keeping your hands warm this winter!

[banjoboy]

+1 for the Oxford grip warmerz. :thumbup:
I also gotta larger Cee Bailey windscreen for winter and Cheap ass Sedici electric jacket liner from Cycle Gear. @ $150 for jacket & controller, it's prolly not the best out there, butt it is the best value. :BLAA:

 

[AdamFZ]

Right, just purchased Oxford muffs... hopefully this will help my freezing fingers out.

Its was -3c today + wind chill = freckin cold !!

 

[MattR302]

I bought a pair of the Tusk Mitts, put them on the other day. I have the stock bar ends, but I had a machinist I work with drill and tap the center of the hex to accept an M5 screw. $2 at the hardware store for a couple stainless M5x20mm screws and a couple stainless fender washers. After deciding where I wanted them to fasten them to the bar ends, I melted a hole in them for the screws. I just held a nail with a pair of vice grips, heated it up with a torch, and poked it through the fabric.

I haven't installed my Symtec grip heaters yet, but with just the mitts and my regular leather gloves, I was fine on my 20-25 minute commute to work in the low-mid 40s.

 

[njbill]

MattR302,
Nice job on the mitts. I have a similar setup and it works well. :thumbup:

 

[pookamatic]

I made smaller oval openings and used magnets to lock in the ends. You can see I went further in on the brake side covering the reservoir.

View attachment 46009

View attachment 46010

Even with this, I've had issues on the highway and speeds above 50 mph. They were collapsing on the controls causing a very unsafe situation. 1) it limited my ability to reach the controls quickly, 2) "applied" the brake/clutch slightly leaving the brake light intermittently illuminated, and 3) actually hit the cutoff switch while on the highway!

Not sure how others have got on without much fuss. Based on my experience, Tusk Mitts are for scooters and mopeds.

To remedy, I cut an old style wire coat hanger to length and jammed them in between the two rivets. This forces a good solid leading edge. Works safely now up to... well let's just I tested them at speed and haven't had a single collapse since.

 

[njbill]

Even with this, I've had issues on the highway and speeds above 50 mph. They were collapsing on the controls causing a very unsafe situation. 1) it limited my ability to reach the controls quickly, 2) "applied" the brake/clutch slightly leaving the brake light intermittently illuminated, and 3) actually hit the cutoff switch while on the highway!

Not sure how others have got on without much fuss. Based on my experience, Tusk Mitts are for scooters and mopeds.

During my first winter, I also did the brace; not because I had any problems but because I always go overkill on projects. During the warm months, I added hand guards. Now, I go right over the hand guards with the mitts.

Here is a link to the hand guards I have. LINK

 

[pookamatic]

Now, I go right over the hand guards with the mitts.

Here is a link to the hand guards I have. LINK

These I gotta have. Thanks!

 

[kreed0501]

+1 on the Gerbings heated gloves. After getting my first bike ('08 FZ6) about six weeks ago, I've been debating how much I'm willing to spend to ride in our "harsh" Texas winters. I did not want to lose the 3-5 weeks of riding just because the temps in the morning dip into the 20s. But my hands have been ice blocks and in pain. So, yesterday I bit the bullet and bought some Gerbing G3s at Lone Star BMW here in Austin ($170ish w/ tax). Let me just say that my 45-min., mostly 70mph commute in 25 degree chilliness was perfectly comfortable and my hands did not even notice the cold! I was too cheap to buy the on/off switch or the temp controller and used them wired straight to the battery, so I had no control over the amount of heat they put out. At least this morning, it was NOT a problem...I wanted it ALL. I should mention also that I bought the gloves a little large so that I could wear liners if needed, but I did not use the liners this morning, so hopefully that gives you and idea of how well they worked. One glitch occurred when I used their recommended 3-amp fuse, and the gloves stopped working during my test ride last night. Checking the fuse I found it blown and had to upgrade to the 5-amp they had also provided. Problem solved (so far).

 

[MattR302]

I was too cheap to buy the on/off switch or the temp controller and used them wired straight to the battery, so I had no control over the amount of heat they put out.

Do an Ebay search for "LED dimmer", you'll find options for a heat controller. These are PWM (pulse width modulating) controllers, they essentially cycle it on and off at high frequencies to control the heat, more time on = more heat. You don't want to use a resistor to lower the heat, because you're not saving power at low heat, and resistors large enough to handle the current are real expensive.

I purchased one of these to use for my homemade heated jacket, but haven't tested it out. Some guys on ADV have though.
New DC 12V 8A LED Light Dimmer Adjustable Bright Brightness Controller | eBay

I also made a cheap high-low-off controller a while ago, with a 3 position center-off switch, and a small radioshack project box. High is full power, low goes through a turn signal flasher, for a ~50% on-off cycle.