Anyone use Grip Buddies on a 2008 Norge?

[mtwillyman]

My hands are numb from the grips (vibrations) after a long ride on the Norge. I'm considering ordering a set of Grip Buddies to be more comfortable. Does anyone have experience with these grips?  I'm new to the Norge, and this leaned forward riding position, and usually ride a 2003 Stone. Man this bike runs HOT. Thanks.

[flip]

I have them on my Breva 1100, well, different brand but basically the same thing. I put them over the factory heated grips.

[Scott of the Sahara]

I put bar risers on my Norge so I could get my Handguards to not hit the fairing.
It raised up the bars 35mm, I think. I like the riding position.
I find my hand going numb when I grab the grips too hard. If I relax, the numness goes away.

[Dilliw]

I put bar risers on my Norge so I could get my Handguards to not hit the fairing.
It raised up the bars 35mm, I think. I like the riding position.
I find my hand going numb when I grab the grips too hard. If I relax, the numness goes away.

I have them on my EV but it doesn't have much vibration at the grip.  I get a little foot message though. 

The Grab On's do help in hand/arm/shoulder pain as they naturally make you reduce your grip pressure.  For $11.00 and 5min to install I don't think you are going to be out much if you try them on your vibration issue. 

[canuguzzi]

Much of the problem with hand numbness which riding can be attributed to the angle of the handlebars, not the rise  or rearward position. The idea that raising the handlebars to get the begging dog style you sometimes see also reduces rider control because it does reduce leverage. If your physical stature requires it that is a different story but thinking it reduces the weight on your hands is actually going after the problem in a counter productive way.

Take a look at the riders with clip-ons or more forward leaning riding positions. Even the more senior riders can go hours and hours on end riding their bikes and you wonder how they do it with so much apparent weight on their palms. It comes down to the angle of your wrists in relation to the handlebars.

Notice how your wrists are when you stand or sit or move naturally? They are angled slightly inward and as you raise your arms take a look at your wrists. Now look at how the lean forward riders have their wrists, its the same way and why they can ride a long time and have so much better control. They also use their elbows more in the turn while the sit up begging dog style riders do more pushing and pulling to steer.

Then, when you raise your arms because of higher risers, you now much grip stronger to hold up your arms unless you're a superman and can hold your arms at that height for more than a few minutes. BMW made the corn cob up your butt riding style popular but think about it, that riding position is also close to the sitting in a chair position and we all know what is said about that, sitting like that is bad for your health.

Most handlebars aren't turned inward enough to properly distribute the weight pressing on your palms. Again, look to the lean forward riders and you'll see that their wrists aren't rotated parallel to the ground or even close to it.

We've been conditioned to thinking that the CCUYB riding style is better only because it makes up for a lack of physical conditioning. You don't see too many ball bellied riders leaning forward on their bikes, they prefer the sit up back braced style.

I have risers on my Norge and found that the main reason I put them on was to make it easier to reach the bars regardless of lean. In those cases, sometimes a riser is the only real solution outside of an arm and torso stretching machine.

Closing your eyes and seeing where your hands rest isn't really a good way to check bar position either. If your stomach muscles are weak, you'll tend to sit back and straight up and then think your handlebars should also be farther back. Not so. You are supposed to have weight on the handlebars. The idea that your hands should float on the bars and there should be as little pressure on the bars is a self defeating thing. You need pressure on the bars to maintain more precise control. Pressure on the bars is different than grip tightness. The less pressure you have on the bars the more you'll tend to grip tighter. So we wrap the bars with squishy rubber or sleeves to allow us to still grip hard but soften the grip. Make sense to you?

The riders that lean forward have a lot of pressure on their palms but that is offset by better stomach muscle condition and they actually have looser grips on the bars. They don't need to grip the bars tightly to control the bike like the sit up straight gang does.

Go ahead and try it. If you sit straight up get on a lean forward bike and watch what happens to your fingers. They loosen up quite a bit because the weight you have on your palms keeps your hands planted on grips.

In the end, it is getting the pressure on your palms evenly distributed, not removing that pressure that makes for less numbness and better control.

Just my opinion though.

[mtwillyman]

  Thanx for the replies gents. I just ordered a pair of grip puppies. It's worth a shot anyway, peace.

[twhitaker]

A very inexpensive solution would be http://www.mcmaster.com/#hand-grips/=y6w223
Item 9754K52

[HDGoose]

I know with my size hands I needed larger grips than a stock Guzzi's arrive with. That has alleviated my hands from getting numb.

[mtwillyman]

  Grip Puppies installed on the Norge.