Pins 'n needles in the hands?

[cksheppard]

Do any of you get a pins an needles feeling in your hands after riding for say, an hour on the highway? I have an '09 GS500F with bar risers and Grip Puppies. Otherwise stock. After an hour on the highway riding from 60-80 or so, my hands feel the same as I've been using a pressure washer. Not necessarily numb, just have a vibey, slight pins and needles feeling in them.  It goes away after 20 min or so.  Is this just me getting used to the bike on the highway (have 1600 mi on it), or is something wrong?  I'm pretty conscious of not having a death grip and move my left hand a lot. Wondering if it's just me?

[tialloydragon]

You'll get used to the vibration. 

When I started riding my right hand would go numb from holding on to the throttle.  I found this and couldn't be happier with the level of added comfort it produces:

http://www.crampbuster.com/

[Yuri.]

I made a 6 hour trip, only stopping about two times for about 15 minutes to put gas on and rest a little.
My left arm got pretty numb, but just for the lack of use, as it basically did nothing during the trip.
Also, it was worse on the way back that I forgot to stretch out like I did before.

[Twisted]

Do any of you get a pins an needles feeling in your hands after riding for say, an hour on the highway? I have an '09 GS500F with bar risers and Grip Puppies. Otherwise stock. After an hour on the highway riding from 60-80 or so, my hands feel the same as I've been using a pressure washer. Not necessarily numb, just have a vibey, slight pins and needles feeling in them.  It goes away after 20 min or so.  Is this just me getting used to the bike on the highway (have 1600 mi on it), or is something wrong?  I'm pretty conscious of not having a death grip and move my left hand a lot. Wondering if it's just me?

I get it too. I only get it in my throttle hand and I just wiggle my fingers a bit to get the blood flowing again or wait for downhill runs to give the hand a shake. I usually find that while I am not death gripping the bars my hand is fully wrapped around the throttle but really it should just be sitting in the palm of your hand. If you can't wiggle your fingers you are gripping it to tightly.

[crzydood17]

i get numb hand all the time grrr, but the pins and needles is the worst. i get it all up my arm too my hairs feel like they are tingly

[mister]

ck... if I understand, you say on a 60 minute trip that after 20 minutes you'll get numbness but it then goes away. Is that about right?

If you're getting a slightly numb throttle hand, try gripping the throttle just with your index finger and thumb for a while. Then try gripping it with your pinky and ring finger thus having loose other fingers.

Sometimes people can rest on their hands. Relax the arms and take all the weight with your abdomen.

Try different gloves to see if you get a different result.

Michael

[cksheppard]

Thx guys... It is in both hands, but a little worse in the throttle hand.

I actually do have a crampbuster that I picked up on sale a while ago but haven't used it yet. Will give that a try.

Michael, it doesn't go away 20 min into the ride, but 20 min after I stop.

Sounds like a bunch of you get this then, probably not my bike being misadjusted, but my sensitive hands...lol.

[ryott52]

I noticed that when I first got my bike too. I recently switched grips to something a bit fatter and they seem to help a lot, I have big hands and grabbing those thin bars probably wasn't helping too much.

[werase643]

reduce your grip pressure
ride with hands resting on the bars and fingers straight out
ride with right hand mostly resting on the handlebar weight

do all of these switching from one to another


I had a zx-7 yrs ago that would do that to me in 5-10 minutes..... hated riding that bike any distance....but it was fun

[cksheppard]

Soooo... I was messing w/installing a Crampbuster and guess what I found? My bar ends weren't tightened all the way. I wound them up tight so there was no more play in them...

Aaand of course that helped my situation quite a bit! So moral is...make sure everything is tight!

[crzydood17]

thats like the rule of life... 

[xunedeinx]

So moral is...make sure everything is tight!

[rickyny]

My right hand also goes numb, but I've been doing what mister said..
I alternate from gripping the throttle with index and thumb and then with
pinky and ring finger and then with my palm and all four finger straight up and
the most important thing I do now is tighten my abs and let my abdomen support
my upper body and not my hands... now the numbness goes away and doesn't come
back.

[Twism86]

You can always try new gloves with more padding, better grips (stock suck) and heavier bar ends.

[mister]

You can always try new gloves with more padding, better grips (stock suck) and heavier bar ends.

Careful with gloves with extra padding. As you curl your hand around the grip the padding compresses into your hand and Can have a slight restrictive pressure on your skin. This slight pressure and subsequent reduced blood flow can give you numbness. So if you go extra padding you may need to go Up in size to compensate.

Michael

[Erika]

I would get numbness from riding an old '73 CB350 on the expressway for hours. I got a pair of these...

http://www.vibranator.com/default.asp

Hmm. I wonder if I can put them on the GS500e I just bought.

[Twisted]

I would get numbness from riding an old '73 CB350 on the expressway for hours. I got a pair of these...

http://www.vibranator.com/default.asp

Hmm. I wonder if I can put them on the GS500e I just bought.

Sounds like a name for a "marital aid"  

Wow looks like one too.

[paalak]

I wonder if gloves being too tight can cause this? I get the pins-and-needles feeling after about 30 minutes of riding, which becomes numbness after about 45 minutes. It didn't feel safe being on the freeway with a numb throttle hand, as it was even affecting the mobility of my fingers, and it was hard to tell how much pressure I was putting on the front brake when I used it. At first I thought it was cold air or vibration causing it, but after it happened a few more times I noticed that my gloves would get tighter with my hand wrapped around the throttle, so that the ends push against my fingertips. This seems to cut off the circulation at the tips of my fingers, which I think may be the cause in my case. I've tried (carefully) pulling the fingers on my gloves out while riding, which causes the pins-and-needles feeling to go away. My gloves are only a few months old, so I'm hoping the leather will stretch out eventually.

[MVent03]

I get this after riding my bike for about 45 min on the highway. I think it's partially due to my gloves being too tight and my bar ends. I never even considered the bar ends not being seated correctly as a source but my right side bar end was pulled out the day I brought my bike home. The bar straps were ratcheted down too tight and it pulled that bar end almost completely out, has never fit back in correctly since.

Always the throttle hand too.

[mister]

I wonder if gloves being too tight can cause this?

Um... yeah... like I wrote...

You can always try new gloves with more padding, better grips (stock suck) and heavier bar ends.

Careful with gloves with extra padding. As you curl your hand around the grip the padding compresses into your hand and Can have a slight restrictive pressure on your skin. This slight pressure and subsequent reduced blood flow can give you numbness. So if you go extra padding you may need to go Up in size to compensate.

Michael

Same applies if you have good gloves but decide to add a Thin winter thermal lining to give that tiny Extra bit of warmth. Anything that reduces the circumference of the inside oif the gloves has the risk of causing restrictive blood flow in the fingers.

Before knowing it is the gloves, try the exercises I suggested - grip with thumb and index finger only, then grip with pinky and ring finger only. Also place (rest) all fingers on front brake lever and hold throttle down with palm and wiggle fingers. Do this Before they get numb or as soon as you start to feel a slight change in feeling. Also, make sure you are holding your weight with your core and not having any weight on your wrists. Also, try changing the angle of your wrists to more on top - so if a straight line could be drawn down your forearm it would continue straight onto your hand and not need to bend up at your wrist.

NOT This



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Michael