Hot hands: heated grips or gloves?
 

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my buddy has a sled with heated grips in my shed and has tried to show me how they work a few times and without any gloves on i cant feel the warmth coming from them but he says when riding u can tell. based on that i would go with the gloves over the grips

what kind of temps are we talking?

Heated grips work til it's about 40F if you wear thinner gloves but a good insulated glove will keep you from feeling them at all. Heated gloves are ok but I don't like the disconnect I feel with them due to the liner.

A good heated jacket will keep your hands warm. It heats the blood in your arms which is turn warm your hands. I've commuted right down into the teens with a Gerbings heated jacket and a pair of over pants and while I got chilly, I was never cold. It's best to stay a little chilly because if you sweat, you'll freeze.

that being said, if you're looking to take the bite out of a cool morning in warmer weather, grips work very well.

Gloves or heated grips? How about heated gloves?

http://cozywinters.com/shop/wg-mhlg.html

I have heated grips, and they're WAY better than using insulated gloves, which are bulky and interfere with nice shifting/braking.

I have oxford heated grip WRAPS... They're easily removable... As they wrap OVER the gripsa... And. Work great. Used them in combo with gauntlets when I rode to Omaha in Dec... And on the current trip from Omaha. Took them off today in AR as it was 65

here's a picture of me keeping my hands warm this winter...

Heated grips!

Just make sure you install and wrap them properly or one gets hotter than the other.

I'd go with gloves and have heat all over my hands.

Doesn't matter how well insulated my body is, my hands will still get cold when its 30F or lower. I even bought some thick winter riding gloves. They fit snug, not tight and my hands still get cold. Wish I could find some clip on handle wind deflectors.

Well if we're really talking wanting to be warm you should go for a heated vest over grips or gloves because it sends out warm blood to your extremities. ;)

But I think the grips are much better since you can wear whatever gloves you want AND heated gloves are cumbersome.

My hands are the only thing that gets cold. Wearing a heated vest wont help me if I'm already warm. I'll just be hot. Your heart will only pump as much blood as it's told to at a specific rate. I have less than stellar blood flow in my hands and my arteries aren't that big.

Apparently I'm not the only one who can't read...

have you considered glove liners? They are cheap and actually do a very good job of keeping your hands warm.

Heated,
http://www.brookstone.com/battery-he...ve-liners.html

Non-Heated
http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/e...ve/1006610-002

Silk-very thin but effective,
http://www.amazon.com/Terramar-S491-...ef=pd_sim_sg_4

Heated grips are okay... But they only work as well as you can keep the wind off your hands. Down through about 35 degrees, heated grips and insulated gloves are great. Below that, I've tried insulated leather gloves, uninsulated leather gloves with the silk/wool/UA liners, and either combination with grip heaters. After a while, the cold wind always bleeds through. Those battery powered liners look great (and reasonably priced at $50), since I DO NOT want to be wired to my bike.

Gerbings does have some battery powered gear, but it's not meant for riding- it doesn't have as many heating elements. If you had the right battery pack though, you could run their moto-specific stuff without wiring to the bike.
Moto Glove Liners: http://gerbing.com/Products/Gloves/liner.html
Moto Jacket Liner: http://gerbing.com/Products/Liners/h...cketLiner.html
Battery Jacket Liner: http://www.gerbing.com/coreheat.net/...%20Jacket.html

There are also Hippo Hands (http://www.hippohands.com/Hippo%20Hands.htm) and bark busters...

I'm in the same boat that you are. I rode to work the past two days with the temps in the high 20's, and after 30 minutes, the tips of my fingers were numb. I spoke with a dealer who rides year round, and his preference was heated grips. I think I'm gonna buy a pair just to see how they do. I hate the idea of heated gloves being attached to the bike. I'm so scatter brained, I would rip the cord out the first time I used them.

That is unless I can find out where Tigger got the hand warmers in his pic. I don't know how they would look on the bike, but I'm willing to try :tremble:

Personally I think electric gloves would be stupid. They wouldn't have enough "feel" as regular race gloves, and they'd have a wire hooked up to them. Nobody I know uses them. Heated grips are enough. The back of your hands don't get all that cold, that part of the glove always has more protection anyway.

I have heated grips on 3 of my bikes. As noted even with insulated gloves at 30 or below the backs of your hands get cold. The upside particularly here in New England where we have WIDE temp swings through the course of the day is that the heated grips are always on the bike. Nothing extra to carry or plug in. So if I ride starts in the morning before sunrise you can wear a light pair of gloves and a low setting you are good later in the day you shut the grips off and no extra baggage. If a trips stretches into the evening and it gets cool or cold again turn them on and it is great.
I would recommend the Oxford product. Their base package has 5 settings for heat. I installed those on the B King. I have Hot Grips ($69) on the Busa they have a Hi Lo and off. That translates to not quite enough or Damn that is hot. So when I ride that bike I wind up switching back and forth not really a problem and for another $39 they will sell you a variable controller. Vs The Oxford Grip Package (not the wrap) which was $70 for the package.
Again for me because I am a bit lazy and don't want to carry a bunch of extra gear the heated grips are the right choice.
I am also considering for the B King http://cozywinters.com/shop/heated-motorcycle-seat.html
Say what you want the heated seat makes all the difference on the Goldwing

Yea that's why I always used silk liners and they are get super small when it warms up during the day... To be honest, I LOVE to ride but as I've gotten older, I've decided that there is such a thing as "quality" of ride and I'm not feeling it when I have to be terrified of every shimmer on the road and I'm bundled up, barely able to move freely... Of course, that's just me but I can always ride another day if it's below about 50 degrees...

new first gear thermaflex gloves are good to about 45

heated grips with above gloves are good to about 35-40

moose racing paw gauntlets with above are good well below 25, I haven't taken the bike out below that because my other gear gets a lot colder first

Hell, I used race gloves with nothing else for plenty of 35-40 degree rides to work........Is it optimal, no, but I don't see the big deal unless you're riding longer than half an hour. If you are, then just add some grip warmers. Fuck thick gloves, they suck.

Yes anything thing that Keeps the wind off the back of your hands is going to greatly improve the performance of gloves or heated grips. For Suzuki riders you can adapt the Hand protectors from a V Strom pretty easily to any of their sport bikes. I am sure that Dirt Riders my have some other suggestions,

The Moose gauntlets work good... But the hippo hands work better. They're the same idea... Just hippo hands are larger... Both in how much of your arm they cover and how much of the handle bar or clip on they cover.

They can make using the controls difficult but you get used to it... Or atleast I did

You live in California.

Your views on heated anything, are pretty much useless. :lol:

JC

FTFY

I use Gerbings heated gloves for anything less than 38 degrees on the BMW's or below 45 on the motard (no protection)

Heated grips are GREAT for slightly chilly weather, but the wind hits the OUTSIDE of your hand and not the inside. I've found that regular racing gloves with heated grips feel good...but below 38 the inside of your palm maybe toasty while outside of your hand is damn near frost-bitten.

The Gerbing gloves are thicker than my gauntlet gloves, but nothing like cold weather gloves, so they are manageable. I recently bought some heated pants and socks and hope to give those a shot on the ride to Barber in the next few weeks.

I'm quite sure we get more cold nights & mornings than Georgia ever does. The whole "Mediterrenean climate" thing is only true within 2 miles of the beach. Go beyond that and you're fucked.

You and me both! I don't need some stupid "I rode in "winter" award" like a lot of people seem to need. :td:

I don't enjoy anything about a ride where I spend more of my mental energy focused on staying warm than on enjoying the ride.

Hence why I (personally) HAVE heated gear. WITH it...there is no fatigue associated with shivering, or mental drain. The RIGHT heated gear can be as comforting as an electric blanket. As a matter of fact, the days I commute on the bike in the cold weather, I arrive at the office a great deal warmer than the days I take the cage. And I typically STAY warmer thruout the day, where I'm normally a little chilly in the office.

Meh. I don't live in a locale that offers year round ride (despite what others might say). It's a fact of my life that I have to put the bike away in the fall and get it out in spring. :shrug:

True.....and that would drive me NUTS. use too...(before Al Gore sent us into a polar nuclear winter) we would get the occational 70 degree day in Jan/feb and it'd be on like donkey king, so the bikes are always ready...but this year it's been 50's that bring all the bikes out

Before I had heated grips I didn't like to ride below 40. After the heated grips I can comfortably ride down to 30, with my winter gloves on of course.

Another thing I LOVED about heated grips is that getting caught in the rain isn't so miserable. Even in the summer, I don't have rain resistant gloves so even temps in the 60's with rain they really made a difference.

And is that typical? I lived in North Carolina, and I'd say it only went into the 20's like 30-40 days a year.

And here in CA, the nights can be cold even in the middle of the summer. Not so in the South.

Regardless, I've never had a problem with the BACK of my hands. It's the palm and fingers that get cold with me, which is why heated grips work great.

Excellent question! I live in NC now and although some mornings it is that cold it doesn't stay that way long. We've had a cold winter though compared to most years.. It was 60 yesterday! :)

Yep and I rode from about 11am to 4 pm!!!!!! Other than some sandy spots it was fucking AWESOME!!!

I think you'll be fine. My heated grips keep most of my hand warm. It's the two fingers on each hand that stay out on the levers that freeze.

I commute all year long as long as there isn't snow and ice on the road. I've tried everything you can think of to keep warm. Started out with big insulated gloves. Then I added heated grips, which helped a ton, but my hands still got cold below 40F or so. Now I've moved on to a heated jacket/glove combo along with my heated grips and I can say without a doubt I should have done it sooner.

It was 23 this morning and with my heated jacket my body stays warm and the heated grips/gloves combo work together to keep my hands warm. The grips heat the bottom of your hand and the gloves heat the top side. Works like a charm.

I've got Warm & Safe heated gear, btw.

:rockwoot: Now add electric socks and it's like riding in a warm bath :lmao: But I feel like NEO in the matrix plugged into the bike like that

heated grips with hippo hands ftw

Heated jacket liner with glove plug-ins at the wrist.

I'm with Krabill on this one, should have done it years ago.

WTF is with you, "Don't like being wired to the bike people"? :lol:

What you think might happen?

JC

Well I don't Like being wired to the Bike because I am a CLUTZ and likely to walk away breaking the wire. Which is not to say electric gears is not great ,, I am simply not comfortable with it for my application.

I walk away while connected all the time. :lol:

With the older SAE plugs, it was an issue, because those bastards DO NOT come apart easily. The newer "Barrel" style plugs, pop right out when you put some pressure on them.

On the Duc, I installed a small "waterproof" bulk-head connector in the side panel. Flip the trap door open, and plug in. I rewired my battery tender with a matching barrel connector, so I can plug that into the same spot, without fucking around with the seat, or dangling wires.

JC

I walk away from the sled with my heated shield plugged in all the time and get yanked back :lol:

It was 20F when I left the house this morning. I wouldn't have ridden without my heated gear. 32F was about my limit with the heated grips alone and I'd still be a popsicle by the time I made the 13 mile trip into work. With my heated gear, I could have ridden all day today if I didn't have work to do. I was nice and toasty the whole way in.

Not much to "build".

Get one of these:

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k.../connector.jpg

Wire it up to your battery, (I run mine though a fuse link first).

Drill a hole where you want it, and plug in:

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...ie/plugged.jpg

You'll have to replace the SAE plug on your battery tender, with a barrel connector. Just make sure the connector sizes on the heated gear are the same as the one you install on the tender, and you're set to go.

JC