Topic: Bad hands Gel Grips and Length

[BobbyR]

With the gas prices up so high. I have been riding a lot more lately. My hands are really bothering me more. My bike is about 100% sstock, but the prior owner had changed the grips to foam sometime which are foam, but are too long and disintergrating. Has anyone tried these Gel gripas? What would the proper length be. I am doing another restore on it this winter, since it will become an almost daily rider.

[turtle]

Hi Bobby
I can't help you with the gel grips, sorry.
Your avatar looks just like my son's '77 K7.

Jane

[skamania19]

I used gel grips on my CB350 twin and loved them. Really cut down the tingling in the fingers, and they were easy to grip. If my 750 didn't come with new grips when I bought it I would buy gel grips for it, no question.

[Gordon]

A post so nice he made it twice!

Bobby,
What kind of hand problems are you having?  Is it the vibration or muscle/tendon problems?  If it's vibration, something that helps a lot, in addition to gel grips, is using bar-end weights or bar-end mirrors.  The added weight on the ends of the handlebars dampens the vibrations significantly. 

I have tendonitis in my hands and forearms, so gripping the throttle to twist it is my main problem.  I started using a throttle-rocker, and it made all the difference.  It clamps around the throttle grip and has a plastic piece that the bottom of your palm rests on.  That way you don't have to squeeze the grip, you just push down with your wrist to open the throttle.   

[Jim Shea]

I saw something unusual today on an Aprilla sport/race bike... it had padded grips that were held on with velcro!! anyone ever tried these or even heard of them??

[BobbyR]

Thank you Jane, it is a 78K Model.
Gordon, I think I have both issues going on. I had a feeling that the tingling came from vibration and the pain from the tendons. i think I will work on both issues with some Gel Grips and the Throttle rocker. I have to tear the old girl down for a good cleaning and preventative maintenance.

[Uncle Ernie]

Highly recommend bar-end mirrors for the view as well as vibration damping. Also, there is a product called a "bar snake" that goes inside your bars- really deadens the vibes. I started liking some off road grips (Ankra?) that are fatter and have hundreds of little holes in the rubber. Wrist Rest is another rocker-type contaption I like because it comes in 2 widths.

[Alan F.]

I bought gel grips and bar-end weights for my initial resto, I was impressed enough with the bar-ends to save the gel grips for later (I haven't ridden very much...) but after this winter's teardown they'll be on the bike for sure.