Just got my endorsement today:ncb:. I rode for about an hour today on the Blueridge Parkway in Western NC. I had to stop every so often to let the circulation come back to my throttle hand. I have tried adjusting my grip while trying to maintain smooth even pressure on the throttle. This worked a little bit but ultimately I had to stop a few times just to let my hand come fully back to life. At this point in my riding career (Novice) I would not last long on a highway. As the hand goes numb reaction time is compromised. Grabbing too much brake lever with a de-sensitized hand could suck also. What say you more experienced riders reagarding this? Thanx, Gunzer
practice, experience, posture(sit up more, use back and legs)and maybe invest in helibars(risers) It gets better the more you ride, trust me.
No heli-bars yet for me but I have added a cramp buster and a throttle lock. The cramp buster allows me to relax my hand and the throttle lock lets me shake the feeling back into it occasionally. I agree with Drewl on the posture. That has probably been the single biggest help for numb hands. Get your weight off those palms! Planning my first multi-day trip later this month out to Pittsburgh & Lake Erie area so we'll see how I hold up. The rest of the crew will be on Gold Wings & Silver Wings.
1,800 mile trip last week. No way I could have done it without my Throttlemeister (or something along those lines). Being able to relax my hands from time to time makes a world of difference. Other things: Posture, posture, posture. Also good gloves.
Your the newbie and you probably have a death grip on the bars. Learn to relax. It just takes time. Also, work on supporting your wieght with your legs and butt. Try this, get the bike on the center stand and sit on it. Have you hand down by your side. Now lean forward just a bit. See? You are supporting yourself with back,legs and butt. Now just reach up and touch the bars with open fingers. When you get good, you will be able to run down the road with the light grip on the bars, something like that although its a bit of an exageration. Again it takes time and practice. Also as mentioned a throttle rocker is a big help too. Good luck to you! MD
I agree that posture is the key. Essentially what is happening is that you are bearing too much weight on the part of the palm that is nearest to the wrist. That puts pressure against the Median Nerve. The Median Nerve is is the nerve that is compromised in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. When you shift the pressure off of this point and use more of the trunk muscles to hold you upright, this relieves pressure against the nerve. The clinical term that we use sometimes is neuropraxia... This is a neurovascular (nerve + circulation) effect that probably won't (but possibly could in extreme instances) cause long-term nerve damage.
Throttle lock, bar ends & more miles. Oh & I found out today that my gloves are too short & when I close my hands it cuts off my circulation. I thought they were just tight, but........... duh......... LOL Bob
Remembering to keep your elbows flexed will help too as that will force you to support yourself more with your trunk muscles. Locked elbows will also keep you from being fluid in your riding.
Don't forget that once you are out on the highway,you'll have the wind blasting on your head & chest,removing wieght from your wrists and hands. I can ride forever out on the freeway and have no cramping or bloodflow issues. I find my hands get uncomfortable more easily during slow stop & go city riding!!! I'd say just hit the highway for an hour or so and see how it goes.
I just posted this on another site, so I hope I'm not violating some type of protocol. I just got back from a bike trip through PA, MD, W VA, VA, NC, and TN with my brother (he on a V-Strom 1000 and me on a '98 VFR (with side and top cases). Started near Philadelphia, did the entire Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway to Waynesboro (I think that's where we stayed), got off at Boone (?), over to Church Hill, TN, rode the Dragon, rode the Cherohala Skyway, went through the Smokey Mountain National Forest, rode Rte. 70 (an amazingly good road with Dragon-like turns), and I don't know how many other beautiful roads, including a hard-packed gravel road for a bit! I'll have to get out a map and retrace my steps so I can post a better description. I'm just getting back into this motorcycle thing, after spending a small (very small) bit of my youth on my brother's bikes so many, many years ago. I never developed any real skills back then. In fact, I'd had only about five or six hours seat time since getting my VFR last Novemeber before going on this trip, and never for more than an hour at a stretch. So this was a rather ambitious, and perhaps potentially foolish, trip to take for my first lengthly excursion, but none-the-less I survived it. Only had my permit (I'd previously been riding without it), but I start the MFS course on 10/3, and will then have my endorsement when I finish on 10/12. We did over 300 miles the first day, over 400 miles the second day, spent two days in a cage to satisfy the wives (they caged it down a few days after we left and met us in Church Hill, TN), then rode another 650 or so miles over the next three days which included some time for some sight seeing. Put over 1,300 miles on the odometer in five days of riding. I'm certainly no iron butt like many of you, but it was quite an accomplishment for me. I trailered the bike back; I didn't want to do nine hours on Rte. 81 and the PA Turnpike at 75-80 MPH. Not my idea of fun, at least not yet. I'm a wimp, I guess, because my brother rode back and we followed in the cage. This was an amazing experience. First of all, everyone we met couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. What a change from the big bad city. The scenery was breathtaking, the roads amazing, and the weather perfect. Loved every minute of it. I may have been one of the slowest (with the exception of many of the Harleys) on The Dragon and other roads, but it was still a thrill like I've never experienced before (with one obvious exception). On The Dragon I went a foot over the center yellow twice, had to avoid a semi coming around a tight turn on my side of the road, and squeezed over once to let an experienced (and blindingly fast) rider go by so I didn't spoil his run. I scraped some boot leather, but my pegs are stiill virgins. Anyway, I'm way off topic. The reason I'm responding to this post is to say that my left thumb and forefinger are still a bit numb in places. My right hand fingers are nearly back to normal. I did suffer some leg and (mostly) left hip pain during the first two days, but it was more than worth it. I'm a noobie, so the finger numbness was likely a result of me hanging on for dear life and squeezing the grips so friggin' hard they probably need to be replaced (I did just order some new softer ones). I got much better after the first two days. I do have Buell pegs and Helibars, and a Cramp Buster, which help some. I'm now looking at an ST1300 (opinions welcome), but won't get rid of the VFR, ever. Thanks for listening. All of you are a big part of how I got invloved in this great way of life.
mail boost, I rode for months like that(too small gloves) couldn't figure out why my thumbs were going numb all the time. got bigger gloves, no worries now at all.
My gloves fit fine but were donated to me from a HD guy. So I am on my Honda with nice black gloves that have american flags on them!
