product http://www.barsnake.com/ ?

Be difficult to use on the Roadster since the ends of the bars are welded shut (with the mounting boss for the bar-end weights..) Other than that.. a good idea.

I'll report back from 10 days on the bike, 1,775 miles (4-days were 'rally days' with almost no riding being done - used the bike basically just for transportation)..

I had no numbness issues. A first. My hands never bothered me. This is really unusual since I do have carpel-tunnel in my right hand. I put on foam-grip covers (http://www.beemerboneyard.com) and a drag-O-ring for the throttle (makes it stay wherever it's set.)

The stock low seat almost does it for me. Long (more than 7 hour) days need the help of the FreedomAir cushion. I can ride with the low seat for 3-4 hours at a time, and only one Advil session will cure the soreness for another 2 hours or so. With the Freedom-Air - I was on the bike from 7:45 AM until 7PM today - and no real butt problems.

The 16" Cee-Baileys shield is quite usable for me. It might be nice to have it 2" higher - but even that I'm not sure since it was easy to simply duck down and rest on my tank bag a bit if the noise got annoying.. Also found that steadied the bike when doing blasts past large-tractor-trailers "at speed" (> 80MPH, a few blasts up to the ton..) The bike feels rock steady at those sort of speeds. The air hits my helmet just above the faceshield level, which gave me decent ventilation.

Fuel mileage ranged from a low of 46MPG (during the rally - lots of 1st gear puttering around the Biltmore estate) to a high of 56 MPG done at an average speed of 71MPH. Real life tank range is 250-280 miles with a bit in reserve.

Don , It is a shame I didn't run into you at the RA last weekend. The only other R1200R was the one under the hannigan fairing.
I'm glad the seat is working for you. It isn't working for me.
Mark

celticus wrote:Don , It is a shame I didn't run into you at the RA last weekend. The only other R1200R was the one under the hannigan fairing.
I'm glad the seat is working for you. It isn't working for me.
Mark

Actually - saw about 4 other ones besides mine. A black with no pins, no windshield at all, a black with a Cee-Bailey 18" shield, a silver with the BMW touring shield and one other that I can't recall the details of. One of them was staying at the same motel complex I was (Doubletree/Sleep-Inn) saw it a number of times there..

Too bad - we should'a had a Roadster meet

Just remembered - saw one other one with a custom seat. Looked like a Russel. Looked hideous as Russel's do - but bet it was comfortable.

Hey -- I was there, sleeping in a tent like a real rally goer. My R has a Parabellum without the hidious stripes (high speed tests show the drag from those stripes cost 2.58 MPH on the top end ).

I also have no chicken stripes on the tires thanks to a trip through the dragon with no traffic in front of me (at least none I couldn't pass quickly).
I was passed by a GT-40, he was flying and pushing some poor guy on a crouch rocket, I got out of the way quick when I heard that coming up behind me.

I also speak two octaves higher now thanks to the designer of that wonderful seat. No problem with my butt on 575 mile ride (three stops), but other parts were in the way .

Motel? People stay at motels? At rallies?
I wish you could have seen my cool carbon fiber hugger.

Mark

Ves wrote:Most people on there are looking for bar risers and setback, but I found that vibration was significantly reduced when I went to a straight bar... lower. So, I'm thinking taller bars would be worse. Maybe some people that have put on taller bars care to comment?

Ves, which straight bar did you use? Did you get the same bar as on the R1150 Rockster?
-andy