My 'o5 FLR makes my wrists and hands sore!!

[oldryder]

Picked up a cherry '05 on sunday. rode about 30 miles with my daughter on the back. lots of rapid accel and decel.

I have ridden many different bikes in my life including some with a much more agressive riding position.

my wrists and hands are quite sore which I am assuming is from the bike ride.

HAs anyone else encountered this and if yes, what did they do?

suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[HuskyRider]

Picked up a cherry '05 on sunday. rode about 30 miles with my daughter on the back. lots of rapid accel and decel.
I have ridden many different bikes in my life including some with a much more agressive riding position.

my wrists and hands are quite sore which I am assuming is from the bike ride.

HAs anyone else encountered this and if yes, what did they do?

suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

FLR?

 

[cadman]

Picked up a cherry '05 on sunday. rode about 30 miles with my daughter on the back. lots of rapid accel and decel.
I have ridden many different bikes in my life including some with a much more agressive riding position.

my wrists and hands are quite sore which I am assuming is from the bike ride.

HAs anyone else encountered this and if yes, what did they do?

suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

The grips are smaller in diameter than you are used to. Get a set or two of Grip-Puppies. They are made of foam, and are, using an air compressor, blown over the handle grips..this will help tons. Also consider getting a pair of risers to bring the handle bars up and closer to you..

Use the search feature to find where to get both of these items...

cadman

 

[jjsC6]

It's the vibration. I get it in my right hand. I've tried everything I can think of (including grip puppies). Nothing has helped. I added a Vista Cruise so I can relax my hand every so often. I've done two long trips now (2900 miles in 8 days, and 3800 miles in 8 days). With the Vista Cruise I can deal with it. Oh, Gel padded gloves help some, but I can't wear thick gloves in Houston's summer weather, so it's worse with my summer mesh gloves.

 

[FJRMGM]

if it still has the stock grips thats part of it - they suck.

Get some gel grips and relax.

 

[Dale Franks]

I find that a throttle boss solves about 90% of the problems with the stock grips. It allows you to relax your fingers and just rest the heel of your palms on the bars.

For a $10 farkle, it's pretty effective.

 

[RiderCoach Lar]

.... rode about 30 miles with my daughter on the back. lots of rapid accel and decel....
.....my wrists and hands are quite sore which I am assuming is from the bike ride....

I suspect part of your problem is coming from hand grip pressure. "Lots of rapid accel and decel" on a new bike that produces 125+ hp at the rear wheel. I'll bet you had quite a gorilla grip on those bars for 30 minutes or more. Try another ride with 30 miles of LESS rapid accel and decel and more relaxed hand grip pressure and I bet you won't have a bit of pain

I also agree, stock grips aren't great. I like grip puppies; others like BMW sport grips.

 

[Geezer]

Along with what others have already said, I can think of two other things that might help.

The angle of the bars may be different from what you are used to. That can affect both wrists. Some people have used 6 degree risers which you can find by using the search engine. For me, I just got used to the angle and prefer not to use risers at all.

The throttle has three springs applying tension at the throttle body end. Some of us have relieved some of that tension by releasing the center spring a turn. Again, I refer you to the search engine for more details.

 

[Flylooper]

Just to add another perspective on this topic, I rode my bike from South Dakota to Oregon in 30 hours two years ago, and from West Virginia to Oregon last year in two and a half days. No problems with hands or wrists. I did use a true cruise control (Audiovox) from time to time, but I was holding on the whole time.

About the only thing I will every buy, if I ever get around to it, is a set of risers, and I'm in no hurry for them, either.

Just another opinion.

 

[GPRIDER]

Picked up a cherry '05 on sunday. rode about 30 miles with my daughter on the back. lots of rapid accel and decel.
I have ridden many different bikes in my life including some with a much more agressive riding position.

my wrists and hands are quite sore which I am assuming is from the bike ride.

HAs anyone else encountered this and if yes, what did they do?

suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

My wrists still bother me some even with risers, but it's better than stock. I tried grip puppies and didn't care much for the added diameter. I do use a throttle rocker in combination with the a throttle lock. That helps some too.

GP

 

[angus]

Like Geezer stated it is the angle of the bars I went to heli risers which changed the angel of the grips wrist pain gone.

 

[BobMercer]

oldryder,

In addition to the previous suggestions, I have found the so-called Master-Yoda(sp?) riding position to be a big relief. If I recall correctly, you arch your back slightly and lean forward a bit and put your weight on your thighs and lower legs. This relieves the weight on your upper body and arms/wrists. Makes a huge difference for me and I have some significant back problems. You might want to do a Forum or Google search for a good description of this concept.

Bob

 

[Bluestreek]

Best bang for the buck was the Vista Cruise. Followed by bar risers that bring the bars up and back.

Having a custom seat done by Russel helps a lot.

You need to get in the habit of using the throttle lock before your hands and wrists start to hurt. Even if its for only a second or two.

 

[oldryder]

thx for all the help. I ordered the grip puppies and an throttlemeister today. hopefully that will solvew the problem. I really like the bike!!!!

 

[madmike2]

.... rode about 30 miles with my daughter on the back. lots of rapid accel and decel....
.....my wrists and hands are quite sore which I am assuming is from the bike ride....

I suspect part of your problem is coming from hand grip pressure. "Lots of rapid accel and decel" on a new bike that produces 125+ hp at the rear wheel. I'll bet you had quite a gorilla grip on those bars for 30 minutes or more. Try another ride with 30 miles of LESS rapid accel and decel and more relaxed hand grip pressure and I bet you won't have a bit of pain

I also agree, stock grips aren't great. I like grip puppies; others like BMW sport grips.

Exactly the thought I had as I was reading through all the answers. (I should've known Larry would come up with it!?!?) The acceleration of the FJR will cause some riders to grip "hard" and that will cause the ache you describe, the deceleration could cause the wrist pain.

Do the mods you posted and after a couple of weeks, as your body acclimates to the FJR, let us know.

 

[Midnight Sun Rider]

I bought my 07' about a month ago, and at first had the hand cramp and wrist hirt think going on. Then I realised how hard I was holding on. Relaxed a bit and things got alot better. I am going to try the bar risers, and grip puppies thought. I also have throttlemiser on the way. Just my experiance.

 

[Wetdog]

I'm glad I found this thread. I too had some problems with pain in the hands. Relaxing and not acelerating so fast helped, but who wants to stop that. I will be ordering better grips, and if anyone has information on where to find the risers that change the angle, I'm looking for those. I think the fix is up, out a few degrees and better grips. I loved my bike and have just taken a few longer rides lately. I think the bikes a keeper, but yamaha could have put a little more effort into the seat and the grips. Those are my only complaint. I want to make sure I find the right fix before ordering. Hopeing to see some fellow FJR's on the road, maybe I can check out the fixes up close.

 

[Fred W]

I agree with those that have said that the pain is as a result of having a death grip on the bars. I'm betting that this bike has the most acceleration power of any of the bikes you have ridden before and as such, when you twist that thingee on the right side you've gotta hang on!! :yahoo:

I don't think it will matter what angle or how high the bars are or how foamy or cushy the grips are as long as you have that kind of white knuckle grasp. If you continue, eventually your arm's muscles will build up and the pain will subside as you get stronger. But for longer rides, a more sedate riding style and any of the gismos that allow you to relax your right hand on the bar will work wonders.

At this point I use only a cheap-o throttle rocker (I also have heli risers as I'm 6'2") and they allow me to completely relax my right hand, just maintaining the heel's contact with the bars. Ride all day with no wrist pain.

Do learn to ride in the "yoda" position, which relieves all the weight from your arms, wrists and hands and places it in the large muscles in your thighs. Takes some getting used to, and it makes you look alittle like you've got a stick up yer butt, but it works. Here's a good description of it.

 

[borrec]

oldryder,
In addition to the previous suggestions, I have found the so-called Master-Yoda(sp?) riding position to be a big relief. If I recall correctly, you arch your back slightly and lean forward a bit and put your weight on your thighs and lower legs. This relieves the weight on your upper body and arms/wrists. Makes a huge difference for me and I have some significant back problems. You might want to do a Forum or Google search for a good description of this concept.

Bob

Gunny! and Grip Puppies