I was wondering if every one is getting heavy vibrations through there handle bars. I have added 2" anti vibration rox risers with gel grips. This has given me the difference of waking up in the morning and having pain through my entire arm into my shoulder to hands go numb from time to time lol. Just had valves checked and last resort is front tire. There is no odd wearing what so ever and has about 7300 miles now. Just curious if this is always going to be the case because its a single cylinder. I do ride mon-fri 60+ miles per day between 55mph and 72mph. I almost traded it for a Ducati Hypermotard 821 this weekend because i want to ride every day but the numbing in the fingers to by the time i get off the bike my hands just feel like they still shaking and feels like pins and needles.
Have you experienced these kind of vibes from day 1 or has it become worse? I find the TR to be the smoothest 650 single I have ever ridden, rivaling many twins, but mine seems to have got a bit more vibey as the miles have added up. I think mine might be from the crappy stock chain.
at first it did not bother me. About 6 months into riding about the 3,000 mile mark i started to notice my wrists felt like a I had re injured them and was getting shooting pain to my shoulder. I have a bmw 5 series and started driving that for a couple months during the middle of winter. Started to ride again full time a few months ago and noticed if I only rode 3 or 4 days a week my wrist and arms would heal and be fine by next week. I was thinking maybe valves or chain. About two weeks ago i installed the rox anti vibe risers which they help a little now get mon-fri riding . This weekend had the chain replaced valves with in tolerance. Left Orlando thinking new back tire , chain and vlaves checked back the vibes down. 15 Minutes into the ride finger tips started to go numb lol. I was told the Orlando dealer went over all the bolts but I do not trust other mechanics. So i will check that as well rick. I will report back with that. Although while I was at the dealer they had a Ducati Hyperstrada that if the vibes do not go away I will be getting lol. My wife understands I am getting older so the dirt bike kid in me might have made the wrong decision and she likes the Ducati if I do not get the vibes down. Really hate fingers going numb from vibrations! By the way looked at Ducati website they are coming out with a Ducati Scrambler looks like ducati might be getting into a more enduro style bike.
Maybe think about some different bars, if you haven't already. HDB has their anti-vibration inserts. There are those composite bars from Twisted Engineering
I have looked into the anti vibe inserts and possible into flexx bars. I have not really used either one. Does any one have experience with them? I will look into the composite bars as well. As for the chain it kinks and does shrink so I understand where the thought of the vibes comes in. I have a new x ring chain on it now. I am going to wait until I change the front tire and see if that makes a difference before finding other alternatives or bikes. I really like this bike and found of the more off road capabilities than the next options, including prices.
FWIW I have found different bar bends make a notable difference in if my hands go numb. Even seemingly smooth bikes can put my hands to sleep in short order if I find the bend is funky. Conversely very vibey ones wont bother me at all with the right bend. I have found a bend I really like and all my bikes end up with that bar.
Just took a look at the twisted engineering bars and they might do the trick and they look trick! Thanks for the heads up Clete
good point ogre I was pondering that as well. Seems with the stock bars the curve is not needed and places my wrist at weird angles. I think a straighter bar might do the trick. I think the curves are for riders with smaller frames because if your chest is smaller than the bars your arms would go out. My hands sit straight naturally where the grips are. Twisted Engineering offers to use there bars for free for 2 weeks to see if they are better. I think with in the next week I will take them up on the offer and post a review.
When I first started riding my KLX250 three years ago, my right hand would go numb and I lost a lot of strength & function with my fingers. E.g. could not turn bolts or get coins out of the pocket in my jeans. Saw my doctor who thought I had carpal tunnel even though I mentioned no pins & needles. He referred me to a neurologist who did nerve conductivity tests. Told me there was nothing wrong and that I had a strong left hand to account for my weak right hand. What a crock! Got a referral to see a second neurologist who was brilliant. He also did tests on my left hand as a comparison to my right and found I had nerve damage to the motor control branch on my palm near the thumb. Not a vibration issue as first thought as also a problem for cyclists. He suggested relaxing my grip and frequently releasing the throttle to stretch my hand. It healed on its own after three-four months and all good since. Hope this helps.
Make sure your wheels/tires are balanced. Obvious, but if it hasn't been done correctly, you'll feel it. My bike had a little bit of vibration, even with anti-vibe inserts from HDB, and I did find it mildly objectionable. I bought a pair of Grip Buddies, which are neoprene and wrap around the grips, and on my last trip the vibration was greatly reduced. I could ride it all day now with no hand tingle problems. It makes the grips fatter, but I prefer that anyway and have in the past wrapped my grips with cork bicycle tape.
Might have missed it above, but was there any mention of enough speed or bike speed, as it related to the vibrations? I assume stock handlebars? Wheels are true and balanced? Rotors are straight? If it's bike related, there's only so many things it could be, as it should not be vibrating much. If it's some nerve damage, then it could be just about anything. Heck I once lost feeling in 2 fingers and half a palm for about 6 months. I could bite my palm and draw blood (I was in highschool and it freaked people out...), then pulling a front axle on a KDX, there was a loud cracking sound, and I had full feeling again. My dad had an entire leg shoot with pain if he moved wrong, and it ended up being a nerve in his back. You'd have to see what that might be with a doctor, but it could be something completely unrelated to the vibrations. Maybe the ergonomics are putting your joints at a angle that's pinching something?
I'm the same as Kenneth Webb ^^ Maybe I've got big hands but Grip Puppies are an essential add-on for me. They take away the hand and wrist pain I used to get & the extra cushioning should help reduce hand vibe too.
I use a grip puppy on the throttle side. It helps tons with my carpal tunnel. I don't have any significant vibration beyond what I would expect from a thumper. Higher RPM's give more vibration that translates throughout the bike.
I have a problem with my right wrist and hand. It swells when ever I use it too much. It is from an old work injury. The grip puppy worked wonders for me.
I have 2" standard ROX risers with the stock bar on my Strada. The increase in vibration, if any, was minor. I have tried 2" ROX risers with the antivibration feature on another bike and couldn't tell any difference. Heavier padding in the palm of your gloves might help.
Thank you guys for the responses. I am going to check the motor mount bolts. Not sure if we can say it is motor mounts since it is bolted to the frame. Also get my front tire re balanced. I will report back and let every one know what has helped. Also next week going to order the twisted engineering handle bars. If any one needs the dimensions of the bars or interested I will try to attach what they sent me.
