Hands falling asleep?

Blacksmith

Blacksmith

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On hopefully this one isn't a dumb question, my hands start to fall asleep or tingle pretty good after just 20 minutes or so of riding. Is this something that your body gets used to and only happens when you first start to ride, is it bad body position on my part, is there to much vibration in my bars for some reason? Or do I maybe have a circulation issue i'm not aware of? I've been a blacksmith for 20 years and can swing a hammer all day so I'd not a lock of strength or being unused to being used.
 
What year is your busa ? a very popular mod here is to fit the heli bars on combined with the lower foot pegs makes a very nice improvement in comfort on my gen 2 having said that I wish this bike had cruise control hopefully the gen 3 will ? :thumbsup:
 
I used to do a lot of road riding (bicycle) and I had a problem with numbing of the hands. The fix for me was fine tuning my body position on the bike. I had to make adjustments to the bar height, seat height, also had to move the seat back. Same thing on a motorcycle, you will need to adjust your body position to find the one that works for you. Core strength is very important as well.
 
I've dealt with this issue my entire riding life (~45 yrs). Yes you'll get used to it, yes it'll persist, yes, it'll be gone for hours, then reappear after a 2 minute grip-free rest, yes, it could be related to body positioning: I ride a mountain bicycle ~25 mi/wk., and it's significantly worse there than on the Hayabusa, and no, it doesn't seem to matter what type of motorcycle I ride, it still occurs. For me, it crops up in the clutch hand more often than on throttle hand (suggesting the throttle hand has, indeed, gotten used to it). Naturally, vibration might have something to do with it, but I'd rule out a circulation issue. Do you have priors with carpal tunnel? How tight are your gloves? My experience, consistent tingling in a specific finger might be glove-related, as in too tight of a fit. I will suggest here that wrist position in relation to hand (and/or arm) position has a direct bearing on when/where/how tingling/numbness occurs.

Hopefully a definitive fix will magically appear in this thread.
 
Blacksmith said:
On hopefully this one isn't a dumb question, my hands start to fall asleep or tingle pretty good after just 20 minutes or so of riding. Is this something that your body gets used to and only happens when you first start to ride, is it bad body position on my part, is there to much vibration in my bars for some reason? Or do I maybe have a circulation issue i'm not aware of? I've been a blacksmith for 20 years and can swing a hammer all day so I'd not a lock of strength or being unused to being used.
Click to expand...

grip weights need to be fairly heavy. Balanced tires are something to consider and if that doesnt help I would definitely let yourself get checked for circulation issues!
 
busafan08 said:
What year is your busa ? a very popular mod here is to fit the heli bars on combined with the lower foot pegs makes a very nice improvement in comfort on my gen 2 having said that I wish this bike had cruise control hopefully the gen 3 will ? :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

09 gen 2. I'll search for helibars. I figured it probably has to do with being new to riding and not having a solid riding position but since most of the busa riders around here seem to prefer the sitting up ride with one hand position I don't think they'd anyone close I want to emulate. Thanks for the replies guys
 
Btw no my gloves aren't tight I actually have stupid shaped hands with a big palm and short fingers so I have XL gloves with 1/2" extra at most fingertips. No one never had carpal tunnel although it is fairly common with blacksmiths, just tendonitis and broken bones
 
That's from too much weight on your wrists and hands. Possibly too tight of a grip as well.
A change in body/riding position is needed to improve it.
Heli-bars and a .75" spacer combined will help.
I traded my gen2 years ago(owned it for 3 1/2 years). I loved the engine, but never could get comfortable in the riding position.
I personally find the gas tank to be too long, between the seat and bars. My lower back didn't like the reach. I did several bar and spacer combos, and finally a Spiegler dirtbike bar conversion.
My back didn't like any of it.
My point is, through All the changes and combinations that I tried of seats, bars, pegs, to try to fix back pain, I noticed the numb hands and wrists(that ached really good) improved as the bar position fit My body better.
I didn't/don't have any comfort or pain problems on a 1k. As it fits me better.
You need to ride a bike for a while to get a feel for it, and your riding position.
And the new aches and pains usually improve quickly with seat time.
If they don't, it's time to make modifications to improve or fix the issue.
Good luck with it.
 
I have this same issue, I live in NY And after the winter off I would get wrist fatigue and falling asleep, mainly when I had a passenger. After a few rides it goes away for me though. I think for me it was more so being tense and feeling the bike after being off of it for the few months.
I did now go heli bars and aftermarket bar clamp so I’m curious how this affects me through out the season. Keep us posted on your progression!
 
Bluebusa60544 said:
Is it your whole hand? Mine was thumb,ring finger, and pinkie.There’s 2 nerves going to your hand. Other fingers are different nerve. Mine was trapped in elbow. Make sure you’re keeping elbows bent. Surgery to move the nerve and problem went away.
Click to expand...
It's all my fingers but not really up in my palm or back of hand. I loosen my grip when I can and shift my grip angles which all helps for a few minutes but it comes back. I'll play with it for a month or so while getting comfortable on the bike but the helibars do look interesting
 
Blacksmith said:
Btw no my gloves aren't tight I actually have stupid shaped hands with a big palm and short fingers so I have XL gloves with 1/2" extra at most fingertips. No one never had carpal tunnel although it is fairly common with blacksmiths, just tendonitis and broken bones
Click to expand...

I actually have similar shaped hands im pretty sure caused by the years of turning wrenches and I actually noticed when my gloves fit like yours do it made the tingling worse. Didn't matter the bike I was on, figured it to be the finger crotch of the gloves not allowing enough blood flow. Still haven't found a perfect fit glove but the smaller icon gloves I use now have cut it way down. I would try taking a short ride without gloves (and only for test purpose) and see if that helps.
 
sixpack577 said:
That's from too much weight on your wrists and hands. Possibly too tight of a grip as well.
A change in body/riding position is needed to improve it.
Heli-bars and a .75" spacer combined will help.
I traded my gen2 years ago(owned it for 3 1/2 years). I loved the engine, but never could get comfortable in the riding position.
I personally find the gas tank to be too long, between the seat and bars. My lower back didn't like the reach. I did several bar and spacer combos, and finally a Spiegler dirtbike bar conversion.
My back didn't like any of it.
My point is, through All the changes and combinations that I tried of seats, bars, pegs, to try to fix back pain, I noticed the numb hands and wrists(that ached really good) improved as the bar position fit My body better.
I didn't/don't have any comfort or pain problems on a 1k. As it fits me better.
You need to ride a bike for a while to get a feel for it, and your riding position.
And the new aches and pains usually improve quickly with seat time.
If they don't, it's time to make modifications to improve or fix the issue.
Good luck with it.
Click to expand...

My old friend who's an ex racer over many years pointed this out to me one day years ago while we were talking.
He said exactly the same thing.. "you're strangling the grips and your arms are to straight " Meaning that all the muscles in my arms are all tense and locked from shoulder blades to finger tips.
His answer was what he called "chicken wings" .. My arms needed to be loose to be able to throw my elbows out. He was a big believer in being "ride fit"
 
Man I thought I was the only one

Whew.... Jus like u said, bout 20-30mins of riding and my throttle hand feels like ants are eating it lol
 
Blacksmith said:
Btw no my gloves aren't tight I actually have stupid shaped hands with a big palm and short fingers so I have XL gloves with 1/2" extra at most fingertips. No one never had carpal tunnel although it is fairly common with blacksmiths, just tendonitis and broken bones
Click to expand...
How long are they numb for and how long after you start ridding do they tingle? Does the numbness remain after the ride or only while riding? You most likely have done a lot of damage through the years which may be why some changes will make tolerable maybe (if lucky) but will not remedy if already painful or traveling up forearms like stabbing pain. Have you ever had hand forearm pain in the past that went away & you forgot about? What I am getting at is you may not be doing anything wrong; certain activities will bring out past damage to hands, nerves or the bands at the wrist base of palm that compresses those nerves and can only be released by surgery. Corporal Tunnel, Vibration Hand you are prime candidate due to the work you have done. The ridding position will put major stress on the hands & wrist the Heli-bars should help some takes a lot of body weight off of the hands & wrist start there maybe a riser too.
 
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