| Author | Message | ||
     Vaneo1 |
Hey everyone, Im probably settin myself up for some fun from the badweb hooligans but what the he11. I commute 30+ miles everday on my bike. My left hand is killing me around the area where the palm connects to the wrist. The pain is in the tendons or something. Does anyone have any good home remedies for my self diagnosed "clutchitis"? | ||
| Bomber |
contact Al at American Sport Bike -- he can set you up with a device to greatly lessen the force needed to work the clutch second, varify the position your hand is in while riding or any other task to do alot -- as a recruiter, I would imagine you do a fair amount of writing/computer work -- pay attention to the position in which your hand is in, and you should be able to lessen the impact lastly, scotch, single malt, older than 12 years -- (Message edited by bomber on February 15, 2006) | ||
| Garrett1998s1 |
My buddy had to have surgery for his. He now puts his thumb also on top of the bar and pulls back on the clutch with his arm strength instead of his fingers. | ||
| Midknyte |
Is the clutch lever comfortably positioned for you? Loosen the assembly and rotate it forward or back a bit to see if that helps at all. (Be sure to tighten things back up) | ||
| Henrik |
What the other guys said about lessening clutch pull and proper adjustment of lever position. Barrel shaped grips can help put your palm in a more natural and comfortable position as well, thereby putting less pressure on the sheath where the tendons pass across your wrist. Gel grips are said to reduce the vibration reaching your hands, which can help reduce tendonitis. In that vein, heavy bar end weights *may* help as well. Henrik | ||
| Josh_ |
Take a look at the e-grip - but make sure you get 7/8" not eht 1" Harley ones shown there I don't know anyone who's tried them, but I saw them at a shop yesterday and they feel pretty good. | ||
| Midknyte |
Them e-grips wouldn't even look out of place. Nice. | ||
| Bake |
Get higher bars, prefferably ones with a slightly different angle. You wrists need a break from the position and bearing your upper body's weight! Mine do the same if I mountain bike too much or spend too much time on the Laverda with the clipons (that I will never get rid of) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
One thing to look at that costs NOTHING: Make sure you grab the end of the lever far from the pivot. Make the lever work for you as much as possible. (of course, make sure it is adjusted correctly and lubed too.) | ||
| Vaneo1 |
Guys these are all great suggestions. I went to CycleGear today to pick something up and some joker there (customer) asked me how long have I been riding. I replied four years, and I commute over 30 miles one way everyday. He said its the traffic here and then proceeded to show me his bony hands. He then stated after youve been riding a while your left hand will get to look like mine all bony and veiny. Not to be rude I just said "oh ok" But I must have had 70 lbs on this guy, and both of his hands looked the same! I dunno maybe there is some validity to what he said but the guy was skinny and malnurished looking to begin with so Im gonna have to raise my Bull Sh1t flag. Anyway I never had this prob on my CBR, and am considering the hydaraulic clutch kit from Al at americansportbike. Does anyone have input on this? | ||
| Jackbequick |
Adam, The pain you describe sounds like it is in the carpal tunnel area of your hand. I'm not a medical person but I just had surgery to relieve "carpal tunnel syndrome" in my right hand. It was a legacy of many years of keyboarding on typewriters and teletypes and I have it in both hands, the right hand was much worse than the left. I would feel sharp pains in the heel and palms of my hands and my fingers would go to sleep if I did not keep my weight off my hands and ride using a relaxed grip. A Crampbuster throttle accessory helped lighten my grip on the throttle by putting much of the turning forces on the heel of my palm. Simple, cheap, and certainly worth a try. While the problem was less severe in my left hand, I did get pain like you describe in around town and stop and go traffic. I added a Easy Pull clutch device two months after I got my M2 last year. It lightened the clutch pull enough that I have not noticed any discomfort in my left hand since. It also brought the initial pull closer to the bar and allowed a smoother and more controlled clutch release. Proper adjustment of the primary chain, clutch pack freeplay adjusting screw, and clutch lever freeplay all seem to be an inherent part of getting the Easy Pull working right but shifts are slick and quiet. As a warning, search the KV for "easy pull" and read some of the history on it before you buy it. Mine installed easily, I have had no problems with it, and love it. Others have reported similar results. But there have also been some that reported problems with it. If costs are a concern, the Easy Pull is much less expensive than the Muller device or the hydraulic clutch conversion. I was unaware of the Muller and the hydraulic clutch when I bought the Easy Pull (find it on eBay or do a web search for Easy Pull). If I have any further issues with the clutch or problems with the Easy Pull I'm sure I'll consider one of the other methods. Good luck with that, anything that takes the fun out of riding is a bad thing! Jack | ||
| Al_lighton |
Simultaneous thread about same subject is here: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/175239.html?1140038124#POST 597141 |
