Wrist pain after 3 hours

[ecc1124]

I noticed wrist pain after about 3 hours of riding on a 13 hour ride. At the end, I needed a day to recover from the pain - painkillers included. My bike is a 2019 es with the following: grip buddies, helibars, low seat position, touring windscreen. When the handlebars are fully turned, they have about 1/4" clearance from the gas tank. What options would you suggest?

 

[Bounce]

I found that moving from a Gold Wing to the FJR had some similar results. The trick is to NOT lean on your wrists but to support your torso with your core and leave your hand/arms/elbows loosey-goosey.

 

[RossKean]

I found that moving from a Gold Wing to the FJR had some similar results. The trick is to NOT lean on your wrists but to support your torso with your core and leave your hand/arms/elbows loosey-goosey.

Agreed, keep the weight off the wrists and arms.

@ecc1124 might find additional relief using an elastic wrist support. Try to adjust the bars so there is no lateral bend in the wrist.

Ibuprofen can be your friend for long rides, but take it BEFORE you start to hurt. May prevent aches, stiffness and pain in wrists, elbows, back, butt, hips and knees.

 

[saread]

The trick is to arch your back just a little bit to activate your core and take the pressure off your arms. It doesn't take a lot of strength to do it and with a little practice it becomes normal and very comfortable. Yoda.

 

[RiderJoe]

One more thing to check in your setup is that the brake and clutch levers are properly positioned. When you reach for the levers your fingers should be perfectly in line with your arms. You should not have a bend in your wrist (up or down) to reach for or when pulling on the levers.

 

[BkerChuck]

Search "Master Yoda riding position" on this site. Helps a lot

 

[Oldjeep]

ABM bar conversion so that you can find some bars with less pullback. The FJR stock bars never worked for me, my Ducati is more comfortable. Once I could put some bars with less pullback - life was good.

 

[saread]

Here's the link to the original Master Yoda thread over on the BMWsporttouring site: https://www.bmwsporttouring.com/topic/316-master-yodas-riding-position/#comment-2645

It's good enough to be repeated here again.

 

[infrared]

I noticed wrist pain after about 3 hours of riding on a 13 hour ride. At the end, I needed a day to recover from the pain - painkillers included. My bike is a 2019 es with the following: grip buddies, helibars, low seat position, touring windscreen. When the handlebars are fully turned, they have about 1/4" clearance from the gas tank. What options would you suggest?

ecc1124,

Link to a good thread. The steel adapters start at US$ 15.00 but you can spend a lot more.
https://www.fjrowners.com/threads/vibration-tingling.159043/post-1375465

 

[escapefjrtist]

Out of curiosity, how long have you had it and how many miles have you ridden your FJR?

~G

 

[ecc1124]

Purchased in Dec 2023. Probably about 1k miles so far. Prior to that a vmax 1200 rider.

 

[Bounce]

Purchased in Dec 2023. Probably about 1k miles so far. Prior to that a vmax 1200 rider.

Yep. Going from a "flying c" riding position to one of a more forward lean is exactly the symptoms you describe. Work on the sitting technique to get the weight off your hands and arms. That's #1.

 

[RedRiderMN]

Even though my FJR came with the MV_Motorrad barbacks, I found that the position of the handlebars was too far back. I adjusted the handlebars to a more forward position, and my wrists have been much happier ever since.

YMMV

 

[Gene Weygandt]

One more thing that might not have been mentioned above, is your hand position. You might try sort of canting your wrist to the outside instead of gripping the throttle straight on. More like the way you'd hold an ice-cream cone. I've also found that, for me, tho the low seat position gets tough on my knees fairly quickly, the high position seems to exacerbate the hand and wrist discomfort. Mine '06, a recent purchase, has Tour Performance riser and bar-backs, but I haven't yet looked to see whether they're in the forward or rear position. Good project for later today!

 

[czufelt]

RedRiderMN, you said you moved your handlebars to a more forward position. Does that mean you moved them away from you or towards you? Did you use a handlebar lift kit? If so, can you share which one? And did you install it yourself?

I've struggled with my arms going numb for a few years now. I also recently had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands so I'm anxious to get out and ride now to see if there's any improvement.

 

[ecc1124]

One more thing that might not have been mentioned above, is your hand position. You might try sort of canting your wrist to the outside instead of gripping the throttle straight on. More like the way you'd hold an ice-cream cone. I've also found that, for me, tho the low seat position gets tough on my knees fairly quickly, the high position seems to exacerbate the hand and wrist discomfort. Mine '06, a recent purchase, has Tour Performance riser and bar-backs, but I haven't yet looked to see whether they're in the forward or rear position. Good project for later today!

That's a good point and I am solid on that.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Purchased in Dec 2023. Probably about 1k miles so far. Prior to that a vmax 1200 rider.

Give yourself more time in the saddle. You're using a whole new set of muscles moving from a cruiser to FJR. Personally, I don't care for the MV or Heli risers as they cant me too upright. With a stock clamp and bars in rear position, the slight forward lean takes pressure off my a$$ and is more comfortable. I've got a Laam seat as well.

Give yourself some miles & time and then figure out what works for YOU!

Good luck.

~G

 

[ecc1124]

RedRiderMN, you said you moved your handlebars to a more forward position. Does that mean you moved them away from you or towards you? Did you use a handlebar lift kit? If so, can you share which one? And did you install it yourself?

I've struggled with my arms going numb for a few years now. I also recently had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands so I'm anxious to get out and ride now to see if there's any improvement.

Helibars were on the bike when I bought it. I believe the angle is swept back towards me to furthest point before hitting gas tank when fully rotated.

 

[RossKean]

Helibars were on the bike when I bought it. I believe the angle is swept back towards me to furthest point before hitting gas tank when fully rotated.

Swept back means that your hands are angled with respect to your forearms. Far better off to have some more "reach" and lean forward from your hips. As said, keep the weight off the hands and support yourself with core and thigh muscles.

 

[RedRiderMN]

RedRiderMN, you said you moved your handlebars to a more forward position. Does that mean you moved them away from you or towards you? Did you use a handlebar lift kit? If so, can you share which one? And did you install it yourself?

I moved the handlebars AWAY from me. This resulted in less bend of my wrists while riding.

MV-Motorrad barbacks is the lift kit that was already on the bike when I purchased it.