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

[so1102]

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.

[mjh937]

How hard are you holding on to the bars. Loosen up your grip and see if it helps.

[so1102]

Not very -- I try to be conscious about that.

[codybby]

Perhaps try to find thicker aftermarket handgrips that will absorb excess vibration. The longest trip I've had non-stop on the 07 so far is about 50 miles and I don't recall any discomforts besides my numb bum, the hands were fine though!

[rowdy]

That's one of the reasons I put on Grip Puppies. That and I have a mild case of raynauld's syndrome. (which you too may have).
It's more common than you would think from the obscure name.
 
 

[hippiebikerchick]

I've noticed after a long freeway ride that my hands felt tingly. Heavier bar ends are supposed to help with the vibration.

[so1102]

I do have a set of driven racing D-axis grips (as well as an R6 throttle tube) that I have been meaning to install. Perhaps I will give those a shot first.

[Guest Ralph]

Anything that changes the vibration may help, It's one of those things that effect
one rider and not others, i don't get it on the MT but have had it on very smooth
bikes, if the vibration frequency is wrong for you then it will get you even if
you cant feel it.
 

[SkH]

Hmm, I have aftermarket bar ends and fairly heavy bar end mirrors, so I'm guessing that helps with vibration. I took a 2 hour freeway trip not too long ago and the only thing hurting was my back and butt.

[Cruizin]

You can also upgrade to some good MX bars that fit you better. Stock bars are just a starting point, one size certainly do not fit all.
 
Go to a good MX shop and enlist the help of the manager. They will get you fixed up with a good fitting set of bars.
 
Vibrations happen on a bike, especially a bike with poop forks. You can also fill your bars with silicone from Home Depot, it works great but alot of the issues with hands falling asleep have more to do with fitment of bars.

[Cruizin]

And take pics while you are removing your stock bars, filling the new bars with silicone and then installing the new bars and enter the Revzilla $100 gift card giveaway with a whole new "How to".

[pauljr]

I'vs had that problem for a few years now because of arthritis in my neck, probably an age related thing in my case and it seems to be a bit worse in colder weather.

[crazycracka501]

I did install the throttle lock for longer rides, not so much for your same issue, but it does help with hand fatigue. That may help you as well, but I think the guys are correct on the previous posts as the frequency issue could be your biggest enemy.

[rowdy]

I agree with crazycracka501 that a throttle lock can give your hand some much need rest on long rides. I adapted a NEP CC3 Cruise (with a little bit of macguivering, and farting around with the mount for an hour or two), and it works great. You can, whenever the urge arises, set the throttle, shake out your hands, and relax a little. I've put them on my last three bikes and I wouldn't be without one.

[ratlab]

try a bar snake in the handlebars,or fill them up with bb's to lessen the vibes-i don't think the fz is excessively buzzy.after 45 min on my triumph thruxton my hands are burning!!
 

[PECK]

Where does the numbness start from? Outside of the hand in or inside out Ie from the pinky side towards the thumb. Or does it just start at the tips of your fingers? If it's from either side check your elbows are they sticking out like chicken wings or locked up and straight out in front of you like a board. This two positions will put the most pressure on the hands while holding on to the bars as the bars are pretty thin. Correcting your arms may help, you need a little bend in the elbow, to achieve this you need to adjust your seating position, posture, and you may need to rotate the handle bars. There may be more underlining reasons for the numbness such as previously mentioned (RS) or even DDD (degenerative disc disease). If you feel the same sensation when sitting down at a table for dinner or while using a computer, you should go and get it checked out.

[so1102]

Well, I do have degenerative disk disease in my lower back...

[Beemer]

This is very common and vibration is usually the culprit. A friend and I talked about this just the other day and like me, he said he's always got the numb fingers from riding. The bike comes with weighted bar ends so unless you can find some heavier ones I wouldn't bother getting new bar ends. The throttle lock should help as someone mentioned. Not to prevent the porcupine hands but to give you a chance to shake out the hand and relieve the numbness. I tried some gloves the other day (Schwinn bicycle gloves, no fingers) that have thicker palm padding than my regulars and they helped a little but sacrificed protection. Not a whole lot you can do to alleviate the vibration completely. It's a biker thing ... Good luck!

[Guest cjwwd2]

I've noticed you get pretty good vibration above 5000rpms. I don't ride fast enough usually for long periods of time to have problems with it. I've developed what I think is tennis elbow from riding my Triumph Daytona. Trying to figure out how to deal with that since it is pretty painful.

[bmwpowere36m3]

A couple things... the biggest culprit usually is "death-grip", i.e. holding the grips too tightly. I'm always readjusting my grip and consciously telling myself to loosen up (I never find my grip too loose, always the opposite). I would also ensure the bike is in good mechanical shape, i.e. not vibrating excessively due to loose engine hardware, state of tune, and/or tire balance.
 
If you’re riding a lot on the freeway, steady throttle position or long distances a throttle lock is a gift from god. You can take your hand off, shake it, move your fingers, whatever... just give it a break. Another trick would be replacing the grips with softer/and or thicker grips. Finally you can play with handlebars (i.e. the position, bend and/or construction) and rubber isolating bar mounts.
 
However, even in the best cases… some bikes just vibrate a lot due to their design and not much can be done. Vibration wise (generally-speaking): single cylinder (thumper) > parallel twin > v-twin > 3+ cylinder parallel

[phicurious86]

Just wait another 5-10 years and buy whatever Zero has on the market
 
+1 On shaking your hands out every once in a while. If I'm riding for more than 30mins straight I give each hand a sequential break for a bit (30secs or so) on the 30min mark, but you could do it sooner if you're experiencing numbness faster.
 

[kamalv]

I have thick very pliant leather gloves on. Also upgraded the forks through Traxxion. I ride one-way 60 miles everyday at probably exactly 5K rpm or thereabouts in 6th gear. Because of the speed on the highway, I hunker forward in a bit of a comfy slouch where my elbows are really bent almost close to my thighs and I barely grip the bars. But this is possible only after adding the 'double bubble' screen. Earlier, at regular speeds I had a death grip to not fly off. But hands going numb has not been a problem I have noticed. So maybe it is the leather gloves really damping things out for me?

[cborcafz07]

I get some numbness, primarily in my throttle hand on longer rides. I have a throttle lock for longer rides and it helps a lot. Being that it's in my throttle hand mostly I don't think it's a vibration issue for me.

[tino206]

I only commute about 30 miles round-trip so I never have this happen..that would suck...like others have said, maybe look into aftermarket grips

[avanti]

The 07 doesn't vibrate nearly that much! I don't know how old you are, nor your medical history--of course, but this should NOT be happening with this bike. I'm 67 years old with some vascular issues that affect my hands in certain circumstances, but riding this bike is definitely not one of them. I might suggest you have a discussion with your physician. It cannot hurt to do so. All the best!