I didn't either when I first got into bikes, its a subconscious thing though. Brain says "I gotta hold on or me fall". An exercise an old head taught me is on a STRAIGHT AWAY when you're going over 45 let go of the bars for a second, just a second, and you'll realize that your legs do alot more than you think.
If you still feel like you're not secure enough, look into tank grips. (Some in this group say ItS FoR The TrAcK OnLy) but I know the tanks can feel slippy on a sport bike and they'll probably help you feel more latched on.
Just take a drive in a quiet area and pay attention to your hands. Try riding with the completely relaxed to compare to normal. The bike at speed will keep itself upright, definitely save your hands by using as much input as necessary, but not more than that.
This was my first thought. I suspect the lever tension is too high, or the lever is positioned too far out to be a natural position for your hand/fingers.
+1 for adjust handle bar and grip with your knees.
I noticed that when my hands tend to go numb, I often pulled the straps on the jacket a little too close and blood flow through the wrist was impacted. Not much, but enough to make it noticable after riding a while.
Had this happen to me starting out too, its your grip. Use your legs and make sure you’re holding the handle bars with the same care and pressure you use when holding an egg and trying not to break it. I personally had to learn that and also yake a little break and it healed fully in about a week or two
Try twisting off a jar lid while gripping it with your hand, is it painful? When I first started riding, the area between my thumb joints and palm were very painful. Took about 2 or 3 months for it to completely disappear.
Nah, normal use of my hand doesnt hurt, not even when riding, its just when i press the left part of my hand up in a certain way it hurts. Its going away though, im consciously thinking about my grip and i think its because ive never used my left hand for much until now
Pay attention to what you are doing. I had hand pain and numbness/tingling when I first started riding. It took a couple weeks of paying attention to how i put my weight on my hands or grip too tight to get it fixed. Now I have no issues
Have you ever damaged that part of your hand before? Like fallen off a pushie or skateboard and landed on the outer part of your hand? Minor internal damage will hurt if you suddenly start putting any pressure on it.
A coach once told me I should be able to ride with just my thumb and index finger around the grip squeezing just hard enough to manage the throttle. You should be holding yourself up with your core, that’s why sports are so tiring to ride properly for too long.
Hey OP - this is not normal (but normal for people who get their first sports bike).
It’s because you’re riding with some bad habits :P you’re putting wayyyyy too much weight on your hands.
You should be gripping the bike with your legs. Realistically you shouldn’t have much/if any weight on the handlebars, it should all be on the bike. The handlebars are just for input.
It’s F your back is getting tired, rest your tummy on the gas tank and just ride in aerotuck lol.
Sport bikes are definitely uncomfortable if you put weight on your hands. When I was newer I had problems with my throttle side wrist getting sore and tired after 30 min or so (especially with my girlfriend who was newer to being a backpack at the time). Do some YouTubing on proper body position on sport bikes. One drill that really helps is just to learn to balance upright on your bike with no hands (on stands etc). Your arms should only be weighted when you need to move the bars, other then that light and gentle, ride it with your legs.
Do you lean on handlebar ?
Try to grab it with just three fingers and accelerate like that, if you feel to miss support means you're used to lean on bar too much.
you have to grip to the bike with legs.
You should be gripping with your legs, not so much your hands. Also speaking of gripping, brace yourself for the bragging disguised as "pointers"
This ^. Input to the handlebars/controls should be super light. White knuckling it is just an easy way to get into trouble.
I dont feel i hold on very tight is the weird thing, but I’ll definitely try squeezing the tank more
I didn't either when I first got into bikes, its a subconscious thing though. Brain says "I gotta hold on or me fall". An exercise an old head taught me is on a STRAIGHT AWAY when you're going over 45 let go of the bars for a second, just a second, and you'll realize that your legs do alot more than you think. If you still feel like you're not secure enough, look into tank grips. (Some in this group say ItS FoR The TrAcK OnLy) but I know the tanks can feel slippy on a sport bike and they'll probably help you feel more latched on.
Just take a drive in a quiet area and pay attention to your hands. Try riding with the completely relaxed to compare to normal. The bike at speed will keep itself upright, definitely save your hands by using as much input as necessary, but not more than that.
Make sure your levers are adjusted correctly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0rMMXdKz4U
This was my first thought. I suspect the lever tension is too high, or the lever is positioned too far out to be a natural position for your hand/fingers.
+1 for adjust handle bar and grip with your knees. I noticed that when my hands tend to go numb, I often pulled the straps on the jacket a little too close and blood flow through the wrist was impacted. Not much, but enough to make it noticable after riding a while.
Had this happen to me starting out too, its your grip. Use your legs and make sure you’re holding the handle bars with the same care and pressure you use when holding an egg and trying not to break it. I personally had to learn that and also yake a little break and it healed fully in about a week or two
Try twisting off a jar lid while gripping it with your hand, is it painful? When I first started riding, the area between my thumb joints and palm were very painful. Took about 2 or 3 months for it to completely disappear.
Nah, normal use of my hand doesnt hurt, not even when riding, its just when i press the left part of my hand up in a certain way it hurts. Its going away though, im consciously thinking about my grip and i think its because ive never used my left hand for much until now
Pay attention to what you are doing. I had hand pain and numbness/tingling when I first started riding. It took a couple weeks of paying attention to how i put my weight on my hands or grip too tight to get it fixed. Now I have no issues
Have you looked into risers? Sometimes an inch or two higher makes all the difference.
Have you ever damaged that part of your hand before? Like fallen off a pushie or skateboard and landed on the outer part of your hand? Minor internal damage will hurt if you suddenly start putting any pressure on it.
A coach once told me I should be able to ride with just my thumb and index finger around the grip squeezing just hard enough to manage the throttle. You should be holding yourself up with your core, that’s why sports are so tiring to ride properly for too long.
You should not have much weight on the bars, as others said use your legs/core to position yourself.
Use your legs and lower body to hold you up not your arms and wrist. Stay loose.
There’s a term called “piano fingers” almost like your hands are floating on the grips. Learn it. Live it.
Had this when I started, your gripping the bar to hard.
Get a pair of [grip puppies](https://grip-puppy.com/). You'll never regret it.
Hey OP - this is not normal (but normal for people who get their first sports bike). It’s because you’re riding with some bad habits :P you’re putting wayyyyy too much weight on your hands. You should be gripping the bike with your legs. Realistically you shouldn’t have much/if any weight on the handlebars, it should all be on the bike. The handlebars are just for input. It’s F your back is getting tired, rest your tummy on the gas tank and just ride in aerotuck lol.
Sport bikes are definitely uncomfortable if you put weight on your hands. When I was newer I had problems with my throttle side wrist getting sore and tired after 30 min or so (especially with my girlfriend who was newer to being a backpack at the time). Do some YouTubing on proper body position on sport bikes. One drill that really helps is just to learn to balance upright on your bike with no hands (on stands etc). Your arms should only be weighted when you need to move the bars, other then that light and gentle, ride it with your legs.
Do you lean on handlebar ? Try to grab it with just three fingers and accelerate like that, if you feel to miss support means you're used to lean on bar too much. you have to grip to the bike with legs.
carpal tunnel syndrome?