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Revisiting numbness

AwesomeDad

Guest
Guest
Been rereading all the posts specifically related to right hand numbness. I have the 2” risers and set back adapter, I’m about to reinstall wedges. There was some talk about adding plumbers gasket between the stack to dampen vibration. But the the guy talking about it dropped off the forum before posting his results. This is more prevalent on my Connie yesterdays ride was almost miserable I believe it was exacerbated by my cold weather gloves but it was the worst yet. I did 1200 miles in 3 days on my Valkyrie couple weeks ago and no issues. I’m about to give in and get helibars but wanted to exhaust all other avenues first.

JJ
 
Been rereading all the posts specifically related to right hand numbness. I have the 2” risers and set back adapter, I’m about to reinstall wedges. There was some talk about adding plumbers gasket between the stack to dampen vibration. But the the guy talking about it dropped off the forum before posting his results. This is more prevalent on my Connie yesterdays ride was almost miserable I believe it was exacerbated by my cold weather gloves but it was the worst yet. I did 1200 miles in 3 days on my Valkyrie couple weeks ago and no issues. I’m about to give in and get helibars but wanted to exhaust all other avenues first.

JJ
Have you considered grip puppies ?
 
I have risers on my 2010 and get right hand numbness, mostly in my thumb. Thought it was just due to bones and joints getting old, not as pliant as they used to be. I installed a Atlas throttle lock on mine to give my right hand a rest. The throttle lock helps a lot, especially on rides longer than 30 minutes. Never thought putting HeliBars on would reduce the vibration frequency. Please let me know if it works.
 
I had done the risers, wedges and ast set back plate along with foam grip covers. For me the vibration wasnt the issue, with my short reach i found my neck to still be bent where it would cause the numbness in my right hand occasionally. I had been diagnosed years back with a bulging disc at c5/c6 which really was the underlying reason for the numbness.

I recently went to the helibars and that changed the whole geometry of my reach. Im more upright with nearly no neck hunch and the numbness is gone. Heck i even experimented with doing the helibars with the 2 inch risers, but ape hangers on a c14 just didnt look right... reminded me of a v65 sabre's reach/look.

If u are experiencing alot of vibration i would suggest having the throttle body's sycn'ed.
 
Another option is to make sure your wheels (with tires installed) are balanced. At every tire change I balance the new tires with small lead weights attached to each rim with self adhesives. You'll need a wheel balancer like shown in picture and be able to change your own tires. I use a Harbor Freight tire changer. Otherwise, you would have go to a dealer for the work. Balancing definitely reduces vibration IMHO.P1000147.jpg
 
I have risers on my 2010 and get right hand numbness, mostly in my thumb. Thought it was just due to bones and joints getting old, not as pliant as they used to be. I installed a Atlas throttle lock on mine to give my right hand a rest. The throttle lock helps a lot, especially on rides longer than 30 minutes. Never thought putting HeliBars on would reduce the vibration frequency. Please let me know if it works.
Here’s a lot of info on it...
 
Replaced wheel bearings, front and rear, problem solved. The fronts were a little notchy when I did a tire change at 75kms or 47k miles, the rears were ok, but I changed them out anyway.
 
I had done the risers, wedges and ast set back plate along with foam grip covers. For me the vibration wasnt the issue, with my short reach i found my neck to still be bent where it would cause the numbness in my right hand occasionally. I had been diagnosed years back with a bulging disc at c5/c6 which really was the underlying reason for the numbness.

I recently went to the helibars and that changed the whole geometry of my reach. Im more upright with nearly no neck hunch and the numbness is gone. Heck i even experimented with doing the helibars with the 2 inch risers, but ape hangers on a c14 just didnt look right... reminded me of a v65 sabre's reach/look.

If u are experiencing alot of vibration i would suggest having the throttle body's sycn'ed.
Konehead, did you do the helibar install youself? I'm thinking about adding them to my 2020 also. I'm a little spooked about the hydraulic hose portion of the installation when it comes to bleeding the clutch and brake lines afterward. Thanks Eric
 
I did it myself. The additional lines supplied by heli, have a bleeder valve on the extension itself. I timed my installation to coincide with a pad replacement, so i was replacing my brake fluid and pads. I use a mighty vac for my bleeding although ive heard/read really great tjings about speed bleeders...Murphs sells them
 

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I did it myself. The additional lines supplied by heli, have a bleeder valve on the extension itself. I timed my installation to coincide with a pad replacement, so i was replacing my brake fluid and pads. I use a mighty vac for my bleeding although ive heard/read really great tjings about speed bleeders...Murphs sells them
Speed bleeders are great. I have them.
 
here is a vid about hands going numb


Also I have a set of Heli-bars ,new in the box if you go that way , PM me
 
Have you been tested for Carpal Tunnel? Just had the Left hand done on Monday, and the right will be as soon as the left is healed.
 

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Have you been tested for Carpal Tunnel? Just had the Left hand done on Monday, and the right will be as soon as the left is healed.
Yeah it’s been a few years, but only seems to do it on the Connie, my Valk is all day comfy...as for installation dealer wants 500 bucks.
 
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Brother this is a simple job... if you've changed ur brake fluid, and u should at least every other year, and/or put new pads on, and bled ur brakes, its that easy. Everything about moving the controls from the stock bar to the heli's is logical and spelled out in the instructions. And the instructions are available on their website.
 
Brother this is a simple job... if you've changed ur brake fluid, and u should at least every other year, and/or put new pads on, and bled ur brakes, its that easy. Everything about moving the controls from the stock bar to the heli's is logical and spelled out in the instructions. And the instructions are available on their website.
Oh that I have no doubt, gonna order the speed bleeders from Murphs...I just seem to have terrible luck with some of the simplest jobs...And it’s not due to skill I was an aircraft mechanic for 12yrs in a former life lol...
 
Ok quick update, got the wedges installed so my current set up is 2” risers with pull back adapter and now wedges. Went on the same 80 mile ride as last Friday that resulted in having to stop halfway and restore feeling to my right hand. The only difference was obviously the wedges and the gloves I was wearing. I’m now 95% where I want to be, nowhere near the numbness as previous.I now feel it’s a vibration issues as stated in many posts. It’s most prevalent at you guessed it 4K rpm. I do not believe helibars at this point would solve this. My current riding position is almost upright I’m not feeling any weight or pressure on my wrists. I have a long ride planned next weekend to further evaluate. I plan on adding vibration dampening from the triple tree up to my grips in the meantime. I will say that as mentioned in another thread positioning my hand as where the point of contact was the part of my palm just below my fingers helped immensely to reduce numbnes. If I can successfully attach the pic it’s line 4...

JJ

gIL8vva.jpg
 
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Which model Concours?

My '08's grips (non-heated) are thinner than those of my '12 and will cause a bit of hand discomfort/numbness if I ride the bike for very long distances over very long hours. I have 1 3/4" Motorcycle Larry risers (remember those?) on each, along with a set of bar ends (made by Phil) that are 1" longer each side.

Plans are to convert both bikes to Helibars at some point. Phil made a set of extenders for me for the future installation. I have a lot of radio communications gear on my Connies and need the extra bar space for things like PTT and channel up-down switches, band-coverage switches and controls for the bike's accessory electronics.

(You may recognize me from the VRCC. I'm somewhat of a frequent flier in their 1500 Tech section.)
 
Which model Concours?

My '08's grips (non-heated) are thinner than those of my '12 and will cause a bit of hand discomfort/numbness if I ride the bike for very long distances over very long hours. I have 1 3/4" Motorcycle Larry risers (remember those?) on each, along with a set of bar ends (made by Phil) that are 1" longer each side.

Plans are to convert both bikes to Helibars at some point. Phil made a set of extenders for me for the future installation. I have a lot of radio communications gear on my Connies and need the extra bar space for things like PTT and channel up-down switches, band-coverage switches and controls for the bike's accessory electronics.

(You may recognize me from the VRCC. I'm somewhat of a frequent flier in their 1500 Tech section.)
I have a 17, and yes I’m on VRCC as well as @Tundra great minds think alike...
 
Have u tried grip puppies? I prefer yhe closed cell foam grips. The foam gives me a fatter grip surface and helps to.eliminate the buzz felt at my hands..
 
Another option is to make sure your wheels (with tires installed) are balanced. At every tire change I balance the new tires with small lead weights attached to each rim with self adhesives. You'll need a wheel balancer like shown in picture and be able to change your own tires. I use a Harbor Freight tire changer. Otherwise, you would have go to a dealer for the work. Balancing definitely reduces vibration IMHO.View attachment 27998
Agree. It seems like with any vibration on a Connie, tire condition and wheel balance would be the place to start. As well as wheel play/bearings.
 
Seems like a re torque of the engine mount bolts could solve some of the vibration if I remember right.
 
Had the tires done, less than 1000 miles on them...
Does "done" mean that the tires were balanced or just changed? It's normal for auto tires to be balanced when new tires are installed but I'm highly doubtful that, if a motorcycle dealer replaced your tires, they ALSO balanced your wheels with the new tires installed. Are there any lead weights installed on the rims of your wheels? If not, it's likely they were NOT balanced.

There are two main sources of vibration on motorcycles. One coming from the engine which cannot be totally eliminated and the other from the tires traveling over the surface of the road. This can be mitigated by having your tires and wheels BALANCED. There are many videos on the net about how it's done. Changing your own tires and balancing the tire and wheel combo afterward is great knowledge to have and saves $$$$ in the long run. Before attempting to change your tires, first remove your rotors to avoid damaging them. You need the equipment I previously indicated plus tire irons, lead weights and soapy water as well as access to an air compressor (I have my own 1 hp compressor). The first time will be difficult but it becomes easier second and third time around and by the third time you probably will have recouped your investments in the equipment needed by not having to pay labor charges for tire changes and balancing. Don't be intimidated in trying to learn something new. I look at it as part of the motorcycling experience as well as all the other maintenance we do to keep our Connies rolling.
Ride safe,
Dennis
 
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