Hand Pain

[AngryAnt]

Hey guys, still breaking in my bike but had a quick question. When I first started driving my bike, both my hands would get tired quickly and I'd have a fair amount of muscle pain.

I drive nearly exclusively in busy city traffic, so I'm shifting/down and braking every quarter mile At first I assumed it was because I was new at riding a bike this size, and the bike was new, so it would get better over time as I built up strength in my hands and perhaps everything "loosened" up. Over a couple months, I haven't really found that to be the case yet.

Any suggestions for making the clutch / brake a little easier? I've adjusted the brake both forward and backward on the 1-5 settings, but can't really seem to tell a difference. Also I'm not sure what kinda of alternative clutch levers are available to might help alleviate it some. Perhaps it should just take longer than a couple months before I consider replacing anything?

 

[JSP]

It is a muscle like any other... same with playing guitar, you just have to keep doing it and it will get better.

One thing though, when you are riding do NOT rest your weight on your hands/shoulders while riding. You should be supporting yourself with your legs/hips. You arms should be bent and not have weight on them. This will cause your hands to fall asleep, pain in your back and shoulders, etc.

Make sure you are doing that first and then see how your hands feel. Maybe get one of those hand exercise squeezy things.

 

[Marthy]

It is a muscle like any other... same with playing guitar, you just have to keep doing it and it will get better.

One thing though, when you are riding do NOT rest your weight on your hands/shoulders while riding. You should be supporting yourself with your legs/hips. You arms should be bent and not have weight on them. This will cause your hands to fall asleep, pain in your back and shoulders, etc.

Make sure you are doing that first and then see how your hands feel. Maybe get one of those hand exercise squeezy things.

Didn't work with my a$$! I need more padding!!! :spank:

 

[alaskanflyboy]

Also be conscious of how tightly you may be gripping the handle bars. You don't have to have a death grip on them. I'm not sure which part of your hand is experiencing pain, but I've only had my wrist get sore from extended use of the throttle on the freeway. I bought a Crampbuster for that. If it's your brake and clutch, the pain, I believe, will be more in your tendons through your forearm.

 

[motoguy82]

Make sure the clutch cable and lever pivot are lubes well; adding some good cable lube may help a bit.

 

[iSpoolin]

Answer me this, are you sliding up when you brake? I had this problem on the Daytona when I first got it, my hands hurt when I was in traffic because I would brake and slide up towards the bars, putting my weight on my wrist. Well Techspecs solved that problem

 

[Tmak73]

Some shorty levers are usually good for easier gripping and maybe get some gel grips. I get this sometimes too but its usually coming from squeezing too hard which would make sense if your in the stress of busy traffic. So try the mods out and relax a little more.

 

[AngryAnt]

Answer me this, are you sliding up when you brake? I had this problem on the Daytona when I first got it, my hands hurt when I was in traffic because I would brake and slide up towards the bars, putting my weight on my wrist. Well Techspecs solved that problem

Do you mean sliding forward on the seat? If so, there is a chance I do this, as I know I can put my feet more solidly on the ground by sliding forward close to the tank, and that's about the only way I can walk the bike.

Also the pain is in the tendons between the thumb down to the wrist, I suppose that would have probably helped if I specified earlier. I do have problems with numbness on anything longer than 20 miles, but I think that's more from the vibration as I do mentally check to relax my hands, don't lean forward too much, and grip the tank with my knees and support my self with core muscles. I suppose its possible I just have short arms because my arms really aren't bent much at all, but I'm a bit hesitant to put on risers not knowing if it will make it better or worse.

Some shorty levers are usually good for easier gripping and maybe get some gel grips. I get this sometimes too but its usually coming from squeezing too hard which would make sense if your in the stress of busy traffic. So try the mods out and relax a little more.

Are shorty levers really easier? I've never tried them but intuitively I thought they'd be harder to pull since they're shorter and therefore less leverage. If so, that might be something I try along with some gel grips.

 

[CDN6R]

It is a muscle like any other... same with playing guitar, you just have to keep doing it and it will get better.

`J` I could not agree with you more. After 25 years plus I am again playing in a band (bass guitar) and for a long time my left hand would cramp up when I would stretch my fingers on the fret board. After many practices,, it is getting better. Laurie

 

[BrueThru]

It is a muscle like any other... same with playing guitar, you just have to keep doing it and it will get better.

One thing though, when you are riding do NOT rest your weight on your hands/shoulders while riding. You should be supporting yourself with your legs/hips. You arms should be bent and not have weight on them. This will cause your hands to fall asleep, pain in your back and shoulders, etc.

Make sure you are doing that first and then see how your hands feel. Maybe get one of those hand exercise squeezy things.

......................................................................................:Im With Stupid:

It may seem a bit weird at first and you will have to force yourself to remember to do it but after a while it will just be reflexive.

 

[Deleted member 9794]

2things:
1) Are you wearing motorcycle gloves? Not just a regular pair or shorties but pre-curved gloves? If not, I'd start there - get yourself a pair of full gaunlet, pre-curved gloves and it will help. I never wear my shorties anymore AND I can just relax my hands and my fingers are already curved around the grips.

2) Have you adjusted your handlebars? Loosen those 4 bolts that the arrows point to (sorry I don't have a pic, I'm sure someone else does) and rotate them toward you so you don't have to reach so far. After doing this you'll have to adjust your controls forward but it's not that much work.

3) ...yea I know I said 2 but: you may want to adjust your controls before you adjust the handlebars. If your fingers are long, try rotating your levers down so they are pointing more to the ground (for a longer reach) and if they are short, try rotating them up (for a shorter reach).

 

[Deleted member 9794]

...(sorry I don't have a pic, I'm sure someone else does)...

Actually, there's a video complements of "KelownaKeith" and the search feature:

The thread: http://www.600cc.org/forum/f91/adjusting-handlebar-position-15761/

His Post: http://www.600cc.org/forum/f91/adjusting-handlebar-position-15761/#post228226

His Video: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_HbzFhII8s]YouTube - FZ6R Bars[/ame]

 

[AngryAnt]

Actually, there's a video complements of "KelownaKeith" and the search feature:

The thread: http://www.600cc.org/forum/f91/adjusting-handlebar-position-15761/

His Post: http://www.600cc.org/forum/f91/adjusting-handlebar-position-15761/#post228226

His Video:

Thanks, that looks extremely helpful. I guess I'll just have to experiment, as nothing feels "natural" to me, and I"m not sure which direction really helps. It'd do me a lot of good if I had expert riding buddies that could spot some of my ergonomic problems probably.

Also, (queue the nastygrams) I'm not great about wearing my gloves. Never leave home without my jacket and helmet, but I've yet to find a pair of gloves I really like. More power to you guys that can handle the full gauntlet ones, but they feel awkward and heavy to me, not to mention miserably hot with the "feels like" temperatures being around 110 here lately. I will take your suggestion about the pre-curved when I buy a new pair of shorties to try out.

I"ll try adjusting the handlebar and control height this weekend to see how much that helps.

 

[sm00thpapa]

I have the same problem and the vibration gets to me that I have to rest every 40 miles. But I do have carpal tunnel in both hands and a metal plate in my neck that caused nerve damage to my left side. So I guess I better suck it up and drive on.

 

[AngryAnt]

I have the same problem and the vibration gets to me that I have to rest every 40 miles. But I do have carpal tunnel in both hands and a metal plate in my neck that caused nerve damage to my left side. So I guess I better suck it up and drive on.

I kinda figure my numbness is the beginnings of carpal tunnel. I'm on a keyboard at least 8 hours a day, so its more a matter of WHEN I'm getting carpal tunnel, not IF I'm getting it. That's still not gonna keep me from trying some of the heavy bar ends Marthy recommended and a few adjustments to hopefully eliminate it a bit. I barely make it 25 miles without my hands being completely numb.

 

[JSP]

I kinda figure my numbness is the beginnings of carpal tunnel. I'm on a keyboard at least 8 hours a day, so its more a matter of WHEN I'm getting carpal tunnel, not IF I'm getting it. That's still not gonna keep me from trying some of the heavy bar ends Marthy recommended and a few adjustments to hopefully eliminate it a bit. I barely make it 25 miles without my hands being completely numb.

I have carpel tunnel in my right hand pretty bad. Sharp electricity pain through it when anything taps my wrist. Even in the best position it still falls asleep with no weight on it. Thinking about having the surgery done on it.

 

[sm00thpapa]

Both arms go numb when I sleep or at least try to sleep. I have sleep apnea also and the machine doesn't help. When I popped the disc in my neck it really did permanent nerve damage on my left side. Doc said I would never ride again. I said what ever doc I'm riding until the lord takes me.

 

[Deleted member 9794]

I'm used to wearing long gloves from playing football (DT in college, OL in high school) so maybe that's why they are comfortable to me. As far as weight, they don't make either of the pairs I have anymore (Cortech Injector and AXO KR8) but both are vented in between the fingers and the Cortech Injector gloves are extremely light weight compared to the AXO KR8's.

Do you remember what brand of gloves you tried? Maybe they were full fledged racing gauntlets instead of just street/touring gauntlets?

Gauntlets offer wrist support, protection, and most have a 2nd strap to ensure they don't come off in the event of a crash because lets face it, if you're conscious and sliding along the asphalt the first thing you're gonna try to do is use your hands to stop:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJYi4_sBUiQ]‪Motorcycle Lowside‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xpWxLWQcwQ]‪Violent Low-Side‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

And that's not to scare you or anything but if you are dead set against gauntlets, maybe try some wrist straps for support along with your short gloves - I keep one of these at work and I used to use them while working out before I switched to gloves with the built in strap - can't beat $3.00: Walmart.com: Mueller Elastic Wrist Support: Medicine Cabinet

 

[jokerX]

I too suffer from Carpal Tunnel, in trying to avoid surgery my Doctor had me wear wrist braces while sleeping because I was waking up with a pain that felt like shin splints in my forearms. He also prescribed vitamin b6 and b12. After a few months of taking the vitamins I was able to sleep without the braces. I get a bit of pain while riding,especially in heavy traffic, but not too bad.

 

[alaskanflyboy]

I'm used to wearing long gloves from playing football (DT in college, OL in high school) so maybe that's why they are comfortable to me. As far as weight, they don't make either of the pairs I have anymore (Cortech Injector and AXO KR8) but both are vented in between the fingers and the Cortech Injector gloves are extremely light weight compared to the AXO KR8's.

I looked up those Cortech gloves and they look similar to my Cortech Adrenaline gloves I wear now. Mine have holes between the fingers, vents in the knuckle guards, and a mesh vent on the back of the hand.