pins and needles

[aljaxon]

i've only done a few hundred miles on my gtr  - 200 today.  longest stint 70 miles A and B roads Whitby Pickering area
I found that during my first short ride I got pins and needles in my right hand.
I cover my brake automatically without thinking about it when i'm in traffic filtering (I always called it overtaking before today ) or in the wet or whenever I think that a split second is worth being on my side.
specially round overcooked corners

after the first trip I rotated the levers on the bars so my hands weren't bent back upwards but nice and relaxed but still found that I am getting pins and needles.
I used to have bad blood pressure as a side effect of some meds and got exactly the same pins and needles.
the doc thought it was carpal tunnel so gave me a steroid jab but we later traced it to bp.

anyway does anyone else suffer from pins and needles?

its funny cos the riding position on my zx6r which ive owned for 5 yrs only gave me pins and needles during my high bp.
maybe cos on the gtr my arms are virtually outstretched and above or level with my heart, the blood is harder to pump as opposed to when the arms are below the heart in the sportbike jockey position.

maybe I need a new heart? any good recommendations?

[Silverback]

I've never had this issue, however have grip puppies fitted on  my grips, as many on this forum do.

They are a foam sleeve that fits over the grips.

It makes the circumfrence of the grips larger, which I find more comfortable, and i would also imagine, reduces any vibration.

They may help.

[Winston Smith]

Can't help you there matey - Apparently I don't have one....

[Richard]

Hi

I suffer the same on the trike, find I tend to grip to tightly, especially when travelling rapidly, or in heavy traffic.
Think it has something to do with gripping and twisting the throttle at the same time, the angle your wrist ends up at does not help, dunno if there is a different throttle cam available that requires less twist?
Trike is fitted with 2" risers, dunno if this helps or not?
Don't hover over the brake lever, being a trike I use the back brake mostly

Richard

[Lonewolf]

I've suffered with this occasionally and I believe it's a simple matter of unknowingly gripping the right bar too tightly. 

[aljaxon]

thanks chaps, I will try to relax my grip and look into those grip puppies
it does seem to coincide with when i'm hovering over the brake lever which is a habit I just cant stop

[100milesaway]

i've only done a few hundred miles on my gtr  - 200 today.  longest stint 70 miles A and B roads Whitby Pickering area
I found that during my first short ride I got pins and needles in my right hand.
I cover my brake automatically without thinking about it when i'm in traffic filtering (I always called it overtaking before today ) or in the wet or whenever I think that a split second is worth being on my side.
specially round overcooked corners

after the first trip I rotated the levers on the bars so my hands weren't bent back upwards but nice and relaxed but still found that I am getting pins and needles.
I used to have bad blood pressure as a side effect of some meds and got exactly the same pins and needles.
the doc thought it was carpal tunnel so gave me a steroid jab but we later traced it to bp.

anyway does anyone else suffer from pins and needles?

its funny cos the riding position on my zx6r which ive owned for 5 yrs only gave me pins and needles during my high bp.
maybe cos on the gtr my arms are virtually outstretched and above or level with my heart, the blood is harder to pump as opposed to when the arms are below the heart in the sportbike jockey position.

maybe I need a new heart? any good recommendations?

Mines a good un, ya can av it after I croak   

[O.C.]

The 'pins and needles' thing (also known as the GTR 'buzz') has been a topic of conversation over the years

I fitted Grip Puppies too and yes, they increase the diameter of the grip which suits me nicely, and very probably reduces the vibes, also I agree with others about gripping too tightly, relax your grip a little

I do also recall that another method of reducing this issue is to remove the bar end weight and re-attach it with a substantial spring washer behind it  this method did slightly improve things on my 2008 GTR

Maybe heavier bar end weights might help, but I wouldn't know about that 

[alibx11]

I used to have this problem with my previous bike, a Honda Varadero, but that was the V-twin vibes causing it.

Since I went to the GTR no more problems, maybe you should check the vacuum balances etc to make sure the engine is running as smooth as should be.

Let be said though that I too use foam grips (not grip puppies), as I prefer them on my bikes for comfort reasons, but even with the standard rubber grips I didn't have a problem on this bike.

[aljaxon]

what makes it worse for me is my hands are tiny (plus side it makes my john Thomas look bigger) and its a stretch to reach the lever as it is without making the grip wider.

might look into short reach levers combined with grip puppies.
at least im not alone with the gtr buzz thing.

[pistole]

- the famous buzz.

- takes a while to condition the body + wrists + hands to adapt.

- if you're not into into conditioning (ie , the americans) , then maybe start with things like risers , grip foam covers , etc. And eventually , you may end up with Helibars , etc.

- as for the vacuum TB balancing , etc , retorquing the engine mounts , you can try them out , but no guarantees at all.

.

[Ros]

I too always have the front brake covered. Force of habit, but i use my first two fingers, whilst I see a lot of people with just the middle finger...............

Anyway, i never had pins and needles, but did have sore wrists.  This was improved by having the brake lever adjusted to it's closest position to the grip, and also rotating the levers as far down as possible. 

Now, i always try to adjust my grip on the throttle as often as I can remember and relax my hand as much as is possible.  Obviously if doing the twisties, this is still exhausting because you need to have more control over the throttle position etc. i am pretty tall, and haven't gone for the bar risers (yet) and I know that some riders complain of harsher vibrations on their GTRs more than others.

I don't think that there is an easy answer, but I do think that you need to try different positions for the lever and adjusting your grip more.  The bike pretty much rides itself anyway and rarely needs to be forced to do something so, you can ride very relaxed.

Sorry, just re-read what I wrote and decided that it was a fairly useless post... I hope you can find a solution though!



Ros

[Rusty]

Relax your grip and all will be fine ... no smutty comments please !

[kwakatlast]

Only done 200 miles on my new gtr and am also suffering the pins and needles effect. Higher the revs more it buzzes. Not had it beyond 4000 revs yet as still only 200 miles on the clock, so not looking good for higher revs when the time comes   Can really feel the vibes through the tank at those revs to, which could be quite pleasant in different circumstances    Read on a USA forum about these vibes which clearly exist but which Kawasaki are refusing to admit there is a problem with. I shall go with bar risers, different hand grips etc, as I don't want this to spoil what I've found already to be a fantastic bike.

[Ros]

But won't bar risers extrapolate the vibrations?  Do you need different bar ends?