Got a new GSA and now ive got a sore arm!!! Help!!

[Montrose Sun]

After my woe's here which have miraculously cured themselves -

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=188213

I now have a sore / tense / stiff right arm and tight upper back and around right shoulder blade. Also, if i have been at a constant speed for a while i.e. 60mph on way / back from work or on m/way, my right hand / wrist hurts and if i bend it forward in a 'camp' way, its agony but soon clears. All these feelings dissapear in the space of a bout half an hour once of the bike but having said that, my right shoulder blade is tight at the mo while i type this.

I bought my new GSA 2 weeks ago today and have used it for 7 days and done in total 1350 miles all either commuting miles (single carrigeway A road) or instructing in the town and a motorway to get the bike serviced.

Over this period my right arm has got sore / stiff / tense and i dont know why and now this is starting to annoy me / get me down. Sounds after the above thread that im a right whinging, moaning git but its my life and livelyhood and im also pissed off that ive just got a mega bike and i definately am not enjoying it at the mo coz i cant work out what the problem is.

Things i thought -

- New bike (arm just getting used to a new riding position - why no sore left arm though)

- Shite weather and so maybe tense on a new bike in the constant rain - never bothered me in the past

- Tense during running in as not wanting to go over 4k revs

- Generally stressed - yes possible, as im not taking in an abundance of £ at the mo, have heaps of summer jobs to do at home that i cant get done for the crap weather and am being given earache at home for always working.

- Even at 6'3'', i find the bike quite tall and awkward sometimes

- Im starting to think that after my wee off in April, ive had a big dent in my confidence and perhaps im too tense - i dont think this is the case but i cant help but doubt myself. See here -

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195281&page=2

- Im just dissapointed really as i really thought that a change to an upright bike would be good for me and there are lots of reasons i changed to the GSA but i cant get comfy, its getting me down and i think aswell but you'll maybe laugh at this but its all been a wee bit anti-climatic - its a great bike but i starting to think that at 29 ive peaked too soon and what am i gonna go for after the GSA in 2 or 3 years time and whether i really was able to justify it to myself now.

Lots of things are going on in my head at the mo but if i were just to get comfy, im sure i would relax and enjoy using the bike for work.

Can anyone help please or does anyone / has anyone suffered something similar?

Thanks, Dave

 

[Deleted account 220427002]

get a throttle rocker at any HG shop that should sort it

 

[Sgt Bilco]

I'd go for a Thai massage. If they don't sort the shoulder out, at least they will sort the stress.........

 

[Morticia]

Deep heat on the arm, racers use it for arm pump...help the muscles....failing that how about adjusting the angle of your handlebars in the clamps?....just a thought, i am no expert but a little tilt might just take the pressure of your shoulders...
Silly question, but are you holding on too tight and tensing all your muscles in your arm and shoulder?

Hope you get sorted soon

 

[Montrose Sun]

Silly question, but are you holding on too tight and tensing all your muscles in your arm and shoulder?

Not silly at all, i often wonder / think this might be it - but only my right side

 

[Deleted member TF]

Try adjusting the 'bars,moving the grips about an inch further away.

 

[G5RJO]

Reax..........

It should say RELAX above but I can't edit the typo..........

I slung my KTM down the road on ice in Feb' it does knock the confidence (easy to say but.....forget it).

The GSA felt high even after my KTM adv (that feels like a scooter now), I've found that putting the seat low at the back and high front helps a lot as it took weight off my arms, I too was tense in the arms and shoulders.

Don't get too anal about the 4000 rpm thing, easy revving to 5 will never hurt, free revving is always good, labouring it is bad, revving isn't a problem.

I think lots of this can be psychological. You think that your backside isn't aching today after 200 mile...then 1 second later............

You concentrate so hard on pain in the wrist, back, shoulder that you wait for it to happen..........guess what......

Hope this helps

Roger

 

[Morticia]

Not silly at all, i often wonder / think this might be it - but only my right side

Thanks, i must admit, i have trouble relaxing my right arm and shoulder too. i have dropped my bike a few times (due to the height), i have had the forks dropped in the clamps about 2cm, solved my height problem, slightly adjusted my seating and handlebar position and now seems easier to ride.

Morticia

 

[Beemerman59]

When I got my GSA (I'm 6'3" as well) I found my left forearm got very sore. After much changing of seat and handlebar positions over time I got the right combo and now don't have any problems. Ended up with seat in the high position and bars closer to the rider.

 

[bumpy]

Here is a little hint for regaining your confidence.

A crash makes you doubt your own skills at judging road condition, the ability to lean on bends and to stop in good time. I remember after an accident, years ago, cornering and wondering mid bend if the bike was going to slide away from me.

I would advise you find a friend with the same bike, then go out for a ride together and get him to lead. Drive at a sensible speed and mimic what he does.

What his bike can do, so can yours , and this will reinforce the abilities of the bike.

 

[BurtieBoy]

I agre with the guys about the bars - rotate them a little to make them more comfortable. On mine it seemed like the ends of the bars kicked up and away - a small rotation of the bars made a big difference to the angle of the ends of the bars where the grips are.

Try it it's a free option ;-)

 

[dogman]

Turraloon - you are not alone with these issues. I have ridden all manner of bikes over the years including airheads, but since buying my GSA I have suffered from not being able to get comfortable on the beast. I get a stiff cramp ache across my shoulders and upper arms and also very annoyingly I am still getting numb fingers despite fitting grip puppies.
I dont think it is the bike which is causing this but rather my inability to adjust to such a different riding position and because of this I think I am tense without really knowing it. Part of the reason for being tense may be the amount of fekking dosh I have just lashed out on this bike and worrying about justifying it to myself perhaps! However If I do some stretches before getting on and then purposely try to relax my back and arms when riding it is better and tends to go the longer I am on the bike. The numb fingers reduce if I take the weight off my grips and keep my fingers across the levers and keep the fingers moving. Again on a long run the numbness tends to go. I must say that grip puppies are a great improvement over the narrow standard grips which I felt I was always holding onto far too tight.
The bars and seat can be adjusted so this is worth playing with. I find the stock seat ok although the max I have done in one day so far is about 80 miles. I am resisting the urge to lash out £350 on a Sargent! The daft thing is that when you sit on these bikes you immediately think what a great riding position it is! So says anybody else who sits on the girl, so why do some people experience these issues? It's a 'mystewy' as Toyah Wilcox would say. I suspect that owners who have had a GS for some time do not suffer as they have adjusted to it over time.
Stick with it and resist any urge to change it .. just yet anyway.

 

[cherokee]

bar risers

Have you tried some bar risers my 1150gsa had them and the ride was pain free,i rode my mates 1150 with standard set up and found the ache across the shoulders and arm you speak of.I know we're talking a different bike but may be worth a try its a cheap fix.....

 

[WiiMW]

... just an addition to those who are suggesting roll the bars ...

think about the position of the levers relative to your arms ... if the lever is "rolled" too far back towards you, your wrist will be bent back.
Try rolling the lever a little forward so your wrist is straighter - less pressure on it

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

I used to get a terrible pain in my left forearm after riding for about an hour on my 06 GSA. Since fitting the NN bar risers with built in pull backs I've had no such issues even during 800 mile days

 

[Brooner]

Not silly at all, i often wonder / think this might be it - but only my right side

I find my right forarm / wrist gets sore on a run (no discomfort whatsoever from my left hand) but stops when I stop.

Is it an 08 / 09 model you have?? The bar clamps can be rotated 180 degrees to move the bars further away / closer. That might get the bars in a better position for you.

 

[Bear]

I'm with Dogman's comment on how much he spent on the bike. My first serious motorcycle was a somewhat expensive Triumph Daytona 750 (kept it for 16 years) and soon after buying it I was being X-rayed to check for wrist problems. No problems were found and I think that the real issues were a combination of clip-ons/rearsets and a very tall rider on the one hand, and I was frightened of it on the other. The wrist problems went away once I got on with enjoying the bike and stopped being nervous of it.

 

[(RIP) Nakambale]

Not much to add to all the suggestions above. I also had right arm/shoulder issues and played around with the bar settings. That helped somewhat. I've since fitted the Touratwat risers and have had no problems. I've just come back from a 2800 mile roundtrip to Sweden with some long riding days and didn't have any problems (apart from a sore backside, but that's a different matter altogether)

 

[luckylucian]

Have you tried some bar risers my 1150gsa had them and the ride was pain free,i rode my mates 1150 with standard set up and found the ache across the shoulders and arm you speak of.I know we're talking a different bike but may be worth a try its a cheap fix.....

+1 for bar risers, they worked on my 1200GS

 

[Format]

Just ride the thing, I got real bad pains in my right wrist and arm for about a month (I ride everyday) but after time it goes, your body is the best tool there is...it adjusts to its environment.

It is still the most comfortable bike you will ever own except for that crap seat that with no end of use you still want to do off road riding on tarmac