My hand hurt

I am a new member to VFR WORLD. I am 59-years old and currently ride a 2004 VFR. I have been riding for 30-years. I broke my hands in a deer strike accident in 1995 and mild arthritis is starting to set in. I take a 3200-mile bike trip from Southern CA through Southern Utah to Northern Colorado every year in late August early September. On my last trip my hands were killing me at the end of each days ride which averages about 450-miles. My hands have never bothered me before but I was in pain while riding. I ride aggressively but relaxed on the bike without a death grip.

I would like to know if replacing my OEM grips with larger diameter, cushioned grips might alleviate some of the pain I now experience. I looked at XOPRODOX's website and found their Black Foam S Grips XL whcih are 10% larger than standard grips. They look like they will help but if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.

 

you can give it a try. cant hurt.
do you run stock bars? heli bars might help.
other then that try to grip more w/ your legs and less weight on your wrists.

 

Thank you for your response. It is my hands that hurt, specifically across my MP Joint (3rd set of knuckles).

 

Thank you for your response. My wrists never bother me, it is both hands across my MP Joint (3rd set of knuckles) that hurts.

 

I found the small diameter bars on my VFR extremely uncomfortable and my hands ached after a day's ride. I added Grip Puppies (I think that's what they're called) and it has made a significant difference. They're not real pretty, but only cost something like $10.00 a pair and take about a minute to install. I also have Helibars, by the way.

Hope you can find a way to alleviate your hand pain. I can't imagine what I would do if I had to give up long bike trips.

 

Like you, I experienced a lot of pain in my hands when I bought the VFR. It actually extended all the way up to my back and shoulders as well. I was slowly working my way towards going all out to make the bike comfy for me and started off with grips because they were cheap and easy. I was amazed by the difference and it actually took care of all the problems I was experiencing. No more hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, or back pain. It all just disappeared. About a month later I decided that I wasn't going to go with anything else other than the Sargent seat for a little better fit in the saddle. I highly recommend a grip swap.

I did a lot of research here on the boards before I bought them and what everyone recommended was the ProGrip 699's. The difference was just unbelievable. My grips are now at least as large as the ones on my dad's Harley and are a helllllll of a lot more comfortable. I looked into foam grips like you have looked at and decided against them. I didn't like the feel that they provided and I ride in the rain quite often. Foam holds water and as a result your hands get wetter faster, especially if your bike has been sitting outside while it is raining and have time to soak it all up before your hands are on them.

I ended up getting my ProGrip 699's for around $8.50 at my local store. They didn't have them in stock and it only took a day or two for them to get them in. Half an hour later I was in bliss with the VFR.

 

Same here. my VTX grips are huge. Much more comfortable. The clutch lever on my 03 is kind of stiff and that kills that hand after a while, too. I'm a puss as well.

 

I had a throttle rocker type thing on my VTX which was very helpful. Eventually swapped it out for a throttle lock. That was the key piece for me.