Warm hands?

[scootinChris]

Now with the colder weather among us; do you still ride and how do you stay warm

I tried to ride yesterday at 0C temps, but had to turn around after 10min. Was planning to go for a 75min trip.
My snowmobile gloves don't cut it at these temps.
All else was nice and toasty.

So now I'm wondering, will HippoHands work on our bikes?
Will heated grips do the trick?
What do you die-hards use to keep riding?

[axy]

Now with the colder weather among us; do you still ride and how do you stay warm

I tried to ride yesterday at 0C temps, but had to turn around after 10min. Was planning to go for a 75min trip.
My snowmobile gloves don't cut it at these temps.
All else was nice and toasty.

So now I'm wondering, will HippoHands work on our bikes?
Will heated grips do the trick?
What do you die-hards use to keep riding?

Mostly put up with it.
Otherwise, heated grips. That`s it.

[Cortez]

Mostly put up with it.
Otherwise, heated grips. That`s it.

+1

You learn to deal with it inside your head with time.. but heated grips are probably the
best way to go.

[TANWare]

At those temps you need to keep the wind off the hands. The givi shield is your best option but that may not be enough. I doubt there is enough protection we could wear and still be able to operate the bikes at those extremes.

As it stands now I can tolerate 45 F with my current protection. With better gloves and thermals I could maybe do to 32F with the stock sheild but not comfortably. The Givi shield would provide better protection but I would still be leary about going out below 32F. It only takes one small patch of black ice to ruin the rest of your life................

[JustWantToRide]

My Fieldsheer gloves kept my hands comfortable for 20 miles at 30F the other night, but I plan on adding plastic hand guards and heated grips for when it gets colder.  You need to cut some of the wind or else nothing will keep your hands warn.

I bought Hippo Hands several years ago but couldn't get used to the feeling of being restricted.

[Cortez]

My Fieldsheer gloves kept my hands comfortable for 20 miles at 30F the other night, but I plan on adding plastic hand guards and heated grips for when it gets colder.  You need to cut some of the wind or else nothing will keep your hands warn.

Get just one of those first, most don't need/use both, unless you insist on using summer gloves
(which has its benefits of course).

Hand guards do wonders already.

[Goodrich]

My Fieldsheer gloves kept my hands comfortable for 20 miles at 30F the other night, but I plan on adding plastic hand guards and heated grips for when it gets colder.  You need to cut some of the wind or else nothing will keep your hands warn.

I bought Hippo Hands several years ago but couldn't get used to the feeling of being restricted.

Do you have a link where I could check these out?  Are they made FOR the DT?

[axy]

Get just one of those first, most don't need/use both, unless you insist on using summer gloves
(which has its benefits of course).

Hand guards do wonders already.

Well, I am all for functionality (over design), but effective (meaning large) hand guards usually make every motorcycle look like a rat-bike driven by a villain from James Bond movies, usually from soviet Russia, during mid '60s.

Other than that, if you can digest the looks, I am sure they will make the ride much more comfortable, especially combined with heated grips.

[Cortez]

Well, I am all for functionality (over design), but effective (meaning large) hand guards usually make every motorcycle look like a rat-bike driven by a villain from James Bond movies, usually from soviet Russia, during mid '60s.

Other than that, if you can digest the looks, I am sure they will make the ride much more comfortable, especially combined with heated grips.

That's interesting.. I like the looks of hand guards on most kinds of bikes.. they look great on modern naked fun bikes like the MT03:


..even those small ones that are actually just a styling accessory and probably don't do much to protect from wind (maybe
from a crash)

A bike like the V-strom looks "unfinished" without them IMHO.. and even some scooters come stock with them:



If they weren't so expensive, I'd put them on my kawasaki too..

p.s. I'll probably be going to your part of the woods some time next month, maybe January.. wanna grab a cup of sumthn?
I'll be there a lot after that, if all goes as planed.

[JustWantToRide]

jaunpauk has these small Acerbis handguards on his DT300i.

http://www.mx1west.co.uk/acatalog/acerbis-flash-scooter-handguards-black-small.jpg

http://www.mx1west.co.uk/acatalog/Acerbis_Flash_Scooter_Handguard.html

http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=5167.msg51531#msg51531

There are lots of really nice looking handguards on eBay and such - you just need to find some that have a mounting system that will clear your screen - and pick one that you like.  When I find the ones I want I'll post pics for other Xciting owners.  Knowing what will fit and clear the screen would help...

[axy]

p.s. I'll probably be going to your part of the woods some time next month, maybe January.. wanna grab a cup of sumthn?
I'll be there a lot after that, if all goes as planed.

Drop me a note, hope I will be in the country.

[fastnlight]

Good luck with heated grips on this scooter.  I tried it and found out that the throttle grip is combined with the throttle tube so that a complete grip and throttle assembly change would be required to integrate heated grips.  This is not a common way of putting things together and after doing many heated grip conversions was a surprise to me.  I ruined the stock throttle grip in the process of experimenting but at least a new factory grip was pretty cheap.  I ended up buying a nice set of Gerbing wireless rechargable heated gloves plus a pair of scooter hand guards and the combination is doing the trick for up to 6-8 hours of riding at a time. 

http://coreheat.net/Products/Heated%20S2%20Gloves.html

http://www.powermadd.com/products/PowerXScooter.html

[duesouth]

Heated gloves. Rockymountainatv sells them. I don't know that much about them. We have a power outlet. Been thinking about trying them.

[Dibber]

Years ago I made my own hippo hands.  Not the nicest looking but who cares as long as they worked.  With lined or insulated sewn onto the nylon fabric it would even be easier.  Mittens also work well when gloves are too cold.  You can also buy electric mittens that run on a separate battery pack.  Lastly you can buy these little heat packs that you open need the packet and it produces heat.  My wife puts them in her mittens and boots and she has never complained about cold again.  They last for several hours too.
Just watch out for black ice especially at intersections where cars exhaust makes the black ice.
Happy Trails!
Dibber

[streetdown]

I live in Florida!