Static Discharge???

[Sidmariner]

I've held off asking this question for over a year, convinced that I must be imagining things:

 

Riding home last night on my RT on a sunny warm day I suddenly experienced a short sharp shock at the tip of my right pinky finger. It felt like someone had snapped my finger with a ruler and was so strong that it immediately made me move my hand off the throttle to give my fingers a shake. I was wearing gloves.

 

This is not the first time I experienced such a thing though. Last year, on numerous occasions, while riding home on my K1100LT, I could have sworn that I was getting a small static shock, usually on my left leg. It was never painful, but more like the kind of shock you get after touching an object after you've walked across a carpet in socks.

 

Has this happened to you? I am sure it's a static discharge, but what could be creating it, fabric riding gear, nylon gloves, stray current?

[Mr_Ed]

I've never experienced that. I'm sure folks will come up with some interesting theories though.

[Rottweiler]

I've never had that happen to me but here's a thought. Make sure there is nothing hanging down and touching either of your tires like a loose hose. My only other idea is bad news for you, you may have had a mini stroke, check with your doctor...seriously!

[bobbybob]

Has it only happened when you were wearing gloves? Was the relative humidity very low at those times--like under 40%? The gloves would keep your hands from contacting any metal so that a charge could build up in your body until it discharges across a gap--finger, leg, whatever comes closest to metal at the right time. Do you have a custom seat--covered with??

[Sidmariner]

It was warm (80 deg) but humidity was fairly high (for Victoria). I was wearing summer nylon gloves with leather palms. I had an Olympia vented jacket over my uniform cotton shirt and polyester pants and Blundstone steel-toed boots.

 

I think you might right about static buildup. It make sense that I felt the shock in my pinky finger when it touched the Throttlemeister bar-end.

 

Maybe I should start wearning a grounding strap

[11101110]

The only you could recieve a static shock is if the bike is at a different potential than your body. In other words you are wearing something that keeps you electrically insulated from the bike. I would thinkg that is had to accomplish on a bike.

 

Howeve that said there is no reason that it could not happen. I would just think it would happen when you put your foot down.

 

You wern't around any thunderstorms or large cloud formations were you?