Author Topic: Keeping your hands warm in winter  (Read 6419 times)

Offline Trogladyte

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Keeping your hands warm in winter
« on: December 24, 2016, 06:20:27 PM »
It can get quite cold in London in the winter. Icy mornings are quite common. And although it was very cold for a while in November it is unseasonably mild at the moment - at about 12 degrees for Xmas eve.

I ride throughout the year - every day pretty much, whatever the weather. Last year I had to dig a trench through the snow to get the Griso to the main road which had been cleared and salted.

I don't have to go that far to work - about 40 minutes. So I don't worry too much about core body temperature. But hands can be a problem. I found heated grips just weren't enough for really cold days - they burn your palms without keeping your hands warm. So I have added a pair of Tucano Urbano handlebar muffs. This seems to be a pretty good solution. On the coldest days I put the heated grips on low, and my hands stay really comfortable.

But they are not ideal. Operating the handlebar switches is clumsy - especially as I have no flexor tendon for the top joint on my left thumb (long story). And they don't look brilliant. And the throttle return is a bit stiff. And they interfere with the sensitivity of the front brake light.

I could mitigate some of those issues, of course.

But what other solution do folks use? Other than parking the bike up for the winter - and that's not happening. 

Offline fotoguzzi

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #1 on: December 24, 2016, 06:28:44 PM »
there are heated gloves, they might be better than heated grips..
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Offline Trogladyte

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #2 on: December 24, 2016, 06:34:38 PM »
Yeah. Thought about gloves, but don't like the idea of being wired in. And the Griso has no easy power outlet. I could fix that of course.

Have you used heated gloves?

Offline arveno

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #3 on: December 24, 2016, 06:46:31 PM »
Yeah. Thought about gloves, but don't like the idea of being wired in. And the Griso has no easy power outlet. I could fix that of course.

Have you used heated gloves?

battery heated gloves, no wiring necessary

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #3 on: December 24, 2016, 06:46:31 PM »

Offline jmac851

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #4 on: December 24, 2016, 07:12:21 PM »
On my EV, I use the valve covers.
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Offline malik

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #5 on: December 24, 2016, 07:13:12 PM »
And Bark Busters don't look out of place on a Griso - cut the worst of the wind & rain & with heated gloves &/or grips would be a vast improvement over nowt.
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Offline Triple Jim

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #6 on: December 24, 2016, 07:21:04 PM »
Right, I put Acerbis bar-end mount hand guards on my Mille in the winter.  With good gloves, I don't have a problem with cold hands.  They mount with one Allen bolt each, so they go on and off in seconds, but are very sturdy.
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Offline ratguzzi

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2016, 08:22:07 PM »
Wine! Or sensibly aspirin. Thin blood keeps the digits warm but if you crash you will bleed like a stuck pig!
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Offline fotoguzzi

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #8 on: December 24, 2016, 08:29:52 PM »
Yeah. Thought about gloves, but don't like the idea of being wired in. And the Griso has no easy power outlet. I could fix that of course.

Have you used heated gloves?
no, same.. don't like being wired in..  but battery operated might be nice..
battery heated gloves, no wiring necessary
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Offline groundhog105

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #9 on: December 24, 2016, 09:16:59 PM »
Highly recommend heated liner and gloves.  You can plug the liner into a lead from the battery under the seat and the gloves plug onto the end of the sleeves of the liner.  Each can be controlled separately by remote control with a wireless dual controller.  The gloves are not so thick that you loose feeling of the controls. 

Offline Rich A

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #10 on: December 24, 2016, 09:50:26 PM »
+1 on heated gloves. I have Gerbing's and a liner.
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Offline charlie b

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #11 on: December 24, 2016, 10:07:13 PM »
I didn't really like heated grips either.  They were OK down into the low 50's (F) but not much good below that.  I had Gerbing gloves as well.  If I weren't so cheap I would have bought their 12v battery/plug in gloves.  Batteries for around town and plug in for longer trips.  They kept my hands warm down into the low 20's (F). Disclaimer...I had a fairing that kept wind off my hands.  On a naked bike you might need something like brush guards.
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Offline 80CX100

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #12 on: December 24, 2016, 10:10:55 PM »
     I have some type of BarkBusters on my DR650,,,, love them,, they're big ones,, they really block the wind.

     I do have a set of Gerbings with gloves,,, they are excellent,,, I have used them a few times,,, one time they caused pain from the way the wires lay on my knuckles,,,, when I took the time to rearrange the wires/pressure points, it was much better,,,, but not all my bikes have enough electrical output to power my heated gear.

      Anything at all to cut the wind,,, good roomy lined gloves,,, and laying my hands on the valve covers on the guzzis when appropriate,,, goes a long way.


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Offline Nic in Western NYS

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #13 on: December 24, 2016, 10:15:42 PM »
+1 on heated gloves. I have Gerbing's and a liner.
Rich A
I use these plus heated grips.  Works fine, plus a LOT of layers when it's really cold.
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Offline JJ

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #14 on: December 25, 2016, 07:51:33 AM »
I used to tease and make fun of those with heated grips / seats / gear...until I tried them all myself! :huh: :shocked: :rolleyes: 
They are all the BEST in cold weather!  :thumb: :cool: :1:
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Offline jumpmaster

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #15 on: December 25, 2016, 08:06:51 AM »
I didn't really like heated grips either.  They were OK down into the low 50's (F) but not much good below that.  I had Gerbing gloves as well.  If I weren't so cheap I would have bought their 12v battery/plug in gloves.  Batteries for around town and plug in for longer trips.  They kept my hands warm down into the low 20's (F). Disclaimer...I had a fairing that kept wind off my hands.  On a naked bike you might need something like brush guards.

I've found heated grips effective down to the low to mid 40's on a faired bike, & electric gloves down to the high teens.  For short trips of an hour or so or less, I have a pair of silk glove liners under my regular winter gloves that work well down to about 40 degrees even on my unfaired bike. I've tried "heat packs" slipped into unheated gloves without much success & could never get them comfortable anyway. The winter gloves, by the way, are some Brand X gloves I bought several years ago at Sturgis for $20 & which work better than the 2 different name-brand pairs of gloves I've bought after that. 
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Offline slopokes

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #16 on: December 25, 2016, 09:09:05 AM »
Vetter Hippo hands---they worked for Craig in a snow storm.

Offline Kiwi_Roy

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #17 on: December 25, 2016, 10:56:45 AM »
Once you get used to heated gloves you would never go back, warm hands are the most important
One wire down each sleeve as you put the jacket on, tuck the plug into your waist band
The connecting cord attached near the rear of the tank just plugs in at the waist unplugs by itself when you get off.
Later on when you get soft and buy a heated vest it takes care of the cords.

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Offline M0T0Geezer

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #18 on: December 25, 2016, 11:57:50 AM »

I have used these heated liners from Lockitt for four winters now.  Very Satisfied.

http://lockitt.com/Lockitt/product/HCWS92.html  12v Glove Liners

http://lockitt.com/Lockitt/product/EHPL317.html  12v Controller

I used an adaptor to connect the Battery Tender SAE Battery tap to the Coaxial Controller input.

http://lockitt.com/Lockitt/category/ELAD.html  Various Adaptors

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Offline atavar

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #19 on: December 25, 2016, 01:50:40 PM »
If you have heated grips get snowmobile gloves.  They will have massive insulation everywhere except the palms.  This is to take advantage of heated grips by accepting and storing the heat from the grips.  The best style will be the split finger gloves that make your hands look like alien paws.  Leaving two fingers in each section lets them stay much warmer.  Having the split lets you handle throttle and brake at the same time while keeping the benefits of a pseudo-mitten. 
Gloves with insulated palms can actually make things worse as they will block the heat from the grips. 


« Last Edit: December 25, 2016, 01:54:38 PM by atavar »
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redrider

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #21 on: December 25, 2016, 07:09:23 PM »
I use a heated jacket liner with glove liners that attach to the jacket. Very thin Firstgear waterproof gloves with 40 gram thinsulate mostly on the back-like snowmobile gloves. Control feel is still good and I am warm. The lowest so far was several winters ago in the low 20's F.

Offline Trogladyte

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #22 on: December 25, 2016, 07:24:18 PM »
Thanks for all the ideas.

I might try heated gloves. But they sound like they have drawbacks. I don't like the idea of battery powered. And wiring up the sleeves for a half hour ride. I don't know. I'd do it for a longer ride, but...

But I might try them all the same. My current muffs and grips solution is extremely effective. But the muffs are just a bit awkward and ugly.

Offline redhawk47

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #23 on: December 25, 2016, 09:18:38 PM »
I had a friend sew a button hole in the material that folds up when you tighten the cuff. This holds the end of the wiring in place. Also added a couple of loops to position the wiring at other points. I put the wiring in place in the fall and leave it there until it warms up again. I use this with a heated vest, heated grips, and hand guards.

Many heated liners with sleeves have wiring built in for heated gloves.
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Offline Sheepdog

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #24 on: December 25, 2016, 10:31:01 PM »
Worn over your best winter gloves, these Aerostich rain covers are great when you must face a little lower temperature than is otherwise comfortable. I find these Triple Digit rain covers to be a really handy item for my tank bag. They pack down to a very small size and will save you when rain or cold temperatures take you by surprise...

http://www.aerostich.com/clothing/gloves/rain-glove-covers/aerostich-triple-digit-covers.html
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Offline Sasquatch Jim

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #25 on: December 25, 2016, 11:26:06 PM »
 You guys are all Guzzi riders so you should know.  The best way to warm your hands is to put then on the warm jugs.
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redrider

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #26 on: December 26, 2016, 06:12:30 AM »
My winter glove is the aforementioned Firstgear one. The Explorer model. Around town, I do not need the electric liner.

Offline O

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #27 on: December 26, 2016, 10:11:46 AM »
Right, I put Acerbis bar-end mount hand guards on my Mille in the winter.  With good gloves, I don't have a problem with cold hands.  They mount with one Allen bolt each, so they go on and off in seconds, but are very sturdy.

I'm curious what model Acerbis you're using?  I may have to give them a try.  Thanks!
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Offline mjptexas

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #28 on: December 26, 2016, 10:37:15 AM »
Yeah. Thought about gloves, but don't like the idea of being wired in. And the Griso has no easy power outlet. I could fix that of course.

Have you used heated gloves?

I have used heated gloves - they are great on a long ride.  Did a 3 day ride a couple of years ago where the temperature stayed in the 30s&40s for half the day.  couldn't have done it without the gloves.  Mosst come with a fused dongle you connect to the battery.  Wiring is a PIA, but they do work.  Battery powered may work well for your ride.  I recommend that you get thin silk liners to wear with them.  Helps with hot spots.
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Offline redrider90

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Re: Keeping your hands warm in winter
« Reply #29 on: December 26, 2016, 10:54:16 AM »

 handlebar switches is clumsy - especially as I have no flexor tendon for the top joint on my left thumb (long story).
I could mitigate some of those issues, of course.


As an orthotist I have made many designs of functional hand splints for various pathologies.
Lacking a long flexor tendon for a motorcyclist causes obvious problems. But there are a couple of solutions that are available. Sorry you live so far away as I could possibly help. But a small light weight low profile custom splint could be made to prevent hyperextension of the IP joint on the thumb. Preventing hyperextension of the IP joint would stabilize the joint allowing you to use distal thumb by using the muscle  "opponens pollicis". The opponens pollicis "flexes or adducts" (depending on terminology) the MCP joint. That muscle basically putting you thumb in "opposition" to the fingers and also moves the thumb across the palm. The MCP joint is the larger joint at the base of the thumb. So stabilizing the IP joint and then use the opponens pollicis to push on whole thumb is an option. You might look around for a good orthotist or occupational therapist who could make something to stabilize your IP joint. I made a lot of these for folks with rheumatoid arthritis who loose  function due to the ligamentous failure of some joints in the fingers.
I hope this makes sense but I think you get the idea that if your IP joint was stable your distal phalange would be far more functional. 
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