Numb Throttle Hand from Vibration?

[Bassbeater]

Hello community. Any Harley riders out there? I just rode a 97 Sportster from Ohio to NYC, 400 miles, and my right hand was a rubber chicken for at least three days from the vibration. It took a solid week to get back to normal!

I was looking for handle grip suggestions that are good for eliminating vibrations. Any thoughts? Thanks!

It's probably posture. I don't mean to offend with noob info, I find it always helps to review for bad riding habits that have snuck in with time, just like on the bass.
Be sure keep a light grip.
Look through the top of the helmet and tuck your chin.
Maintain the arch in your upper back by not flattening your upper spine and roll your shoulders forward if your hands are losing sensation.
Make sure you have good gloves that fit well.
This has helped me on long rides.

 

[murphy]

Okay, here's the update!

I bought the Kuryakyn ISO grips with the throttle assist nub and the end weight. All together it helps a lot! That said, after a day of riding, I still feel a bit tingly but I don't end the day with a rubber chicken for a right hand LOL.

What helps the most is I ended up with cruise control. I have painted black drag bars which seem to create a tighter fit for the grips. The throttle turns easily enough, but it sticks wherever I leave it. That's probably made the biggest difference- being able to put it where I want it and give my hand a break.

I'm going to give it another few months and see how I feel. If it's still weird, I'll get one of those handle bar vibration snakes. I'd go ahead and just do it now, but I don't have the time to pull everything apart and install it.

Thank you everyone for your help!!

On an unrelated note, my homemade removable electric bass carrier works great! I'll try to find the time to post a tutorial for those of you interested.

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You still don't have the thicker sponge grips....cheapest fix that helped me.
My Electraglide has skinny grips but is pretty smooth through the bars

 

[murphy]

I love your bass rack....reminds me of Elvis in Roustabout

 

[murphy]

 

[biguglyman]

Ride something without a 100 year old engine design.

 

[denhou1974]

Loosen your grip.

 

[Funky Ghost]

Technique matters too. I was notorious about gripping the crap outta the bars early on. Then when I had that whopped I found that I was putting too much pressure on the wrist joint, essentially locking the joint, which led to numbness. Common sense things, and maybe it was just me, but thought I'd mention them anyway

 

[Skybone]

Have you looked at heavier bar end weights?

Used to have quite light ones on my bike, and used to get a lot of vibration through the bars (although not enough to set off Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome / Vibration White Finger Vibration white finger - Wikipedia, Hand-arm Vibration Syndrome Information Sheet | Patient & Invalid Link Removed ).

To remedy the vibration through the bars, I'd heard that heavier bar end weights worked, bought a set & fitted them. Lo and behold, they killed most of the vibration, so that you can at least ride for a tankful of juice before needing a rest.

The height of the bars will also effect how you feel vibrations. If you're using ape hangers, your heart is having to work harder pushing the blood to your hands, than if the bars were lower down.

 

[Bassphil]

Whoa, crazy Elvis photos! Man, just when you think you've invented something you find out it's been done LOL.

All good tips for riding posture, and something I've paid attention to. I like to correlation to good bass technique. You're right, it's exactly the same thing!

Early on with this bike I was definitely lifting my right shoulder and putting a little to much pressure into my elbow, but I picked up on that and relaxed. Now it is just a vibration issue. I used to have the same problem with my gas powered weed whacker. With that thing, I had to wrap a car wash sponge over the handle. That helped but I would still be numb after 30 minutes.

Now that the throttle sticks I just shake my hand out (a lot) on the longer rides. That, and no more 400 mile rides on this bike ;-)

Yeah, if I ever let this bike go I'll stick to post 2003 Harleys with rubber mounted engines!