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which do you prefer

3K views 12 replies 13 participants last post by  ChikkenNoodul 
#1 ·
It is fast approaching cold riding season and I would like to keep my digits warm this winter, so my question is do you like gloves or heated grips ? and which brand. wilbur-j
 
#2 ·
Take the time to practice with gloves on first!

It is fast approaching cold riding season and I would like to keep my digits warm this winter, so my question is do you like gloves or heated grips ? and which brand. wilbur-j

Wilbur-j,

I would like to share something with you that happened to me last year. I hope it saves one of you from having a problem this year.

First of all, I teach folks how to ride motorcycle every weekend. As a result, I get a lot of time to practice my quick stopping skills. I even take the time to play with my V-Strom to make sure I can stop it quickly and safely.

Well last year we had a very cold day here in Florida. Was down in the mid 30's. I grabbed by heavy insulated gloves, but first put some glove liners in to keep my hands toasty warm on the way to work.

On the way in, a person decided to stop, for whatever reason right in the middle of a 55 mile per hour posted section. I mean they brought their vehicle to a complete stop, blocking the traffic lane. Fortunately I had left myself lots of room, as I was coming to a stop, I both felt and heard the front wheel on my Strom lock up. I immediately let off the pressure, but it had caught me by surprise.

I've never practice in heavily insulated gloves and glove liners! It does make a difference!

Just thought you'd like to take that into consideration.



 
#3 ·
I hate cold hands. I have both heated grips and heated gloves. The gloves heat more area but the grips provide more heat into what I consider the most important part of the hand. The gloves and vest are Widder and the grips are HotGrips. When using all three, I have to disconnect a headlight to get enough voltage for proper heat. ABS brakes take care of Fl-Strom's situation.
 
#4 ·
I have found heated grips & handguards to be more than adequate for temps down to -15°F with the right gloves, avoid snowmobile gloves, they are designed for thumb throttle and are bulky in the palms, get good "motorcycle" winter gloves, relatively thin insulation on the palm for good feel, and good heat transferance from the grip to the hand, thick insulation on the back of the gloves

I also recommend getting the gloves so they fit a little loose, then you have the extra room to stuff a disposable handwarmer down the back if extra heat is needed



 
#5 ·
Depends on how cold you get but I have found Large Hand guards work with summer gloves down till 55f. Insulated gloves with heated grips are good down till low 40's. Below that get a good pair of heated gloves. I prefer gerbings, but their are others. Gerbings is also releasing a new glove in a few months that will have micro mesh (developed for the military), instead of small wires. Its probably worth the wait.

A good heated jacket, and gloves will keep you warm through freeezing. Keep your core warm, and everything else will follow.

The cheapest best solution is hippo hands with heated grips, and a pair of mildly insulated winter gloves.

As far as grips go I used the $30 dual stars with a waterproof switch. They work good and take the edge off if your riding at night, or if its raining. I would put these on irregardless of whatever else you get. You can also get more expensive heated grips that have more than Low-High temperature control. However all will leave the back of your hands feeling cold. Either way once you have heated grips you will never go back. Put them on, and enjoy!
 
#6 ·
FWIW, I prefer Gerbing gloves over heated grips... but both if the bike has the juice.

AGirl
 
#8 ·
Hi Wilbur,

I didn't buy the heated grips when I bought my bike and I wear gloves for a reason instead. When I ride, I keep two fingers on my right hand on the brake lever because someone's natural reaction when danger suddenly appears is to clench up....this way, you already have a head start for quick stopping. I also have one finger on my left on the flasher switch and the second on the horn button. This way when someone is getting ready to cross my path as in turning left in front of me or coming from a side road, I give the 3-4 quick bursts of the highbeams to make myself more visible to them or hopefully, make them realize that a motorcycle is there since folks brains are wired for seeing cars and not bikes.......so for me, gloves are the only way I can keep my hands warm.....there is one other way and that's to drive one of the cars<LOL>!! Just be sure to pay attention to what fl_ is saying---make sure they are flexible and not armor covered to where you can't have a feel for the levers!!

Good luck,

Jeff
 
#9 ·
BMW Pro Winter gloves

I have a set of the BMW Pro Winter Gloves and they do a great job. On a couple of long cold rides I did decide that I wanted some actual heat so I have installed HotGrips over the rubber handles but under some grip puppies. I will not know the full result until winter but given the heat they generated I think it will be a nice improvement. The gloves aren't cheap (BMW duh) but they do work very well and keep the hands dry.

I went ahead and got some of those silk inner gloves cause I was blowing money anyway and figured what the hell. I honestly can't say they do much to add to the warmth but they do allow you to get into and out of them thick gloves much easier when your hands are damp (think pulling the credit card from the wallet at the gas station). I think they ran about 10 bucks or so.

The other thing that is nice about these gloves is the how far up the arm they reach. They go completely over the First Gear Kilimanjaro Air which keeps all them little places by the wrist from getting cold.
 
#10 ·
Heck, I just switch back to riding the Venture.:rolleyes:

My hands are nice and warm down to about 30° with the fairing blocking most of the wind. I don't like thick, bulky gloves. I wear fairly thin winter gloves with silk liners. The silk adds a lot more insulation that you'd think.

One thing for sure, it's important to keep our hands warm enough so they're flexible just like others have said here. I always wear gloves, even when it's 100°+, but it still takes me a bit to get used to the additional bulk going from summer to winter gloves.




.
 
#11 ·
I'm not a fan of insulated gloves at all while riding. I've got some Alpinestars DryStars, and use them when I need them, but prefer leather riding gloves for the extra 'feel' they allow on the controls. I'm currently looking at heated grips, as I want to minimize the ammount of stuff to disconnect when dismounting.
 
#13 ·
My first winter riding in Boston I used heavy ski gloves and they worked pretty well down into the single digits(Fingers got cooold below that) - but this was on my XJ750 which was a portable space heater.

Last winter on the 'strom, I felt like the handguards did nothing to help and my fingers froze instantly - I resorted to using those little heating packets on the colder days. I'm thinking I'd want some heated handgrips this winter.
 
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