Remedy for the hands???

2001kdx · Post by **2001kdx** » 12:44 pm Aug 25 2007

I know I'm not riding a KDX anymore, and, the problem I have doesn't even involve woods riding, but I figure this is the best darn place around to discuss general dirt bike stuff.

I went to the track today to practice, and after a while i has this thing where my hands felt like they were on fire. my palms are all pink and gripping the bars was painful. Has anyone had the same experience? Is it the gloves, or the grips or something else? If you have any reccomendations I'd love to hear 'em.

Post by **Indawoods** » 01:42 pm Aug 25 2007

It's your death grip my man....

thebleakness · Post by **thebleakness** » 07:51 pm Aug 25 2007

Relax, the bike will in ride it self in a sense, you just need to guide it alittle bit. Grip with your knees and let go of those bars some, takes some working on but works. What kind of grips do you have? Try some soft gel ones, I have some Spiders on right now and they are amazing. Your bar position might be out of wack as well, make sure you feel comfortable in your "attack position".

2001kdx · Post by **2001kdx** » 08:22 pm Aug 25 2007

Next time I hit the track I'll take that into consideration. Might just be all the extra power I'm adjusting to, after riding for a 1/2 hour the other day (woods riding) I could feel a little bit of hand agony. Probably squeezin too much.

I've got 909 grips... they're half waffle. I might check out the grips you spoke on bleak and maybe some bar risers.

Did you have a similar problem when you st
arted on the 450?

Jeb · Post by **Jeb** » 08:56 pm Aug 25 2007

The extra power certainly's gonna make you hold harder . . .

squeezing with the knees helps tremendously as bleak mentioned. It does take some gettin' used to (I'm still not doing it as often as I should).

So how did things work out in the woods with that thang? Did you find yourself needing to lock up the brakes more than usual?

2001kdx · Post by **2001kdx** » 09:02 pm Aug 25 2007

It's actually pretty controllable... sometimes

But it's a blast in anything open.

My throttle hand ets significantly more fatigued riding it through the woods, mostly cuz when you wanna go slow, you gotta pull in the clutch and rev it a little.

If I do one woods-friendly mod, which I would like to keep it MX-ready, I will consider a FWW. A heavy one. I miss that chuggablility of the 'ol green machine. Don't miss those forks though!

thebleakness · Post by **thebleakness** » 09:22 pm Aug 25 2007

I almost always notice it when I first start riding on any bike. That is usually because I don't stretch or do any warm ups before. Occasionally (hasn't happened in awhile) my hands would kill me and I mean SERIOUS pain. The tops of my hands would just throb to the point that I couldn't move them, I dunno why it does that but goes away within a minute of rest. I did change my bars (much taller ones), grips and bar position and seems to work better.

I'll tell you what though, I'm going to need new brake pads if I continue riding the way I've been!

You don't notice how fast your going on that fourfiddy untill you see the tree right in front of you. In the woods I never leave 1st gear and when I do, I'm going FAST for a few seconds tops. I doubt I ever use more than 1/2 throttle at any point. On the track though I've noticed I'm different, I tended to ride in the higher RPM range (no idea why I do though).

That is one thing I'm considering for my 450, a larger FWW. I absolutely love the power and how smooth it is all the way through (FMF pipes help) but once you slow down it doesn't like to keep on turning over. I've noticed that I hit rocky sections much faster than I do on the KDX so that I kind of hop the bike instead of trackering it up. It's provided a couple sphincter clenching moments I'll admit!

What kind of bars do you have on your bike right now? I'm 6'1" and I just bought some Pro Taper Evos, Windham bend and they are amazing. These are the grips I was talking about

2001kdx · Post by **2001kdx** » 09:50 pm Aug 25 2007

"I'll tell you what though, I'm going to need new brake pads if I continue riding the way I've been!

You don't notice how fast your going on that fourfiddy untill you see the tree right in front of you. In the woods I never leave 1st gear and when I do, I'm going FAST for a few seconds tops. I doubt I ever use more than 1/2 throttle at any point. On the track though I've noticed I'm different, I tended to ride in the higher RPM range (no idea why I do though).

That is one thing I'm considering for my 450, a larger FWW. I absolutely love the power and how smooth it is all the way through (FMF pipes help) but once you slow down it doesn't like to keep on turning over. I've noticed that I hit rocky sections much faster than I do on the KDX so that I kind of hop the bike instead of trackering it up. It's provided a couple sphincter clenching moments I'll admit!

What kind of bars do you have on your bike right now? "

I am having the EXACT same experience on the RM. I'm in 1st gear for most woods riding, it just goes so long!

I have a set of renthals on it - 7/8th inch, stock suzuki bend. They're kinda low, and I also have two sets of them. I was thinking of sangging the $20 bar risers on rocky mtn atv to see if it helps, then once i get some more cash together i can go for the full fatbar treatment with a tall bend. I'm about 6'1" also.

canyncarvr · Post by **canyncarvr** » 11:05 am Aug 27 2007

The Spider people are nice, too.

I had a Spider grip separate (layers) when I put a set on my Banshee, asked Spider about it, they said, 'Shouldn't ever happen.'

They (well...'she'...Becca) sent me two pair for replacement, I sent the messed up one back.

They are pretty sticky.

I prefer a gel-pad type (ProGrip RVGS 792 on a dirtbike...and not anything waffle, either..dimples). Note the diff tween grey/black.

A good grip makes a difference. So does glove size. If your gloves fit easily on/off, they're too big. If there are any wrinkles in the finger/palm..they're too big.

Experiment with some different grips, drop a glove size, squeeze the knees (you will be surprised at the improved balance), and have pretty much no grip a'tall.

..which has already been said, but worth repeating.

Green Hornet · Post by **Green Hornet** » 01:08 pm Aug 27 2007

USE YOUR KNEES & LEGS & GRAP THAT DAMM BIKE. Do you ride the bike or let the bike ride you...

2001kdx · Post by **2001kdx** » 06:34 pm Aug 27 2007

Carvr you make an awesome point! I got a new set of fox gloves with the bike, and I've been using them, and they are WAY bigger than the gloves I normally wear! That alone could have done it!

Just checked, my 2 normal pairs of gloves are size 10, theses new ones are a size 12. Will go back to the old gloves or buy some new ones. Thanks for the input

Post by **KDX Butterfly** » 05:15 am Aug 28 2007

I have only been riding for a short time now, but trust me! Listen to what the rest are saying!!!! IT WORKS!!!!

KDXer · Post by **KDXer** » 08:57 am Aug 28 2007

Get a KDX !!!

Post by **scheckaet** » 09:14 am Aug 28 2007

KDXer wrote:Get a KDX !!!

+ 1 on that!

Green Hornet · Post by **Green Hornet** » 12:25 pm Aug 28 2007

Hey!!! He's just another that got scared & went yella on us........

Post by **fuzzy** » 02:05 pm Aug 28 2007

I'm in 1st gear for most woods riding, it just goes so long!

That's what a close-ratio trans will do for ya

Re-gearing will help, but will sacrifice top-speed of course....Keep in mind that it will also make first more explosive. Factory Jap 2T enduro rides pretty much all have nice custom trans gearing that's not avail to public...Nice of them huh? 'Course that's no good for your dual-duty bike. Skipro had good luck w/ an auto-clutch on his 250 as it would slip nicely for you while lugging first. FWW will help, but slow your revs on the MX track.

2001kdx · Post by **2001kdx** » 03:50 pm Aug 28 2007

If I was going to keep the KDX, I'd need a set of inverted forks (they are so nice), an MX rear shock. Then, I'd be going fast enough on the track to where the frame would either hold me back or crack, so I'd need a KX frame.... Understand?

thebleakness · Post by **thebleakness** » 09:19 pm Aug 28 2007

Green Hornet wrote:Hey!!! He's just another that got scared & went yella on us........

Lol, what year is your Slowzuki?

It could fall in the Kawasuki era (I don't remember the years).

I took my KDX to a pseudo track once. 45-65' tables were doable but needed to be seat bounced and hit in at least 3rd gear pinned. I was hitting both a 45ft step-down and a 40ft step-up. The main thing that made it so hard to jump it was that the suspension soaks up the take-off too much so I had to hit faster than I would on another bike.

Hehe, I rode the KDX around the woods for a few hours the other day (replacing the valve-train in my 450

) and it was fun. I really enjoy ringing out a 2-stroke, that will never leave me but once it gets into more flowing faster stuff I'd rather be on the 4banger. I realized just how heavy it is though! Wow, the difference in the two bikes is alot. I've definitely gotten faster on it though, riding the 450 has been very confidence inspiring and I think it transfered over well to the KDX. I've always been glad I'm keeping it, a simple 2-stroke is such a nice change! lmao

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Remedy for the hands???

Remedy for the hands???