Lower seat or higher handlebars to deal with wrist pain?

philthymike · May 10, 2017

I have found that on longer rides my wrists get fairly painful on the Hyperstrada.
I don't get this problem on my little Suzuki cruiser.
I noticed my arms are more horizontally level when riding the Suzuki as opposed to the downward angle of my arms when on the Ducati.
I'm guessing it will help if I can level my arms out with either handlebar risers or a lower seat.
What are the cons and pros I should be considering for these choices?

stevebgt1 · May 10, 2017

philthymike said:
I have found that on longer rides my wrists get fairly painful on the Hyperstrada.

I don't get this problem on my little Suzuki cruiser.

I noticed my arms are more horizontally level when riding the Suzuki as opposed to the downward angle of my arms when on the Ducati.

I'm guessing it will help if I can level my arms out with either handlebar risers or a lower seat.

What are the cons and pros I should be considering for these choices?

You must be tall ?
I find the strada , the comfiest bike I ever had , arms are straight out in front with relaxed elbows , just like a dirtbike .
Personally I would not lower the seat , but bar risers are good . [emoji106]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

dragoontwo · May 10, 2017

How hard are you holding the bars? Are you resting any weight on the bars?

foca · May 11, 2017

How long of a ride? I go for 2+ hour rides regularly and no problems (I'm 190cm). Sounds like you are putting too much weight on your handlebars, should just be light playful grip.

philthymike · May 11, 2017

I am pretty tall. I do tend to hold on tightly during commutes because the traffic is very heavy and unpredictable in the city in addition to peds crossing against the lights on each side combined with pot holes that can swallow the bike and rider whole plus bicycles that don't stay in the bike lanes. It's a crazy obstacle course and I have to be able to get out of harms way quickly.

when I can just ride freely I loosen up and if I'm in a straight line deceleration I lock my elbows straight to lessen the weight on my wrists. these things help.
I'm still getting used to the bike and the riding position is a big change for me.
My commute can take anywhere between 43 minutes and 2 hours depending how bad traffic is.

So the risers would be the cheaper way to go compared to the seat. Somewhat more work than the seat to install. Are the low seats less comfortable?
I find the seat to be really nice as it is.

dragoontwo · May 11, 2017

That's likely where your pain is coming from. Stop using a death grip on the bars. You can still hold the bars in a relaxed fashion while still being able to get out of the way if needed. Loosening up your grip will also help the front end by not moving around with every little muscle twitch that you don't know that you're putting into the bars.

You should be holding yourself up with your core and when needed, squeezing the bike with your legs instead of locking your arms out.

It will take some getting used to but you need to loosen up, and the pain should fade.

philthymike · May 11, 2017

I'll try that.
Another thing that was problematic before was the throttle response while in stop and crawl traffic. Before I removed the flapper valve cable it was extremely jerky and disconcerting. It has smoothed out alot now. The jerking behavior may be what got me gripping so tightly in the 1st place.

dragoontwo · May 11, 2017

The only thing I can say about the throttle is that the engine will be more responsive than your cruiser. You need more time to get used to it. If you're in sport mode, try to dial it back to touring or urban until you get a better feel for it.

ETA: just now saw that you have an 821. Do you happen to know if the throttle control unit and CANBUS service bulletins have been done on your bike? A call to your local dealer should be all you need if you don't.

philthymike · May 12, 2017

dragoontwo said:
The only thing I can say about the throttle is that the engine will be more responsive than your cruiser. You need more time to get used to it. If you're in sport mode, try to dial it back to touring or urban until you get a better feel for it.

ETA: just now saw that you have an 821. Do you happen to know if the throttle control unit and CANBUS service bulletins have been done on your bike? A call to your local dealer should be all you need if you don't.

I have no idea. The previous owner didn't record servicing in the owners manual. I did put the VIN into the Ducati website recall page and got no result back.
I was planning to take it to the dealership to get it checked out. I'll make an appointment soon. I also wanted to have them adjust the clutch. I find it very grabby when the engine is cold and also difficult for taking off quickly.
If I don't ease it out very slowly it likes to stall or lurch. It's never taken me so long to get used to a clutch before.
Maybe I'm spoiled by the silky smooth clutch on my Suzuki.

I was riding it in Urban mode at 1st but just changed to Touring. I like it better in Touring because it seems like there's less hunting involved to hold a steady speed and taking off from a stop is easier.

dragoontwo · May 12, 2017

The recall page is mostly useless. Stopping in at the dealer is a good idea, sounds like you have a good plan there.

philthymike · May 12, 2017

I will call the dealer today. I may as well add tires while I'm at it. The ones on the bike appear to be original and with 5600 miles on the bike they are looking rough.

Riding home from work yesterday I did try to grip more loosely and hang on with my legs more. This helped. After 90 minutes of stop and crawl in the rain I felt little pain compared to normal. Thanks for the tips!

Regarding the cruiser's throttle response it's actually pretty good. I put in a big bore kit and a stage 2 cam so when I get on it the little thing takes off like a 2 stroke dirtbike. Has not as much pull as the Ducati obviously but it's surprisingly strong in the mid and upper mid powerband compared to other cruisers I've ridden. Lots of fun on backroads!

kuksul08 · May 12, 2017

I have to constantly remind myself to stay loose on the Hyper. Being perched on top, it's easy to try to hold on too hard because you feel you might fall off. In reality, you can stay very loose and there are no issues.

Regarding the jerky throttle, a lot has to do with rider input. After analyzing my throttle input log I found that over every single bump the throttle would be affected with a small spike. With an engine as responsive as the 821 (very low rotating mass) with very little cushion in the driveline, you can directly feel these spikes. This is compounded by the unbalanced fuel ratio from the factory, which makes the engine teeter on a fine line of acceleration/deceleration and is excessively responsive to inputs.

I would avoid larger handlebar risers since the strada already has 20mm spacers. Any more means you need longer bolts and you will start to feel the flex in the bushings.

N4teTheGreat · May 12, 2017

This is why I avoid sport mode. From what I have read / felt, it'd work nicely on a track or very smooth road. I've lived in the bay area long enough now I've forgotten what a smooth road feels like so touring mode it is.

philthymike · May 12, 2017

Analyzing the throttle input log? Fascinating. You'll have to forgive me for sounding like a bumpkin but the Ducati is the most technologically advanced vehicle I've owned. How do you get that log data from it?
Or is it something you need to add-on?

That's a good point about rider input. Thinking back on it I had this made very apparent the 1st time I rode it off road. Some rocks in the trail caused me to have some unwanted throttle opening which almost caused me to panic. I recovered fine except for my shorts.

Since the roads in my state make the surface of the moon look smooth I should go across the river to New Jersey and see how much a difference I feel riding on their perfect roads for a day.

That's a big con for the risers. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

@N4teTheGreat I'm really liking Touring mode so far too. I haven't tried Sport yet. Maybe I'll save that for across the river day too.

kuksul08 · May 12, 2017

philthymike said:
Analyzing the throttle input log? Fascinating. You'll have to forgive me for sounding like a bumpkin but the Ducati is the most technologically advanced vehicle I've owned. How do you get that log data from it?
Or is it something you need to add-on?

That's a good point about rider input. Thinking back on it I had this made very apparent the 1st time I rode it off road. Some rocks in the trail caused me to have some unwanted throttle opening which almost caused me to panic. I recovered fine except for my shorts.

Since the roads in my state make the surface of the moon look smooth I should go across the river to New Jersey and see how much a difference I feel riding on their perfect roads for a day.

That's a big con for the risers. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

@N4teTheGreat I'm really liking Touring mode so far too. I haven't tried Sport yet. Maybe I'll save that for across the river day too.

The throttle thing is something I learned in the process of tuning the bike. With an external device I am able to log the throttle grip input and the throttle body action.

I am eventually going to throw up some different charts and more info in this thread later.

See here:
http://hyperstrada.com/mechanical-technical/3971-adventures-hypermotard-tuning.html

N4teTheGreat · May 12, 2017

philthymike said:
...
@N4teTheGreat I'm really liking Touring mode so far too. I haven't tried Sport yet. Maybe I'll save that for across the river day too.

I've ye to try it myself and I've had the bike for almot 8 months. Guess I should give it a shot, but I suspect touring mode is fine for my purposes.

philthymike · May 12, 2017

kuksul08 said:
The throttle thing is something I learned in the process of tuning the bike. With an external device I am able to log the throttle grip input and the throttle body action.

I am eventually going to throw up some different charts and more info in this thread later.

See here:
http://hyperstrada.com/mechanical-technical/3971-adventures-hypermotard-tuning.html

This is pretty cool stuff. I look forward to seeing more of your results. Thanks for sharing the link too. I'll post my questions about this topic in there.

philthymike · May 12, 2017

N4teTheGreat said:
I've ye to try it myself and I've had the bike for almot 8 months. Guess I should give it a shot, but I suspect touring mode is fine for my purposes.

So how are liking the bike after 8 months?
I've only had mine for roughly a month so it's of interest to me what the experiences of others new to the machine.

Today when I got home I swapped bikes. I'm wondering how much of my problem is attributable to the smaller bars/grips of the Hyper? My Suzuki has 1" bars and some big fat grips. The HS has 7/8" bars?
Is it possible to get a fatter grip on these bars?

monocog007 · May 15, 2017

philthymike said:
So how are liking the bike after 8 months?
I've only had mine for roughly a month so it's of interest to me what the experiences of others new to the machine.

Today when I got home I swapped bikes. I'm wondering how much of my problem is attributable to the smaller bars/grips of the Hyper? My Suzuki has 1" bars and some big fat grips. The HS has 7/8" bars?
Is it possible to get a fatter grip on these bars?

Most bikes with 1" bars still use 7/8" grips. You can put on any grips you'd like. Or you could get something like this to go over your grips: https://www.amazon.com/Grab-Grips-Grip-Cover-1-25in/dp/B000WJAH5M

N4teTheGreat · May 15, 2017

The stock grips on my hyper are showing some wear, when they go I'll probably get a pair of these to try (Oury Grip U.S.A. Inc. - Oury Road Grips). I always had cramping and joint issues on my downhill MTBs with stock grips, the oury grips are thicker and seemed to fit my big hands better. Not sure if that will translate to the Hyper but it's worth a try.

Lower seat or higher handlebars to deal with wrist pain?

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