The Little Plastic Part That Ended My Right-Hand Cramps

Somewhere around mile 380 on the way to Myrtle Beach, my right hand turned into a claw. Not the whole hand at first. Just the fingers that had been holding the throttle open since Virginia. I tried shaking it out at speed, which works for about eight miles. I tried dropping my elbow, changing my grip, hooking my thumb over the bar. Nothing helped for long. By the time we stopped for gas in North Carolina, I had to peel my fingers off the grip one at a time with my left hand. That is when I decided the Crampbuster throttle assist was worth trying.

I had seen them on other bikes for years. Little black plastic wings clipped onto the throttle side, so you can rest your palm on them instead of squeezing the grip all day. I figured it was one of those cheap gadgets that works for other people and not me. Then I spent one more trip flexing a numb right hand at every rest stop and decided I was being stupid about it.

The part costs about eleven dollars on Amazon. It weighs less than an ounce, it is made of plastic and rubber, and it fits a standard 1-3/8 inch grip. That is the whole product. There is no app, no wiring, no installation drama. You slide it onto the throttle side of the bar, snug it down, and go ride.

I am Hank, by the way. I am 61, I have been riding for about 35 years, and I do one big trip every year: Pittsburgh down to Myrtle Beach and back, roughly 600 miles each way. I have done that ride on my 2019 Indian Chieftain every year since I bought it. And I will tell you plainly: the Crampbuster is the cheapest thing I have put on that bike that changed how I feel at the end of a long day.

Here is what it actually does. The Crampbuster mounts on the throttle side and gives your palm a flat place to rest. Instead of keeping your wrist bent and your fingers wrapped around the grip for hours, you can relax your hand and let the weight of your arm carry the throttle. Your fingers stay loose. Your wrist stays straight. The grip does not have to be squeezed, because your palm is doing the work.

The first time I rode with it, I kept waiting for the catch. There is a catch with most cheap fixes, right? With this one, the catch is that you still have to keep your hand on the throttle. It is not cruise control. If you let go, the throttle rolls back and the bike slows down. But that is fine, because I was not looking for a way to take my hand off the bars. I was looking for a way to stop clenching the grip like it owed me money.

The difference showed up on the second day of that trip. Myrtle Beach to Pittsburgh, another long day, and I got home with a right hand that still worked. No claw. No peeling fingers off the grip at the gas station. Just a little stiffness that faded while I unloaded the saddlebags. That was the moment I became a person who talks about the Crampbuster to other riders at rest stops.

I got home from a 600-mile day with a right hand that still worked. No claw, no peeling my fingers off the grip one at a time. That was the moment I started telling other riders about it.

A couple of things I would tell you before you buy one. First, it takes a little getting used to, especially if you are used to wrapping your whole hand around the grip. The first hour feels slightly odd, like the bar has grown a bump. Give it a day. By the second ride, you will not notice it is there until you take it off and the cramping comes back.

Second, it is not for everyone. If you have small hands, the wing might sit too far from the grip to rest your palm on it comfortably. If you ride off-road and spend all day standing on the pegs, this is not aimed at you. It is aimed at the person doing interstate miles, the person whose right hand is the first thing to complain at the end of a long day. That person is me, and it worked for me.

Third, and I mean this, the Crampbuster is not a replacement for paying attention. You still have to be smooth with the throttle. You still have to be ready to grab the brake. What it does is remove one source of fatigue so you have more attention left for the actual riding. On a long trip, fatigue is a safety issue. Anything that keeps your hands and your head fresher at mile 500 is doing real work.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you were sitting at my kitchen table in Pittsburgh, with Linda in the other room and Biscuit hoping somebody drops a sandwich, here is what I would say: your hand is cramping because it is doing the same job for six hours straight. The fix is not to grip harder or tougher it out. The fix is to give your hand a different way to do the job. The Crampbuster is eleven dollars, it takes two minutes to put on, and it does exactly one thing: it gives your palm a place to rest so your fingers do not have to hold on all day. If it does not work for you, you are out eleven dollars. If it does work, you will feel it on the very next long ride. That is about as fair a deal as you are going to get in the motorcycle parts aisle.