i have finally solved my "hand going numb" problem. during the coarse of solving it, i tried many things which helped somewhat: BMW hand grips, bar risers, and gel pad gloves. The final solution was Phil's (Murph's) wedges. I went for a 5 hour ride on Saturday and can report NO hand numbness. YMMV
ken
i have finally solved my "hand going numb" problem. during the coarse of solving it, i tried many things which helped somewhat: BMW hand grips, bar risers, and gel pad gloves. The final solution was Phil's (Murph's) wedges.
We've had a thread on this topic on the "old forum", and if I remember correctly, someone has added a flat washer between the handle bars and a bar-end weights, significantly reducing vibrations.....fyi.
Personally, I've seen a major improvement after re-tightening the header nuts on my bike.However, vibrations never been a major issue on my bike.
So, are you back to using only the wedges with everything else back to stock?
My hands get the numbness in a very short time on my V-Strom and used to on my dirt bike. I bent up a cheap set of handlebars for the dirt bike, bending the grip area down and rotated forward. That fixed the issue 100% on the dirt. I tried tweaking the bars on my V-Strom but they wouldn't bend without a whole lot more pressure than the dirt bike bars so I stopped on them. My Connie is much better than the Strom but I still get it. I have been trying the foam sleeves over the grips but that makes it too fat to feel right. I will give them another week before I make the decision to cut them off, but I am leaning that way now. Murph's Wedges will most likely be my next test.
I forgot to mention, I get the numbness no matter what speed I run.
Matt
snip...
I'm not sure what state you live in.... But in PA, it is against DOT inspection laws to have modified welded handlebars on your motorcycle. Only the factory welds are permissible.
JJ
Red,Thanks for that acknowledgement. I found it interesting, because on the "old" forum, someone had posted how they had cut and welded their uprights to lower the bars for a more "sport bike" riding position. Even then I thought that was pretty risky. Still, I am a little uneasy about the welded aluminum bars, and am still thinking about going with the heavier steel. He proposes making it from a single piece of 7/8" round cold-rolled steel. Then drilling the holes and threading them using a lathe. Finally, he would heat and bend the bars for the 8 degree angle. Once mounted on the bike, I'll drill the holes for the pin and switches. We haven't got a price set yet, but I'm expecting it to be 200 or so for both bars. If successful, I'm sure they could be made with any angle from 2 to 12 degrees. Not being pre-drilled for the pins would allow the owner to position the bars exactly where wanted, then drill. The angle might be straight ahead, slightly up, or slightly down. I might be able to remove the wedges, who knows?
... now that I've got that vision of someone trying to successfully Tig-weld an alloy upright out of my sobering mind
JJ