No, not what you think bit of a newbie question, but something thats been bugging me.. Well, actually its making me seriously think of selling the bike, and wondering if anyone has got any ideas... Basically its killing my wrists ! I've had it for nearly 2 months now, use it every day I can for commuting ( 25 miles each way, A roads and some 5 mins stationary traffic filtering), and also done some decent long ride outs at the weekend. I've tried different riding 'poses' and try and use my legs and back as much as possible to keep the weight off, but even after my morning commute, its giving me real pain in the wrists.. Well, more soreness, right at the base of my wrists where it 'connects' to my hand.. The soreness can last all day, and I reckon if I keep at it, theres a good chance of some long term damage.. I'm 5'11 and 80kg so not really a fat fec...r or too tall, and I think my body position is about right, I've also looked at the angle of the levers, and they seem about right for my position. I rode a bandit 600 for the previous 2 years, and never got so much as a twinge.. Does anyone else get this ? and I just need to ride thro it until my wrists build up tolerance, or is there something I can do to reduce it ? Its starting to really affect my enjoyemnt of the bike, as even now, my wrists are 'glowing' and I rode in at 8am..
I can honestly say that I've never had a problem. I'm sure that you know that your wrists ought to be straight onto the bars, so when you push you push forwards rather than down. Can you not have the levers adjusted - ie turned round a bit? And have you set the levers so they are a comfortable handstretch from the bar?
yeah, I have to bend in a bit to get my wrists straight... but i do make a conscious effort to do this.. I've also noticed that if I'm not careful or I get concetrating on the traffic or something then I tend to sit up a bit, and my wrists then take more wait.. Maybe I just need to concentrate on postion a bit more.. cheers for the advice guys.
you're putting too much weight on your wrists as you said. Easiest solution - tighten your core up to take some of the strain. I'm 5'8, about 75kg and use mine most days for commuting through central London so know what you mean. You just need to work on your body position some and you'll be fine. The change from the Bandit 600's position to the 675 is pretty extreme so it might take a few months for you to toughen up and relax in the right places.
I did get a bit of wrist ache on mine, but I made a concious effort to adjust my posistion while riding and I also bought some tech spec tank pads (you put them on the side of the tank, whick enables you to grip it with your thighs). An alternative to the tech spec are stompgrips, which some of the lads on here have. The tech spec pads have improved it 80%, as I still get a little ache, but it also helps me countersteer easier as I am no longer weighting the bars, so has transformed the bike for me. There are a lot of options out there for you, and the Helibars option is a good one. Hope this helps
Hey Nimbus......I also had "the ache" when I first got mine....had that sudden feeling of - Shit, did I make a mistake? It was pretty bad (I strapped my wrists to give them extra support!) but it eventually went away altogether. Have done some long rides and commute a fair bit, and no more wrist ache! I am 6ft and 90kg, so can put a fair bit of weight thru my wrists, but it doesn't seem to happen anymore. I did rotate the levers a little to get a better position though. All I can really suggest is doing some wrist exercises to build up the strength....however you want to do that I will leave to you!
I found installing stomp grips helped immensly with arm pump and aching wrists. Also might be worth considering adjustable rearsets to change your geometry on the bike we are blessed with ridiculous amounts of ground clearance onthe 675 so dropping the pegs a little won't hurt most riders. Other than that as the others have said, heli bars would help or down the gym working on your core body strength. Fwiw I'm 6'2" and have never suffered with my wrists at all on the 675 so it is possible Good luck, and sorry for any spelling errors posting on iPhone. Cheers Steve
Agree with the stomp grips suggestion as they really do help in taking weight off the wrists. (Also protects the tank from wear n tear)
something else I thought of this morning on the way in - check how tight you do the wrists on your gloves, mate. I've found that I get aches if I have them too tight as they can't flex / swell / whatever freely.
This may sound silly but have you set your controls to you, as opposed to how the factory set them up, I bet the majority of your pain starts in the left wrist before the right as your reaching for the clutch and maybe doing most low speed stopping on the rear brake, before the right starts aching. Try slackening off the nuts for your controls and adjust em slightly. This may help a bit and if your find your general strength in your wrists is not brilliant google POWER BALL I had one of these after breaking my wrist and it helped immensely.
you may have something there Gsi i fitted some pazzo stubbie leavers during the winter when i was not rideing the bike and i have not had sore wrists or hands after being on the bike this year,
thanks for the ideas guys, a few things to work on there, I think the levers are set about right, so think its just my sitting to 'upright' bandit style, while commuting.. but I'll give them all a go
try riding on the balls of your feet and not with 'ten to two feet ' this gives you the correct riding posture and keeps some of the weight off your wrists sit up and beg riders tend to ride with there feet tipped out to the sides, race bikes require you to ride on the balls of your feet to gain the correct posture, also somp grip or tech spec will also help, although i dont use this myself but some of the guys on here swear by it
It's worth remembering that it is not, repeat not, a function of the handlebars to support your weight (at least, not to any appreciable extent). It is all to do with riding posture, and there's some good advice above. I suggest that you try this - on a nice straight bit of road (to start with), try taking your left hand off the grip (keep it close, but not touching), and hold the throttle open with two fingers, whilst you stay in the "racing" crouch. You've now unloaded the steering, and you'll feel it come alive. You'll soon notice what you need to do to be able to maintain this position - you'll probably want to grip the tank with your legs (good), tighten your core muscles (and if you're going to the gym , sit ups and dorsal raises will help - leave the wrist exercises for the wan***s!) and moving the balls of your feet to the end of the pegs may also help. Next try the "weight off handlebars position" going round corners - now that the front end is behaving as Triumph designed it to, you'll find, as noted above, that the handling is sublime. The purpose of the clips-ons is two fold - thay make you adopt a racing crouch, which reduces air resisistance, and they force you to move your body down and forward, thus moving your CoG down and forward, to help the front end. Hoever, that load should be transmitted through the tank and seat, not the steering. Fitting something like Helibars will allow you to ride with a more upright position, but they will also upset the handling, as the CoG will not be where Triumph intended it to be. As an example, I also have a Tuono factory, fully blinged out with Ohlins front and rear, but I can't get it to handle as well as the 675 becuse the upright riding position does not allow me to load the front. Do persevere with the 675 - if you can get comfortable (and most can), it will repay the effort. Its a bike that is well worth riding properly. Dunx
^^^+ 1 on what he said. Stomp grips or Tech spec tank pads are probably your best option. Relatively low cost as well
