This is what I like to call a "redneck wrist-rest" (attached to the end of the throttle grip). It relieves some of the strain on your right hand, wrist, and forearm by allowing you to control the throttle by simply resting the heel of your hand on the wrist rest rather than gripping the throttle. Oh, I do actually have brakes on my motorcycle. The front brake lever is just playing hide-and-go-seek behind the handlebars in this photo.
Why do I call it the "redneck wrist-rest"? Well, authentic ergonomically designed motorcycle wrist-rests are commercially available from a number of companies. Although they are pretty cheap, I didn't feel like parting with $10 plus shipping costs and waiting a week for one to arrive. Instead, I went out to the garage and started poking around for something to use as a makeshift wrist-rest. It was one of those times that I'm glad I collect seemingly useless junk.
(Side Note: My mother once got mad at me for pulling an old mailbox out of the garbage and using it as a map holder in my cargo van.)
This modification to my motorcycle seemed like the kind of thing Red Green might do, so I called my newfound device a redneck wrist-rest. (For those not familiar with the show, the central character on Red Green is sort of a redneck handyman who does great things with old junk.) So are you wondering what that piece of plastic is which became my wrist-rest? Well, you know those bicycle U-locks? They usually come with a bracket to fix it onto your bike frame as pictured below.
The thing is, I do a lot of long distance touring on my bicycle and I installed three water bottle holders onto the frame leaving no space for the U-lock bracket. I simply held the lock to my rear rack with bungee cords or tucked it into the panniers (none of which are on the bike in this photo). The U-lock bracket was sitting around in a box for a couple of years.
The part of the bracket that holds the U-lock was too stiff to pry aroung my throttle grip. Instead, I used the more flexible side which would normally go around the bicycle frame. I positioned it so that the contour of the bracket faces outward. It looks a little funny but it works and is reasonably comfortable. It does transmit a bit of vibration to your hand unless you are wearing padded gloves.
If you are thinking of doing this yourself, here's a couple of tips. First of all, remove the quick release mechanism from the lock side of the bracket and steal that nut. It's got a rubber ring fixed into it that prevents the nut from loosening due to vibration. Use this nut instead of the ordinary nuts found on the frame side of the bracket.
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I found that the bracket gripped fairly well against the rubber throttle grip. I didn't bother with using a second nut and bolt. It wasn't necessary to tighten the screw to the max either. Why risk cracking the bracket or leaving a permanent impression in the grip?
So that's the story of my redneck wrist-rest. For me, this was a free modification. Some of you would have to go out and buy a new lock just to get this bracket but that might not be a bad idea. They aren't expensive and you can use the U-lock as a wheel lock on your motorcycle to help prevent it from being rolled away when you park it outside. (You should of course be using the steering lock and any other security precautions that might be necessary for the area in which you're parking it). Alternatively, just find a suitable piece of junk that's lying around your garage. Of course, you could buy a wrist-rest too - but where's the fun in that?
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