Numbfinger

[crapwacker]

Any general or specific recommendations to alleviate this condition? I get it within ten minutes on the bike, especially right hand.

 

[posplayr]

Are you over gripping? Dont

 

[Rover]

Not trying to be a smartazz, but any chance you might have carpel tunnel.
I actually had this and can make your fingers numb. Minor surgery took care of this for me.

 

[spyug]

It maybe the way you grip the throttle and the throttle itself maybe a cause if it is the stocker. The older throttle tubes require a "handful" to get any acceleration. There is a large range of motion from idle to full open. When riding at about mid throttle your hand is often in a position that "locks" your wrist causing the aforementioned carpal tunnel sqeeze on your nerves to the fingers. I found I had to keep adjusting my grip many times during the ride to stop this. Very uncomfortable.

The solution for me was going to a "quicker" tube like the Yamaha R1 tube (much less range of motion). The hand now stays in a more normal position all through the throttle range. Fixed it for me with the bonus of much better throttle response.

Easier (and cheaper) than surgery ( about $12 and a half hour of your riding time).

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
spyug

 

[posplayr]

Low cost Carpal Tunnel relief medical Device (CTMD) .

Gotta love it.

Low Cost CTMD

Ask Chef he has one for $7 delivered and 5min to install

 

[crapwacker]

It maybe the way you grip the throttle and the throttle itself maybe a cause if it is the stocker. The older throttle tubes require a "handful" to get any acceleration. There is a large range of motion from idle to full open. When riding at about mid throttle your hand is often in a position that "locks" your wrist causing the aforementioned carpal tunnel sqeeze on your nerves to the fingers. I found I had to keep adjusting my grip many times during the ride to stop this. Very uncomfortable.

The solution for me was going to a "quicker" tube like the Yamaha R1 tube (much less range of motion). The hand now stays in a more normal position all through the throttle range. Fixed it for me with the bonus of much better throttle response.

Easier (and cheaper) than surgery ( about $12 and a half hour of your riding time).

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
spyug

This hits it right on the nose. Thanks! I also like the PVC addition "quick turn throttle modification!

 

[TheCafeKid]

It also has alot to do with posture. Specifficly the relationship of your hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder to the bar. White knuckling the bars will add to the numbing effect as well. Idealy, your elbows should be pointing down and your forearm, wrist and hand inline with eachother. Even still, i find sometimes, especially first part of the day, when Im a little stiff in the saddle from the day before's ride, I will be finding my hand going numb if im not conciously checking my posture. Another thing that *I* find that helps is to ride with your pointer and middle finger up on the brake lever. This, i guess, helps circulate the blood rather than letting it pool in the tips of your downward pointed fingers. Learning to controll the throttle with just the muscles between your thumb and forefinger (the crook of your closed hand) goes a long way toward a lot of things. For one, it helps you to learn more precise throttle control, which is important when seriously blasting corners. It also leaves your fingers free to quickly get to the brake lever should you need to. These are just things that ive found that works for me, YMMV.

 

[Griffin]

My right hand and wrist used to get numb while riding my 700ES if I was wearing my "summer" riding gloves. They were fine while wearing my "winter" gloves. The summer gloves have worn, half torn off bits of suede leather that extend from the palms to the wrists (right over the carpal nerves). I finished tearing that patch off of both of them, and now the tingling sensation takes much longer to arrive, and is significantly lessened in magnitude.

Try experimenting with your posture, grip tightness, glove style, etc... If none of that has any effect, you may want to try some Gel grips if you don't already have them installed. Handlebar end weights can also dampen vibration significantly, which won't hurt anything either.

 

[tone]

On of my old gs1000's used to give me the same problems, mostly the left hand in my case, i put this down to healthy gs vibes

To stop it i jammed some rolled up lead sheet down the bars fitted heavier bar end weights & foam grips this seemed to damp the vibes & i found i could ride for a couple of hours before the pain started as opposed to 20 minutes

Funnily enough the next gs1000 gave me no problems without any of the above mods & ive never quite figured that out

 

[Clone]

Gel grips and gel gloves and a can of seafoam to clean out the carbs and numb right hand greatly alleviated.

Oh,yeah, throttle lock for those long runs on the highway.

 

[geisterfahrer]

I have had some success using the CrampBuster. It helps me relax my hand instead of gripping hard. It does take a little getting used to, though, and can actually be somewhat inconvenient when you have to do a lot of on/off throttle work in traffic.

 

[crapwacker]

I don't grip, my hand stays neutral, and throttle is 'pinched' in the crook of my thumb. I do think it's related to holding the throttle position and carpal tunnel related pressure. I'm going to see how that throttle mod feels, what the heck, It's on there, and I'll get a chance to give her a spin tomorrow. If it's no better or worse, I can take it back out in a jiffy. The throttle return spring does have a sort of heavy feel, but I'm sure it's that way for a reason.

 

[dirtyfingers]

In warm weather my hands get sweaty... and I have to grip harder to stop my hand from slipping on the throttle. Squeezing so hard to fight that stupid return spring would make my right hand go numb in 20 mins. Cramp Buster helped out alot. But that thing slips too. Maybe it's my tye of grip? It needs constant readjustments. Whatever. I have plans of modifing it to stay put.

 

[Tom MLC]

I do have carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, it's in both hands. Getting worse, not better. And I believe gripping the throttle, brake lever, and clutch lever is the reason. Perhaps it's time to talk the doctor about surgery.

I have throttle rockers, aka cramp busters, on all my bikes. They are less effective than I had hoped. They slip, and soon are so far out of position as to be useless. If I set them in a position to be helpful at WOT, then they are too high for street conditions. They frustrate & distract me more than anything.

The throttle mod posplayer offered looks like it has potential. I'll give it a try on my GS1100E. But I'm thinking it will not work on my dual cable GS1000. Jim, can you set me straight on this?

 

[posplayr]

The throttle mod posplayer offered looks like it has potential. I'll give it a try on my GS1100E. But I'm thinking it will not work on my dual cable GS1000. Jim, can you set me straight on this?

Tom,
The PCV just increases the radius. I have a spare I can send. Worst case is you have to cut it down a little.
From windsurfing, carpel tunnel is fairly common as there is also a tendency to over grip especially in higher winds. One of the things you learn is to relax your grip . Also the 1/4 throttle mod allows you to avoid as much wrist movement so you can grip with your wrist straighter and relieve the excess strain of a bent wrist. PM me if you wanna try one.
Jim

 

[elevatorman71]

ok where is the 1/4 throttle mod located? i would like to try it for myself:dancing:

 

[crapwacker]

ok where is the 1/4 throttle mod located? i would like to try it for myself:dancing:

Look here http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=135697&page=3
I did it, I like it!

 

[crapwacker]

Even though I did the throttle mod, I still feel as though I'm trying to reel in a sturgeon at 30 knots. Has anyone experimented with a different throttle spring?

 

[BeerMonger]

After 10 years of drafting at a computer 8 hours, and playing video games 4-8 hours a night, I started to develop symptoms of carpel tunnel. I switched from a mouse to a trackball at work and at home, and don't have any symptoms anymore. I may still develop them when I'm older.

If you don't sit at a computer all day, this post is totally pointless. But maybe there is someone else reading that may benefit.

 

[Colin Green]

Learning to controll the throttle with just the muscles between your thumb and forefinger (the crook of your closed hand) goes a long way toward a lot of things. For one, it helps you to learn more precise throttle control, which is important when seriously blasting corners. It also leaves your fingers free to quickly get to the brake lever should you need to. These are just things that ive found that works for me, YMMV.

It's also good for blipping the throttle while changing down while braking (even hard braking).

I find when I notice my fingers getting numb, I invariably observe that I'm gripping the bars a bit hard and when I relax my grip and/or flex (grip, loosen, grip, loosen..etc) then relax, it's all good.