how do you guys relax your throttle hand when riding?

[arnoldc6]

Recently i started going to this flight school that is about a 45 minutes freeway drive from home.. to experienced ironbutt riders this is proply nothing but i am very not used to it
After the first half an hour or so my right hand were pretty much stoned. As in a point where i cant feel my trigger and middle finger..i hand to maintain control of throttle only using palm and thumb.
I tired to ride without gloves (dont learn from me. DON'T!) since it were a bit tight but that didn't help much either.
how do you guys do this? pull in clutch just to relax? or just rely on cruise control?

[Alex]

Make sure gloves are comfortable, and move your hand around a bit rather than keeping it in just one position. Also try and make sure that you're not gripping the throttle too tightly. The right way to hold it is just tight enough that you can apply the controls properly, but not any tighter than necessary.

[CC Cowboy]

1. get used to it
2. cruise control
3. use left hand (not for beginners)
4. put wrist in different positions (more up or down)
5. have the girl, you're riding on back, drop what she is holding and work the throttle
6. change to ape hangers

[Vampyre]

Prop my leg over the bar and lean back for a bit....lol

[the big mike]

Originally Posted by cc cowboy

1. Get used to it
2. Cruise control
3. Use left hand (not for beginners)
4. Put wrist in different positions (more up or down)
5. Have the girl, you're riding on back, drop what she is holding and work the throttle
6. Change to ape hangers

lol

[lgk]

crampbuster

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by arnoldc6

.......pull in clutch just to relax?......

Good idea while you open and close the right hand away from the handle to activate blood circulation.

I exercise my old hands and neck at every red traffic light that stops me for more than few seconds.

[clum88]

I'm new to riding and I've got stretches of 5-10min of having to cruise at 45-60mph road. For me changing the angle of my wrist helps, and even tightening my lower body/squeezing my legs against the tank or pressing more firmly on both pegs helps take the stress/tension off of my upper body and arms so I can relax my hands and forearms helps

Off topic, but what type of planes are you gonna be flying?

[Mountain Dew]

If your pointer and middle fingers are getting numb, but not the ring and pinky finger, that's a sign of carpel tunnel. I had that problem for a while with my bike because the bars were too low for my seat and I was leaning on my wrist, combined with a very heavy throttle spring.

Since I'm sure your bars aren't too low or the throttle spring isn't too heavy, you're leaning too much on your arms/wrist. Practice proper position and support yourself with your core.

[Asspire]

Originally Posted by lgk

crampbuster

+1

I have carpal tunnel syndrome, this thing does wonders. I barely go numb now, even after 3-4 hours on the bike. Just remember to lose the iron grip.

[xSean13]

Originally Posted by clum88

Off topic, but what type of planes are you gonna be flying?

Also interested. I'm studying Aerospace in school, specific concentration is Professional Pilot. We use Diamond DA40s...they're pretty freaking sweet.

[rawbert625]

Originally Posted by Mountain Dew

If your pointer and middle fingers are getting numb, but not the ring and pinky finger, that's a sign of carpel tunnel. I had that problem for a while with my bike because the bars were too low for my seat and I was leaning on my wrist, combined with a very heavy throttle spring.

Since I'm sure your bars aren't too low or the throttle spring isn't too heavy, you're leaning too much on your arms/wrist. Practice proper position and support yourself with your core.

How exactly do you support yourself with your core?

I've tried squeezing my legs against the tank but then I just feel my lower back supporting me instead of my core.

I have clip-ons that are lower than the stock if that makes any difference. (Previous owner's mod not mine)

[arnoldc6]

Originally Posted by rawbert625

How exactly do you support yourself with your core?

I've tried squeezing my legs against the tank but then I just feel my lower back supporting me instead of my core.

I have clip-ons that are lower than the stock if that makes any difference. (Previous owner's mod not mine)

I would want some update from this too.

crampbuster...just google it. Interesting tool..do you guys rest your whole palm on it or really just control it with your thumb?

oh and plane wise, we have d40 too but i dont think we would be using those this semester. Honestly i have no idea cause they are still delivering the planes from Arizona to here...Can't wait till they arrived.

[93etgocart]

I usually end up with only two fingers or just my palm on my throttle while on long straights. Also you have to keep your back and legs supporting you not your wrists. Maybe adjust the clip ons up if possible. Or maybe get stock bars, I never end up with anything going numb but Ive got over 5k just this season so my body positioning has learned on its own where to be. I move around alot also. Whatever you do dont the the left hand thing it is crazy dangerous, I almost laid it down trying it and gave up

[DennyV]

Whenever going down a hill just take your hand off shake it abit then back on, and then theres red lights also

[NevadaWolf]

I had problems with my hand going numb and was looking at cruise controls for my bike.

But, last Thursday, I was shifting my feet around and my heels hooked onto the top of the metal holding the pegs. This tightened my knees to the tank and allowed me to rest my weight comfortably against the tank and seat. My hand didn't go numb that ride home. Tried it again the next day and no numbness. Yay! I get the whole 'core' thing now!

I had found my levers were also angled too high, forcing my hands into a weird kink generally depicted into carpal tunnel pamphlets. Those were adjusted down to be more level with my normal riding position and it has helped immensely.

On long straight rides, which are the only ones around here, I try leaning back to reduce the stress on my hands. But until I found the right foot position, it always caused more stress in my shoulders and back.

My thoughts.

[arnoldc6]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

I had problems with my hand going numb and was looking at cruise controls for my bike.

But, last Thursday, I was shifting my feet around and my heels hooked onto the top of the metal holding the pegs. This tightened my knees to the tank and allowed me to rest my weight comfortably against the tank and seat. My hand didn't go numb that ride home. Tried it again the next day and no numbness. Yay! I get the whole 'core' thing now!

I had found my levers were also angled too high, forcing my hands into a weird kink generally depicted into carpal tunnel pamphlets. Those were adjusted down to be more level with my normal riding position and it has helped immensely.

On long straight rides, which are the only ones around here, I try leaning back to reduce the stress on my hands. But until I found the right foot position, it always caused more stress in my shoulders and back.

My thoughts.

As in you are squeezing the tank? huh never thought about adjusting leg posture.

[arnoldc6]

Originally Posted by Vampyre

Prop my leg over the bar and lean back for a bit....lol

did this today. I farted. Didn't end very well.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by arnoldc6

As in you are squeezing the tank? huh never thought about adjusting leg posture.

Yeah, just not actively squeezing like those utterly useless torture devices known as Thighmasters. Ugh! Just support your weight there. (remember I am totally going from what I have recently discovered and may be totally off on!)

I'm looking up advice on seat position for riding a horse. They don't have the luxury of handbars so figured that might be an apt comparison. Wow, a whole science simply to the act of riding comfortably without killing the horse through pressure on his ribs and chest! I might study that a bit more....

[Jim Moore]

A couple things. First, it sounds like your body position is a little messed up. Squeeze the tank with your knees, hard. Now, arch your back slightly and use the muscles in your lower back to hold the weight of your upper body off your hands. Your arms should be slightly bent. If you're doing it right you should be able to basically steer the bike with fingertip pressure. It will take some concentration to start with, but it will become much more natural with time.

Second, get some new gloves. Tight gloves are a big no-no. They cut off circulation to your hands, and they allow cold air to penetrate directly to your skin. If anything, gloves should be slightly loose.

It's never going to be entirely comfortable, but 45 minutes should be a breeze.

[FrugalNinja250]

I run foam grips to eliminate the high-frequency vibration that causes numbness and fatigue in hands. Other than that I maintain a very relaxed posture, legs and arms loose, only my back and abdominal muscles maintaining my torso position on the bike. When I rode 850 miles from Chattanooga to Houston in 14.5 hours back in June I also padded my tank bag high enough to lay on, and thus relax my core muscles as well. When I arrived I was a little heat-exhausted but other than that I wasn't tired.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

3. use left hand (not for beginners)

oh man the first time i tried this i seriously almost crashed... i dont know why but it seemed like double-double-backwards.

[lgk]

Originally Posted by Asspire

+1

I have carpal tunnel syndrome, this thing does wonders. I barely go numb now, even after 3-4 hours on the bike. Just remember to lose the iron grip.

i either just rest my hand on it, or just the edge
just remember to check your speed regularly...

got a ticket for speeding when going downhill.

[jmisto]

I just give it some throttle and gain some extra speed so that when I let go and shake out my hand I don't slow down too much for the traffic. My husband uses a crampbuster and loves it. I'm too new for that though

[Cazper]

I can't remember the name of the one I actually bought but I have something like this:

http://www.2wheelride.com/throttle_pro.html

I got it at the Long Beach International Motorcycle Show last winter. Best $20 I ever spent and it can be used on any bike so if/when you get another bike it'll still work. Any time I know I'm going on a longer ride I put it on... it lives in my tank bag and wouldn't leave home without it

[userjh160]

I used to have that problem at the beginning but after I got gloves it stopped. We rode over 100+ miles last weekend with no problems.

[Monkeytofu]

I use a universal cruise control on my bike. You can even get it to sit flush with your bike if you sand down 2 of the nubs on the arm of body.

Lets you let go, stretch you arm(s) or just lets you rest your arm in a more relaxed position. The clamp doesn't hold hard enough to stop you from pushing the throttle back down if you need to react in a split second and it's quick release. Well worth the 25 dollars I spent on it.

[dirty nasty]

I don't relax my hand. I ride like a spaz so usually I'm twisting the throttle WOT and letting off. Even when going down the highway I try to move my wrist around, I never stay at a constant throttle.