GRIP ENHANCEMENTS
The stock grips are nice and all, but they are thin rubber over the
polymer (brake) and metal (throttle) shafts of the handlebar ends.
This leads to two problems for me. First, being so thin, I have to
wrap my hands too far around them as they tend to be just too small
in radius for me to get a firm grip. The other problem is that
being thin rubber, they don't have any "give" or cushion to them.
This usually results in my palm knuckles wearing sore after a long
ride. After checking out a few different leads, I came across
this company
that sells foam grips. Once installed, they are very comfortable and
the foam has a tacky feel to it, meaning your hand is not likely to
slip off them, even when wet. They provide a bit of cushion and a
bigger radius, so the hold is firm when it needs to be. An
additional benefit of the grips comes into play when using the
heated grips. Sometimes the grips can get a little too hot,
and the foam helps to dissipate it a bit.
Overall, from a price standpoint, you can't beat the comfort
these give you for the small cost.
The other item I enhanced the grips with was the Throttle Rocker.
It's the plastic piece on the edge of the grip. What this small,
inexpensive piece of plastic does is allow you to use your wrist
to help you turn the throttle. It even acts somewhat as a cruise
control, letting you hold the throttle in a position with the
weight of your arm resting your wrist on the rocker. It's not
a huge advantage, but from a comfort standpoint, it's well
worth the money. I picked mine up on ebay.