Right thumb, index finger, and middle finger numbness | GTAMotorcycle.com

Right thumb, index finger, and middle finger numbness

arogal

Well-known member
Hey guys!
I packed on a solid 1000+kms this weekend on the zx6r. *** and lower back are in slight pain, but the most annoying thing was about after an hour of riding I'd need to take my hand off he throttle and shake it/rub my fingers together to get the feeling back in my thumb, index finger, and middle finger. I've never had this happen to me the last 2 years of riding until the weekend. My leather jacket is snug and pretty tight at wrists where the zipper ends. It's didn't have anything to do with my gloves because I switched out my A* gauntlets with my A* shorty mesh (more room). This only happened with the throttle hand, nothing out of the ordinary with my clutch hand.
Anyone had this issue while on long rides? It wasn't painful or anything, just extremely annoying always having to decel and shake the numbness out of my hand then hop back on the throttle.
Thanks!
 
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This happened to me with a Triumph Daytona, it turned out it was from severe vibration caused by a spun bearing

What you are experiencing is not normal and you need to do something to address it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibration_white_finger
I don't feel any vibrations in my handle bars. I put on some pro grips and they have eliminated 90% of the slight vibration I used to get with stock grips do to the hard inner grip, and gel like outer grip.
I did not drink much water at all that day...maybe 250ml from 8am-5pm, and again the ext day only 500ml from 8am-12pm. I know I should have been drinking more water, maybe it was due to lack of hydration?
 
I like having a throttle rocker. It lets you move your hand to many different positions and more importantly allows you to completely relax your grip (or even open your hand). Especially since this is only on the throttle hand, my suspicion is this is related to that hand not getting enough of a break.
 
Gripping the bar too tight?
 
Gripping the bar too tight?
Nope, I squeeze tank with legs and ease on the bars when I'm cruising. Even after the numbness came I'd put the palm of my hand only on the bars and it still wouldn't go away. I have a feeling it has to do with my leather jacket. The zippers at wrist are pretty darn tight when fully zipped, therefore when I twist my hand it might be cutting some circulation off at the wrist. Never had this issue with my mesh jackets (but I only wear those around the city as they are like kites on the hwy).
The zx6r is pretty aggressive and puts alot more pressure on the wrists than my friends cbr600. and gsxr600's.

I like having a throttle rocker. It lets you move your hand to many different positions and more importantly allows you to completely relax your grip (or even open your hand). Especially since this is only on the throttle hand, my suspicion is this is related to that hand not getting enough of a break.
I am looking into one of these. I'll check out Amazon.ca today at some point. It would be perfect for long cruises when you have boring hwy straights.
 
Elbows then. Are you locking them?
 
I had numb hand issues if my gloves were even the least bit tight across the back of my hand when gripping the throttle. I had to wear a XXL or XXXL to get rid of numbness.
 
I suggest you unzip the wrist zipper on your throttle hand and test your own theory by going on a long ride. It’s the only way to figure that out.

Btw, can you adjust how hard/easy it is to turn the throttle on your particular bike?


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Take a good look at the palm of your gloves, I had one pair that had a seam that ran across the meat of the thumb and my hand would start to go numb after a while. Could be your gloves pinching a nerve.
 
Ongoing battle.

Throttle rocker and throttle lock just about mandatory for that distance.

You should get tested for carpal tunnel but the above can resolve the issue.

Lanolin can can take any pressure points off your glove, rub in liberally and flex your hand.
I had a new pair of summer mesh that were tight and the lanolin made them butter soft and moulded to my hand.

Grip Buddies
http://www.originalbeemerbuddies.com

Help a lot as well.
 
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I have the same issue...a throttle rocker helped a lot but did not eliminate the problem completely. It's strange that it only happens to the throttle hand. The left hand is completely fine throughout the entire trip. I'm going to try some anti-vibration gloves to see if vibration is the problem. Maybe it's the angle of the hand because at 100km/hr the F650CS is at 4k rpm (out of max 7k) so quite a bit of throttle is needed.
 
I have the same issue...a throttle rocker helped a lot but did not eliminate the problem completely. It's strange that it only happens to the throttle hand. The left hand is completely fine throughout the entire trip. I'm going to try some anti-vibration gloves to see if vibration is the problem. Maybe it's the angle of the hand because at 100km/hr the F650CS is at 4k rpm (out of max 7k) so quite a bit of throttle is needed.

Do you move the throttle rocker around or always leave it in one spot? I found it helpful to reset it throughout the day so my hand wasn't always in the same position.
 
It was most comfortable when the position of the rocker was slightly pointing down towards the ground at highway speed. The problem with this position was that at zero throttle (i.e. stops) and deceleration the rocker was facing too high up and made it awkward to hold. Perhaps those with larger handgrips can simply move their hands away from it when necessary.
 
Just tighten the throttle cable until you have a suicide throttle that stays in position. Lots of people do it.
 
When I had a nerve impingement at C-7 due to a herniated disc in my neck one of the symptoms was numbness and tingling in the thumb, index and middle fingers on my left hand. If your numbness is specifically on those fingers of your right hand you might consider the chance of a similar impingement that might be exacerbated by the riding position of the ZX6R.

Carpal tunnel can be one such impingement.
 
I don't feel any vibrations in my handle bars. I put on some pro grips and they have eliminated 90% of the slight vibration I used to get with stock grips do to the hard inner grip, and gel like outer grip.
I did not drink much water at all that day...maybe 250ml from 8am-5pm, and again the ext day only 500ml from 8am-12pm. I know I should have been drinking more water, maybe it was due to lack of hydration?
If the type of riding you were doing was physically strenuous :| yes that is not enough water intake to stay healthy.
Banana <- potassium ( helps prevent arm pump and finger cramp-up )
 
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like others said, throttle rocker
maybe look at some different grips
and try to change your posture often
sliding a bit on the seat changes the angle of everything
and when cruising, try resting your right thumb on top of the grip

throttle lock also helps
being able to drop that right arm for 15 seconds
every now and then makes a huge difference
 
Carpal tunnel syndrome ? Get checked out.

OP, as much as I hate to say this, everyone else that does not agree with this is probably wrong.

I have nerve impingement on both hands on both ulnar and median (aka carpal tunnel). Right is much worse than left. I've been PC gaming since a child, and am now a software developer. Prior discovery of the nerve compression issues I noticed intense tingling exactly like you on my right hand. None of the other buddies I rode with had this problem.....none of them sit on a computer for 12 hours a day either. This was 5 years ago.

See a doctor and insist to get some kind of nerve testing done cause honestly........this ****ing sucks!
 
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