Motorcycles naturally vibrate whether as a result of the engine’s movement or uneven terrain. This vibration is absorbed throughthe entirety of the motorcycle and in to the handlebars where the rider experiences a vibrating sensation. While the rider grips the handlebars, the vibration induces a muscular physical reaction resulting in arm pump, numbness, and tingling hands.
Scientists have named this physical reaction Tonic Vibration Reflex, a sustained contraction of a muscle subjected to vibration. To reduce or eliminate Tonic Vibration Reflex, the vibration must be disrupted. The only conclusive method known to man to reduce unwanted vibration is through the use of tuned mass dampers, a device designed to vibrate out of phase to disrupt and cancel handlebar vibration resonance.
Handlebars not utilizing tuned mass damper devices to reduce handlebar vibration will cause the rider to experience serious negative physical reactions. The effects include excessive arm fatigue, often called arm pump, tiring the muscles and causing the rider’s heart rate to increase in order to compensate for the loss of physical energy directed at combating the rider’s arm fatigue; hand numbness, making it difficult and at times impossible, to use the controls and significantly impairing the rider’s ability to maneuver the bike’s direction; and carpal tunnel syndrome induced by the arm’s natural resistance in working to alleviate the handlebar’s constant vibration.
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