BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

MEM62 wrote: As they are not as dense as rubber grips the feeling when you hold them is a little more vague - similar to holding a sponge instead of a metal bar although that is a more extreme example.  I think, because of that, there may be an unconscious tendency to grip them harder so that your hold on the bars feels firmer.  I had foam grips on a GS550 many years ago and quickly changed them back to the standard rubber ones. 

That could account for the extra fatigue I'm experiencing, if I'm now holding on tighter.  Bike has just over 6K on it now, hoping the engine settles in a bit more and vibration becomes a non-issue.  I'm leaving them off for now.

heavier bar end weights cured my vibration issue.

ds99 wrote: heavier bar end weights cured my vibration issue.

Thanks, I might give that a try as well.  Isn't really much of a problem until I have been riding for several hours straight.

So, here's my result.  Bought Grip Buddies from Nippy Norman's and fitted them before doing 700 miles in 21 hours on the National Road Rally.  They were not any worse, but not vastly better either.  So were they worth it?  Probably.  The difference I noticed was in the wrists.  Before it felt that the bars were angled back a bit far, pointing my hands out at 'ten to two'.  This seems to have improved with the Grip Buddies, so I think the previous discomfort may have been a result of grip radius, plus bar angle.

So in summary: OK, not spectacular, worth gambling a few quid of your hard-earned if you think you have a problem.

Sprintgull wrote: Just ordered some Grip Buddies.  Hands starting to get a bit old and arthritic, so we'll see how it goes.  Got big hands too.

I hated Grip Buddies.  Grip puppies I love.  I didn't like the seam, verlcro.....and the harder foam feeling of the buddies.