Does anyone else's hands fall asleep when they ride?

[thomascrown]

Get a windscreen. Death grip from hanging on against windblast does it.

[Cruizin]

I'm telling you guys, getting the right handlebar fitted makes a world of difference. And they are relatively cheap. You can also try rotating the stock bars forward a bit, gotta get to the point where your hands have the right angle. For me, this usually requires changing the bars out to a higher rise.

[aeisan]

I'm telling you guys, getting the right handlebar fitted makes a world of difference. And they are relatively cheap. You can also try rotating the stock bars forward a bit, gotta get to the point where your hands have the right angle. For me, this usually requires changing the bars out to a higher rise.

Good point.  I'd also add that adjusting your levers might help as well.  I had a real issue with the stock clutch lever being way too high, so I loosened the mount, tilted it down a little and re-tightened - cramping issues gone.   
Only other thing I'd mention, which may or may not be the case for some, is that when you ride you should not be putting a lot of weight on your hands.  You should be able to completely let go of the bars (neglecting the obvious need for throttle, clutch, brakes, etc.) when you ride.  Your weight should be supported by your core and your upper legs, clinching the tank with your knees and holding yourself up that way.  There are many reasons for this, not limited to better absorption of bumps, body position and weight transfer in corners, etc.  Have you ever hit a bump and heard the throttle blip or lug a little?  It shouldn't - that means you have too much weight on the bars.  The bars should float in your hands. 
 
I was at a bike show once and they had this bike there that was a lot like a robotic bull.  The idea was that you would sit on it and then they would tip it forward, aft, left, right, etc.  Then, they would tell you to let go of the bars... Could you?  If not, bad body position.  It was funny watching guys wrack themselves when they took their hands off the bars. Gotta clamp onto that tank! 

[lutarious]

Adjust the levers and consider different bars. Check out L the options and consider one thst will let your wrists rest naturally with your hands on the bars. Swapping is easy, and the fanciest shit you can buy will still solve the pro lem for about 100 bucks
 

[thomascrown]

I ordered a kaoko throttle lock. Might want to look into some form of cruise control.

[databyter]

I primarily commute with my bike, so I am taking lots of short trips on city streets, but when I do get the chance to take longer rides, I notice both my hands wanting to fall asleep -- a little numbness and after while pins and needles.   
Anyone else experience this?  Can anything be done about it?
 
I get quite a bit of vibration at the bars -- especially around 55mph in the 4500-5500 RPM range, but it doesn't seem more than any other bike I've ridden in the past.

New rider here.  
I had two different issues,.. numbness, and cramps.
 
I had cramps and numbness the first few days, and learned to use the muscles on the outside of my grip, the inside of my grip, or the V made by the thumb and forefinger, while relaxing the other parts of my hand, and even stretching my fingers straight on the part of my grip not being used. As I used one side of my fist I relaxed the others and even stretched out my fingers. It was very effective for fatigue and cramping.
That being said, and I am sure it will remain useful for long rides, the cramping is decreasing every day as I develop those specific muscle groups to get used to a long term low effort grip.
 
As far as the numbness, do you have a backpack when commuting? I figured out it was because I was using a backpack that was WAY too heavy, that had straps that were worn and no longer wide, and I mistakenly wore it way too tight, because I thought that would be better for riding.
Now I carry much less weight in the NEW pack, and I do not tighten the straps any more than absolutely necessary which allows my blood to flow better with my arms stretched out in front of me. I would not have guessed that I was cutting down circulation, but the proof is in the pudding. No more numbness with the new setup and methods.
 
The techniques I developed to help me with the cramping fatigue will come in handy for lane splitting since I now can hold the throttle tube very effectively in several very different ways, including the V tecnique using the wedge between thumb and forefinger which allows all my fingers to simultaneously guard the front brake. (I don't actually split yet, because I want to get more miles under my belt, and also I am in the break-in period and would prefer to do lane-splitting in a lower gear (higher rpmfor more control over accel and good engine braking and more noise.)

[wickedtwister]

I had issues with my hands falling asleep caused by my gloves knuckle protectors causing pinch points on the top of my hand. I ride home (435 miles all interstate a good bit) and after that long ride my hands are numb for a few hours. Got new gloves that have more range of motion and issues are gone. Something to look into.

[jake]

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/crampbuster-cruise-control
 
10 bucks and its worth every penny. gets in the way when changing speeds so I just slide it out of the way. I commute 130 miles a day

[Burtacus]

I have the same issue I've noticed. It's weird, on a dirt bike we call it arm pump, but then it's actually your arms that hurt and it's a result of actually holding your breath more than you realize. Proper breathing and a relaxed grip is the key. On my cruiser, back in the day I had hand soreness, so I relaxed my grip and the issue went away. Now this fz-07 has tiny handle bars, and I already have small hands, so probably with all the power this thing has, I'm over gripping.
 
I've tried relaxing, and it usually helps immediately, but sometimes the numbness/tingle sticks around anyway. I find sitting up right and putting my weight on the seat and pegs to help reduce the weight I put on the hb's, usually at the crux of my thumb and index finger as that's the main grip point. New handlebars or positioning my be key for me. But I included my other bike experiences to suggest it's also bodily habit sometimes. Just like weight lifting using correct form, your nervous system has to get used to new things to do them right; this is no different. Eventually it should work itself out.

[thestache]

I had the numbness issues, and I installed these over the factory grips...I love them
 
http://www.amazon.com/Woodys-M15-GRIPPUPPY-Puppy-Comfort-Grips/dp/B008FD6DXW
 
 

[Papa L]

I suffer from carpal tunnel in both hands. That's why both of my hands go numb.
Here's some self test you can try:

(Obviously this isn't meant to replace a Dr's professional opinion.)

[aeisan]

@so1102 any improvements to report?
 
I was thinking about this thread when I put the new bars on my bike. At first, I was having some pain in my right wrist. I had mentioned it to Paulie, but never really said anything to anyone else. I wasn't sure if it was caused by the new bars or what. Well, long story short it turned out my original assumption was correct. It was a mountain bike injury. I went down on the bike a while back and though there was no day-to-day type pain in my wrist, it was injured enough that getting on the FZ seemed to aggravate it. It's been a few weeks now and the pain has pretty much disappeared.
 
Just wondering how your wrists/hands are doing?

[Burtacus]

thestache you tease... they aren't available currently I may try those out though.
I tried the carpal thing, I'm clear! lol

[Papa L]

I had the numbness issues, and I installed these over the factory grips...I love them 
http://www.amazon.com/Woodys-M15-GRIPPUPPY-Puppy-Comfort-Grips/dp/B008FD6DXW
 

 
 
I picked a pair of these up, they made a huge difference!

[so1102]

@so1102 any improvements to report? 
I was thinking about this thread when I put the new bars on my bike. At first, I was having some pain in my right wrist. I had mentioned it to Paulie, but never really said anything to anyone else. I wasn't sure if it was caused by the new bars or what. Well, long story short it turned out my original assumption was correct. It was a mountain bike injury. I went down on the bike a while back and though there was no day-to-day type pain in my wrist, it was injured enough that getting on the FZ seemed to aggravate it. It's been a few weeks now and the pain has pretty much disappeared.
 
Just wondering how your wrists/hands are doing?

Not really -- it's intermittent :\\

[howworkclutch]

i was on the road fri, sat, sun, mon, tue, wed, thur, fri, sat, sun. had tingly hands the first two days. no tingly hands afterward.
 
we rode a couple hundred miles every day. longest day was the first saturday: 500 miles.
 
push through. ride more. problem solved.
 
for long-haul riding, this bike is pretty sweet, once your body is conditioned for long-haul riding.
 

[aeisan]

That's not a bad point. I have similar issues on 100+ mile MTB rides every now and then when I comeback from rest periods. Sometimes you just have to keep riding and let your body get used to it (again).

[minner]

This is carpal tunnel syndrome until proven otherwise. It's caused by compression/inflammation of the median nerve as it passes thorough the wrist. Vibration, grip and wrist position can all contribute. I'd try filling the bars as others have recommended. An EMG/nerve conduction study can formally diagnose this but it's an uncomfortable study and it won't change management unless this becomes a problem off the bike as well. Conservative treatment is use of a wrist splint as the repetive flexion/extension of the wrist can exacerbate the symptoms. This isn't an option on a motorcycle. Cutting down on the vibration is your best bet. Also, if your traveling at a constant speed, do your best to keep your palm and your forearm parallel. I'm a neurologist.
 
 

[howworkclutch]

i was told i had carpel tunnel syndrome. i went home and took an aspirin. that was 14 years ago. my hands are still attached and everything works.
 
sometimes you just have to accept that a pain-free life is death.

[speedingtickets]

You are having a stroke! All kidding aside, in my opinion it is the little twin engine that could. My KTM 250 did it, gloves, deathgrip or not. I saw a motovlog of a guy (cyclecruza) coming off a twin going to a 4 and he said his hands never go numb anymore. In the FZ-07 I installed a Yoshimura pipe, K&N High Flow air filter and a Power Commander V (I paid to have a custom map made for it), it smoothed everything out delivering the fuel and air to where and when it needs. It accelerates and decelerates perfectly with even torque delivery and little vibration. Definitely worth every penny, it has transformed the bike and given me a different perspective on how long I might keep it around. I am installing a GPR steering damper and SSR fork preload adjusters next week, they might also help a little with vibration. I will update this post if they do anything.

[so1102]

This is carpal tunnel syndrome until proven otherwise. It's caused by compression/inflammation of the median nerve as it passes thorough the wrist. Vibration, grip and wrist position can all contribute. I'd try filling the bars as others have recommended. An EMG/nerve conduction study can formally diagnose this but it's an uncomfortable study and it won't change management unless this becomes a problem off the bike as well. Conservative treatment is use of a wrist splint as the repetive flexion/extension of the wrist can exacerbate the symptoms. This isn't an option on a motorcycle. Cutting down on the vibration is your best bet. Also, if your traveling at a constant speed, do your best to keep your palm and your forearm parallel. I'm a neurologist.  

Thanks!  I have a good friend who is a Neurologist also -- never even crossed my mind to ask him about it.  It is likely some form of carpal tunnel, even mild -- I do use a keyboard and mouse for a living, and have for almost 25 years...

[minner]

My pleasure. Your work may make you more prone to this. Those nerves just aren't getting a break.

[rick]

I had carpal tunnel symptoms about 7 years ago ( not even bike related ) and it tuned out to be further upstream in the elbow - called cubital tunnel. When I asked what would happen if I didn't get it surgically fixed, I was told the nerves would eventually croak and I'd lose some movement/dexterity/feeling in those fingers - not exactly the way you want the tingling to go away.
 
So, yeah, that nerve conduction study might be in order. You'll enjoy that test -
 
well, maybe not.

[minner]

I had carpal tunnel symptoms about 7 years ago ( not even bike related ) and it tuned out to be further upstream in the elbow - called cubital tunnel. When I asked what would happen if I didn't get it surgically fixed, I was told the nerves would eventually croak and I'd lose some movement/dexterity/feeling in those fingers - not exactly the way you want the tingling to go away.  
So, yeah, that nerve conduction study might be in order. You'll enjoy that test -
 
well, maybe not.

If there were progressive numbness or weakness while off the bike it would be a very different situation and a work up would be indicated. 

[rick]

I never had numbness with that - just the fun needles and pins paresthethia - sometimes while doing nothing
 
Years (erm, decades) ago I had an R100RS BMW. That bike had fairly low and really short stubs for bars. Somewhere early in its life, i had to change how I placed my left hand on the bar while cruising along. Coming home from a long weekend trip, I had to pull over as my left hand had completely gone to sleep - dead numb - too numb to even pull the clutch so had to click to neutral w/o. That problem went away with the changed hand position thankfully. Put 65k miles on that bike over 14 years.