Anyone else get a numb hand whilst riding?

[ducatilover]

Recently my thumb and brake fingers have been going numb within 20min of a ride :doh: I'm wondering if it's nerve damage, or, if it's the way I hold the grip. I cover the front brake with two fingers, but, as I said it goes numb/pins and needles etc. When I don't cover the brake, it doesn't go numb.

Who else has this problem and who covers the brake constantly? (I bet Katman does) :msn-wink:

[Oblivion]

Do you hold you fingers in same position for the whole 20mins? I find that the same happens to me, so i just move my hand around while on the throttle just to the get the blood pumping again. After that its sweet for another 20 minutes :rolleyes:

[Ocean1]

Rotate the brake lever down so that when your fingers are resting on it thay're in line with your forearm. Even a tad lower.

There's other reasons it happens, but if you only get the problem when your fingers are on the lever then they aren't likely to be the cause.

[ducatilover]

Rotate the brake lever down so that when your fingers are resting on it thay're in line with your forearm. Even a tad lower.

There's other reasons it happens, but if you only get the problem when your fingers are on the lever then they aren't likely to be the cause.
Thanks very much, will send some rep (internet beer!) your way.


Do you hold you fingers in same position for the whole 20mins? I find that the same happens to me, so i just move my hand around while on the throttle just to the get the blood pumping again. After that its sweet for another 20 minutes :rolleyes:
I have been holding my hand there 95% of the time, I move it around to get the circulation going. :rolleyes: Must look idiotic

[Oblivion]

I have been holding my hand there 95% of the time, I move it around to get the circulation going. :rolleyes: Must look idiotic

Your not flapping your arms in the wind are you? Now that would be idiotic :facepalm:

[hellokitty]

I move it around to get the circulation going. :rolleyes: Must look idiotic

I wiggle my fingers too - people must think I am waving at them...

( I waggle my bum at the lights as that gets numb too = god knows what people think...)

[phill-k]

Gloves a little tight restricting movement, one of my pairs is and gives me cramp in the throttle hand.

[slofox]

You might try a "throttle buddy" or "crampbuster" - same thing. Cheap and effective (for me anyway).

I use one because I have scarring in the palm of the right hand due to Duypetrens Surgery a few years ago. There is a raised patch of scar tissue that, if pressured, causes the whole hand to go dead after a while. The throttle buddy stops that.

See pic here (http://motorcycle-accessories.cruisercustomizing.com/thumb.php?f=http://www.CruiserCustomizing.com/images/image_27725_100.jpg&s=100).

[MIXONE]

My left hand used to go completely numb within 15 minutes on my bike.One operation later for carpal tunnel and she's as good as.

[ducatilover]

I'll see how well the lever adjustment works, hope it's not carpal tunnel (Too much being a Honda rider?)
Some good suggestions thanks guys.
My gloves are a great fit, not loose/tight.
I put some new grips on just to see if it would help, but, no.

[gatch]

Rotate the brake lever down so that when your fingers are resting on it they're in line with your forearm. Even a tad lower.

There's other reasons it happens, but if you only get the problem when your fingers are on the lever then they aren't likely to be the cause.

+14

I have done this on every bike I ride. Something so simple that is consistently overlooked.

[munster]

I get in on occasion, right in the tips of my fingers. Keeping the fingers wiggling helps a lot.

Best to be avoided if this is anything to go by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_finger

[george formby]

I'll see how well the lever adjustment works, hope it's not carpal tunnel (Too much being a Honda rider?)
Some good suggestions thanks guys.
My gloves are a great fit, not loose/tight.
I put some new grips on just to see if it would help, but, no.

I keep the brake covered, force of habit but I have big hands & am able to have the lever low enough that my fingers actually rest on the lever in a natural position. No tingles. I do find the throttle will slip when I reach those straight roads in the Waikato after 4 hours riding though.

I have nerve damage in both hands caused by exposure. Riding a bike in Scottish winters for years , snowball fights with no gloves & generally freezing them over the years. Symptoms are pins & needles, a sensation of hot or cold, white finger tips in the morning & being unable to open your hand after a long time gripping something, say a rope, shovel or maybe a throttle grip.
I have no problems if my hands are warm & do not grip the bars on the bike hard enough to give me any problems.

I would check the position of your lever & fingers with respect to blood circulation or nerve pinching.

[CookMySock]

Happens to me too. I put my thumb over top of the throttle grip and lean on the bar with the ball of my hand for a while and give the fingers a wriggle - problem goes away in ten seconds or so. It's probably from hanging on too tightly..

[PrincessBandit]

( I waggle my bum at the lights as that gets numb too = god knows what people think...)

Haha me too - I have been known to stand on the pegs and wiggle my derriere to chase away the numbness I sometimes suffer there (eeeek, right up there with pins and needles in your you-know-where from tank vibration).

In my hands though I suspect a seam in my right glove for causing numbness after a while. Reckon it's building a wee pressure point which is really only alleviated by deliberately changing my hand position for a while. What I really hate is in winter my finger tips still go numb from cold (even though my palms are toasty warm!!)

[martybabe]

I waggle my bum at the lights


stand on the pegs and wiggle my derriere

Much as I don't want to dissuade you lovely ladies from shaking your booty in public, I have discovered, after much numb bum suffrage, If you tense and release each buttock in turn for a couple of minutes it works wonders.

Quite hard to master on an almost subconscious level when we've already got enough to think about whilst riding along but it really works. Altogether now, left cheek squeeze hold and release, right cheek squeeze hold and release, rinse and repeat. Ooh mental imagery overload :rolleyes:

[ducatilover]

Thanks again guys and gals, will give the lever an adjustment in the morrow and see what happens :niceone:

[rapid van cleef]

thiis often caused by gripping the bars too tightly or ny putting your weight on the bars which is always a bad thing. make sure youre gripping the bike(under braking and cornering with your knees) and supporting your weight with your legs so you can take the weight off your arms. i used to get this a lot until i started to use my legs more. i still get it, but after much longer peiods of riding( an hour or so) and to a lot less of a degree.

[Flip]

It does sound like Carpal to me, whats it like at night? Is it your thumb, the first two fingers and possibly half of your ring finger?

It's an easy bit of surgery to fix if it is.

[ducatilover]

thiis often caused by gripping the bars too tightly or ny putting your weight on the bars which is always a bad thing. make sure youre gripping the bike(under braking and cornering with your knees) and supporting your weight with your legs so you can take the weight off your arms. i used to get this a lot until i started to use my legs more. i still get it, but after much longer peiods of riding( an hour or so) and to a lot less of a degree.
I don't grip the bars tightly or put much weight on my wrists, the CB400 is a very sit up position, the last three bikes I have had have been far less comfortable.
I am very relaxed sitting on the bike, because actions from a relaxed physical state are faster than a tense state and I'd rather not unsettle the bike etc etc :niceone: So I can rule out being too tense and the weight on my arms/wrists as I have never had this before on my sportier positioned bikes.


It does sound like Carpal to me, whats it like at night? Is it your thumb, the first two fingers and possibly half of your ring finger?

It's an easy bit of surgery to fix if it is.

That's exactly what it's like, I sure hope it isn't though....:doctor:

[Virago]

Often these things are assumed to be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, or "nerve damage". But it can sometimes be as simple as nerve compression happening anywhere between the fingers and the brain - often the neck.

I suffered from that quite badly until late last year, for me it was the middle and ring fingers going tingly and numb. Despite being sceptical, I followed up on recommendations to consult with a Chinese Chiropractor, who specialises in spinal alignment. After four weeks of tweaking and poking muscles in my neck and shoulders - problem cured.

[hellokitty]

Often these things are assumed to be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, or "nerve damage". But it can sometimes be as simple as nerve compression happening anywhere between the fingers and the brain - often the neck.

I suffered from that quite badly until late last year, for me it was the middle and ring fingers going tingly and numb. Despite being sceptical, I followed up on recommendations to consult with a Chinese Chiropractor, who specialises in spinal alignment. After four weeks of tweaking and poking muscles in my neck and shoulders - problem cured.

Yes, watch out for doctors saying you have carpal tunnel. I was diagnosed with it in both wrists and told I needed surgery. Luckily I saw a "hand physio" who diagnosed a different issue and I was sorted within weeks.
Also check the fit of the gloves, I have a pair that used to give me pins and needles - I got a friend with bigger hands to stretch them slightly and the problem went away.

[ducatilover]

I am fairly sure it won't be carpal tunnel, I only have the problem on this bike and my gloves are a very good fit :niceone:
Have adjusted the lever and will take the bike for a cruise today, got to love having spare time!

[The Everlasting]

I used to get this,but then I learned to relax on the bike,and it seems to have gone away,I used to have quite a death grip.

[Ocean1]

nerve compression happening anywhere between the fingers and the brain - often the neck.

Yes. I have damage at C6/C7, outer half of my hand suffers sometimes. If it gets worse I'll have to do something about it.

[Old Steve]

I waggle my bum at the lights as that gets numb too = god knows what people think...

Hey, I'm riding behind you at the Westpac helicopter ride Kat.

I get this in my right hand too, and I've found it's caused by my hand being turned up from my wrist when I've got my throttle open. As I turn the throttle my wrist goes lower, and after a while I get pins and needles in my thumb and fingers. So I regrip my throttle with my hand turned right over the handpiece, then when I've got the throttle open my hand is in a straight line with my forearm and the pins and needles go away. Guy who rides a Harley with us some Sundays has one of those throttle buddies, swears by it.

[hellokitty]

Hey, I'm riding behind you at the Westpac helicopter ride Kat.


:niceone: its a big bum - hard to miss! Make sure you say Hi if you recognize me - pink and white jacket with skull on the back, silver Honda VT with hello kitty on it (the hello kitty stops the guys wanting to ride the bike)

The position of the wrist makes a lot of sense, I have the habit of getting my wrists into a fairly neutral position, means I can ride longer without any issues.

[FJRider]

I wiggle my fingers too - people must think I am waving at them...

( I waggle my bum at the lights as that gets numb too = god knows what people think...)

Who cares what people think ... but I'd love to see it ... :innocent:

[blackdog]

My left hand used to go completely numb within 15 minutes on my bike.One operation later for carpal tunnel and she's as good as.

carpal tunnel crossed my mind too. had mine done years ago, but it was caused by surfing, not motorcycling :o

[meteor]

...Also check the fit of the gloves, I have a pair that used to give me pins and needles...
What she says. My leather gloves got wet and a bit manky [yes I wash my hands] so I gave them a rest and went back to some neoprene/cloth type and my numb hand (around the fingers of my throttle hand) stopped immediately. Figured it was the seam on the fingers in the glove that folded when I gripped the throttle. Think I just got a size too small expecting them to stretch, being leather and all, more than they did. New gloves or surgery? errr....

[greenman]

Don't do you gloves up so tight, and perhaps get some bar-risers

[fliplid]

Curiously, I found it was the elbow armour (as supplied) in my leather jacket that was causing most of the tingling (on the right side), either moving into an uncomfortable position or pressing against the joint. Swapped it for an after market type, and the worst of the effects have been alleviated. It didn't exactly help having mangled my shoulder, where the tendons pass over, on the same side though :doh:

[ducatilover]

'Twas the brake lever positioning, it's as good as gold now.
It certainly doesn't need bar risers, they are reasonably high as they are, pic to demonstrate.

[Exzackery]

I'm wondering if it's nerve damage, or, if it's the way I hold the grip.
Who else has this problem and who covers the brake constantly? (I bet Katman does) :msn-wink:


I have no feeling in my thumb on my left hand and it's not a problem. (Glass cut the nerves), It's sounds like "white finger" which is caused by vibration not allowing the capillaries to circulate blood to the nerves. Plz don't quote me cuz i'm no doc… but I have had this same thang on a powerful scrub cutter. I recon isolate the vib if poss or change the handle angle.

BTW. I was gettin kinda uncomfortable after 150ks cus my nuts where getting squashed on the tank.. eheh I solved it by taking notice of my riding position and it’s no prob now. Accelerate and relieve the pressure.

[Headbanger]

My right hand goes numb all the time, I end up whacking it on the cross bar until some feeling comes back into it. Then it works alright untill it goes numb again, I can extend this timeframe by moving my hand around on teh grip.

Had my hand torn open a few years back, got an infection in the bone.They were going to lop it off until their super anti-biotics kicked in and the swelling reduced a few hours before the operation.