Numb hands within an hour, don't want to have to sell my GS!

Primalcarl

Registered user
Joined
Apr 25, 2019
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Location
Tiverton
I've owned an '06 R1200gs for a couple of months now and really happy with the bike overall, but one thing is driving me mad....I get numb hands within an hour!

Are there any solutions? I purchased some Grip Puppies but these have made no difference.

How much would throttle balancing cost, and how would you know if it needs doing?

I currently have semi offroad tyres on it, would they make any difference compared to road tyres?
 
You could try some up and back risers on the bike, they change the wrist and hand position, and certainly helped 95 % stopping my right hand becoming numb, I personally found it was the wrist position, and nothing to do with the bike that solved my problem, and way comfier to ride the bike also.

https://www.advdesigns.com/roxhabarpiri1.html
 
Heavier bar end weights will sort it out. I had the same problem with my GSA LC but fitted Evotech bar end weights and the problem went away, no more numbness :)

May be a bit of a trawl to find them for an 06 though as Evotech only do LC's
 
The handlebars have two positions. Flip the brackets around that fix the bars to the top yoke for either a further forward or further back position depending on where they are now.

Knobblieish tyres will certainly cause some vibration to be felt but I doubt bad enough for numb hands. I mostly run Heidenau k60 tyres which give a lot rougher ride than more road oriented tyres.

A TB balance may improve things but if balance is way out you would probably have other vibe related symptoms on the bike too - like blurry instruments and mirrors, tingly footrests etc.

It’s probably the angle of the bars as has been said. I think I just got used to it as I didn’t much like the bars on mine when I first got it but simply got used to it.
 
Grip puppies and Relax!

I get carpel tunnel and suffer with numbness etc.

I have rox risers up and back coupled wth a grip pipplie on the rh grip and a throttle rest.

The other fix was not to grip the bars so tightly, it's a subconcious thing.

Try riding with a relaxed grip on the bars, you'll be surprised how much vibration is lost .

What tyres do you have fitted? and how good is the suspension?

I had Karro 3's to start , road noise was awfrul above 50mph switched to trialriders and its much quieter ;)

Get a good balance on your throttle bodys it helps tick over and running immensley (which leads to less vibes )
 
On my 2011 TC I used to get it worse in my right wrist and I had fitted risers a few years ago. Earlier this year I rolled the bars back towards me as much I could possibly do, whilst still giving half an inch clearance to the tank in an attempt to get the bars to slope down. I noticed when doing this that my bars were not central and needed moving over to the left, I also removed the risers going back to standard, fitted grip puppies and bought one of those throttle grip rests things so my right hand can relax.
I also synchronised the bike when I serviced it.
Massive improvement with no numbness now.
 
If the vibration is that bad, surely setting up the motor more accurately would be a starting place? (ie. Throttle sync, general running). Especially if it only took an hour in the saddle to cause an issue...

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
 
Sit on the bike with no gloves, and see if there is any uneven pressure from the handlebars. Quite a few of us wound up putting up and back risers and Renthal 997s (I think) on, because the bar angle put pressure on the outside of the hands.
 
+1 ! That’s a great recommendation
 
The only time I suffered numbness was when I had done up the wrist strap on the gloves too tight. If all else fails might be worth loosening them slightly
 
Thanks for all the replies.

The handlebar clamps on my bike don't seem to make any difference if reversed.

I moved the handlebars all the way back, but so they're still clear of the tank. I went for a ride today and no different.

I might have a look at getting bar risers and maybe different bars.

I've never had issues on any of my other bikes, struggling to work out why this bike should be so different!
 
Ride one handed, then it’s only half the problem,

I do that all the time with my Moto Guzzi, especially in winter, when the hand warmers are just in front of my knees :rob
 
Primalcarl said:
I've owned an '06 R1200gs for a couple of months now and really happy with the bike overall, but one thing is driving me mad....I get numb hands within an hour!
Click to expand...

mine causes this issue to me now, on my right hand only

I never noticed it till I went to the later (now BMW Std) engine map, this happens if you get BMW to programme to its latest I-level. It might be unrelated, but I never noticed it until the bike was over 27k (which coincides with the engine map update). Its possible I'm wearing out... especially with Microsoft updating its products to a needless additional 3 million mouse clicks.

check the engine's done up tight, mine undid themselves at 16k (by more than a turn and a half each).
check you have the heavier bar ends, stock on mine where 320g each
the throttle cruise lock I added is stupid and drops some 150g. And vibrations increased circa 10k miles when that went on, but it wasn't causing numbness / tingling like I get now. I've played, machining off some of its aluminium and adding some stainless and its back to 270g. I think it reduced the vibration, but not its not reduced the tingling issues I can get within 20 minutes. (note: earlier and later bikes got different bar end weights)
service the bike, valve clearances and throttle balance, try different fuel, fit power commander
move the bars
try different bars with a different harmonic frequency
 
I have "dupuytrens" in both hands and "grip puppies" have helped me over several years. all my bikes get puppies fitted,they are cheap and comfy.............throttle control is made so easy and relaxing.
 
The best thing is to learn to synchronise it yourself and do it often. The more you do it the easier and quicker it gets. After a ride to warm it up it takes about 15 minutes. Getting it spot on takes practice. Use a fan blowing at the engine when practicing so it doesn’t over heat.
I use a pair of old Davida gauges, like in the video above, and don’t idle the Steppers, checking at 2-4 thousand revs.
A pair of 10mm open enders and the gauges is all you need. There’s lots of other fancy electronic balances about but the Davida gauges appear to do the job.
 
Now that Spring isn't far away I'm looking at sorting this issue out before the GS comes out of hibernation.

I've ordered some gauges to do the throttle sync.

I'd like to try some of the Evotech bar end weights, but their website says for models 2013 and onwards so not sure whether they'd fit or not?

I did try some gel anti vibration gloves last year that I got from Travis Perkins but they were too thick and I kept stalling the bike, a thinner pair needed next time!
 
Go and speak to the GP and see if you can get tested for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This would at least rule this out.

My CT was causing no end of issues on certain bikes and my enjoyment of riding hugely increased after surgery.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 
topcat2006 said:
Go and speak to the GP and see if you can get tested for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This would at least rule this out.

My CT was causing no end of issues on certain bikes and my enjoyment of riding hugely increased after surgery.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Ditto to this, had both mine done and no more problems. More likely a rider issue than the bike.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

my 1150GS - new to me today (with a couple of photos)
2
Replies
25
Views
2,524
Fireblade
Fireblade
PIGGLET
A buyers guide / Info for potential new bike buyers, mainly aimed at MTB.
Replies
17
Views
1,513
davidfbmw
Super Loopy
3 4 5
Replies
84
Views
12,276
ballistic
ballistic
snerkler
Considering moving back to a GS, but which one and should I do it?
2
Replies
24
Views
4,321
snerkler
snerkler
an hour on the new S1000XR
2
Replies
36
Views
11,390
Boxerlust


Back
Top Bottom