| Author | Message | ||
     Mtg |
I don't think anybody will see my post in the Quick Board archives, so have a look: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/406 2/307528.html?1203741895 | ||
| Azxb9r |
I got a pair of heated gloves for xmas, they make a huge difference. I also installed heated grips on my wifes bike, they are very nice too. The heated grips are nice because they are always with the bike... you can't get stuck out without them. The only down side is that they don't keep the back of your hands or finger tips warm. The gloves keep your whole hand warm, but they need to be plugged in. Not a huge hassle, but more work than the grips. I can usually keep my torso warm by layering, so heating my hands was my first priority when buying heated gear. | ||
| Mtg |
I didn't think I'd get good cold weather riding advice from somebody in Arizona  | ||
| Ulynut |
I have a Fieldsheer two-piece riding suit with a warm & safe heated jacket liner, Olympia gloves, and insulated work boots. The gloves are not heated. I have been riding all winter and have not had a problem. That jacket liner keeps my whole body warm. Some nights were in the single-digits. I give a lot of credit to the hand guards on the Ulysses also. | ||
| Metalstorm |
It's not a question of whether to get a heated vest OR heated grips. It's a question of which heated vest/jacket AND which heated grips to get. Seriously, If you have both you will be a verry happy cold weather rider. Polly heaters are under $40 and install inside the handle bars letting you use any grips you wish. They have two settings, hot and "OUCH". Hot grips sells a very small on/off/on switch that will fit inside the control housing like this  There are too many high quality vests and liners to mention. I have an Aerostich vest but I'm looking to upgrade to the Firstgear 90 watt liner (made by Warm & Safe)before next winter. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I have both. The grips are cheap and make a huge difference, but heated clothing in cold weather can't be replaced by layering. Even with the best insulation, the wind at speed strips off heat. The only way to replace that heat is with heated gear. Without it, hypothermia is merely a matter of time. Here's a cool wind chill calculator: http://www.csgnetwork.com/windchillcalc.html At 50* ambient going 70mph, it will feel like 38*. At 35* ambient going 70mph, it will feel like 16*. Insulation alone won't fix that. I have used both the Symtec Heated grips as well as the Polly Heaters. Both are less than $25. The Polly Heaters were hot as hell. I have the Aerostitch Kanetsu heated vest with zip off sleves. I really like it. Simple, well made, and effective. | ||
| Sweatmark |
Ditto the recommendation for both heated grips + gear; both are useful when conditions demand. Wife and I have used Aerostich Kanetsu, Widder, and Gerbings heated gear. My favorite is the Kanetsu heated fleece vest, while hers is the gerbings vest and jacket liner. We both have heated grips on our Beemers, and I've bought but not yet installed the Buell heated grips kit for my XB... the kit is very nicely done, BTW. As FB suggests, there's no way to ward off the chill during highway runs in cold weather, aside from bulky snowmobile suits. A heated vest makes all the difference. Read about it here: http://www.ironbutt.com/tech/aow.cfm?AOWID=6 http://pages.infinit.net/mcrides/cold_weather/ridi ng_tips.htm Another cold weather tool is a silk or synthetic balaclava. Works well for me as both thermodynamic and psychological tool. | ||
| Jackelfox |
assuming not ALL of you guys have Uly's, how/how easy is it to install an outlet to use heated clothes? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The way I have mine attached is in using th SAE connector harness that I use for my battery tender. IT doesn't matter if it's a Uly or not. Just attach it to the battery, hang it out the left side, and hook up your heated gear. | ||
| Jlnance |
assuming not ALL of you guys have Uly's, how/how easy is it to install an outlet to use heated clothes? Dito what Fatty said. I've got a tinder connection for my battery, and I plug the heated gear into that. | ||
| Azxb9r |
I didn't think I'd get good cold weather riding advice from somebody in Arizona Anything below 60 deg. is cold to me.  The way I have mine attached is in using th SAE connector harness that I use for my battery tender. Same here, the bike came with one when I bought it. How convenient is that? | ||
| Jlnance |
To answer your specific question, I think a vest will be more more helpful than heated grips. Thats probably true even though you say it's cold fingers that make you stop. If I'm wrong, I'll refund you the cost of my free advice.  But if you're fingers are getting cold there are a couple of specific things you might want to try. Wearing latex gloves under your riding gloves will help keep your fingers warm. Also, if you can fit the CityX handguards on your bike, it will keep the windblast off your fingers. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
You also have to look at the physiological issues going on. If your body core is losing heat, your body is is going to pull blood from your extremities to keep your body temp up. If you are using ONLY grips, you will still have cold hands if your body core is losing heat. If you use the vest, your body will be less likely to "steal" blood from your extremities to keep the core warm. Blood rushing form your core to your extremities will be warm, keeping your hands warmer. If you have to choose, go with the vest first. If you need the grips, you can get them completely hooked up for less than $45 (including heater kit and new grips). Less if you use the Polly Heaters since you don't have to remove the grips to install. | ||
| Bcool83 |
I know a bunch of people have said (not just on this board/thread) that latex gloves work well...and I can see how they would in theory...but I tried it today in 40* ambient temps, and I just didn't see it! All I got for my test was white powder all over everything... Oh well, maybe it's just me, or maybe the gloves are too cheap! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
You do have to wear them UNDER your other gloves.  | ||
| Jlnance |
These are supposed to be rain gear, but I found they were fantastic for keeping my hands warm.  http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Rain-Covers-p- 1-c-443.html BTW, you can also get heated gloves, which will keep both sides of your hands warm. The heated grips only keep the bottoms warm. Most heated vests have connections for plugging in the gloves, and pants for that matter. So if you start with the vest, you can augment your collection over time. | ||
| Jackelfox |
Bcool83 i have experienced the exact same thing. The latex didnt do anything for me! im not calling others liars.. but my experience was that they are useless | ||
| Metalstorm |
What Jlnance posted is excellent! I totally forgot that before i had heated grips & hand guards, what I loved most about my Winter Elite gloves was that they had built in rain covers of the three fingered variety very much like the Aeorstich ones. On the really cold mornings I would whip those on over the Elites and they made a HUGE difference. They blocked out rain decently enough but boy did they help block out the cold air. | ||
| Ccryder |
I find with my Gerbings jacket liner I can get by with much lighter gloves because my arms are heated and my hands via blood flow. This is MUCH more even than the heated grips. Heated grips are nice but don;t hold a candle to the overall warmth a good jacket liner can give you. Neil S. | ||
| Mtg |
Thanks for the advice, I think I'll start with the vest. It makes total sense that a warmer body core = warmer extremities. I will probably also end up putting heated grips on eventually as well based on the responses. But to get me from now until when the mornings are warm again, the vest should do the trick. Btw, Azxb9r, it almost hit 60 today in Denver. I considered that pretty warm and went for a road bike ride Different perspectives.... (Message edited by mtg on February 24, 2008) | ||
| Azxb9r |
Seriously... it's not always hot here. Winter temps. get down in the low 30s. Right now we are in the winter-spring transition. Afternoon highs well into the 70s, but morning lows are still high 30s and low 40s. If you go torso first, you may want to consider the full jacket liner instead of the vest. Later, if you want to add gloves, they will plug into the sleeves of the liner. If you have the vest, you would need to run wires down to the gloves. Warm-n-safe makes a liner called the "Calentito" that is designed for bikes with smaller charging systems. It is 65W instead of the normal 90-100W. I am thinking about one for next year. | ||
| Jaimec |
You have to understand how the body reacts to the cold to make an intelligent decision. Your body is designed to keep your body core warm (chest and head), and if necessary, expend your extremities. When your body core drops below a certain temperature, your blood vessels will start restricting blood flow to your hands and feet to keep the warm blood where it is more important. So when your hands feel cold, it's because your BODY has lost too much heat. A good electric vest and proper layering often makes additional heating for your hands and feet unnecessary. In the coldest weather we've had here in New York, I've layered up my polypropylene long johns, and my Kanetsu Airvantage Electric vest under my Roadcrafter suit along with a pair of Olympia winter gauntlets. That's all I've needed (no electric gloves, no heated grips). I suppose if the temperature dropped below 20 I'd need additional heat for my hands but in the upper 20's and above what I've described has been enough. Occasionally I'll feel my fingertips getting cold. At the same time, I'll almost always notice that I'm gripping the handlebars REALLY tightly at the time. This also cuts off circulation to the hands! The cure is to relax your grip and loosen up, then wiggle your fingers to get the blood flowing again. It's natural to tense up in the cold... it's one of the body's defenses for conserving blood flow. Now for full disclosure, I DO have electric grips on my BMW, and I do use them on those times I get caught by surprise when the temperature drops unexpectedly (usually at nightfall). Then the heated grips are better than nothing at all... but I really wish I'd thought to pack my electric vest when I went out that morning! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I like having heated grips for those in between times when I don't have heavier gloves on or just don't want to wear them. We climbed into the mountains last spring. It was in the 70's in the valley. It was in the 40's on the mountain. I didn't have winter gear. It was nice to flip the switch and have warm hands. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Agreed with the Ft_bstrd... especially when you can wire in a $30 set of polly grip heater cartridges and have a completely non invasive and non wearing grip heater solution. Its a dirt cheap and highly reliable modification. My first gear passive insulating liner is so warm it seems impossible. Some sort of fancy sliverized mylar looking kind of thing. | ||
| Mtg |
I got a Tour Master heated jacket liner (not the vest) and tried it out tonight in some nice cold riding. Wow, it worked well, no cold hands, no cold legs and toasty core. | ||
| Jaimec |
Reepicheep: If you think that liner works well, try it with an electric vest! It's like Florida in the summer time reflecting back the additional heat from the vest itself. It uses the same principle those old "Space Blankets" used... silver reflective material to reflect back your body's radiant heat while blocking the airflow that could steal your body heat away. Only problem is that it is useless in protecting you from heat conducted away by physical contact (like lying on the cold ground). At least as a jacket liner you have the leather acting somewhat as an insulator. | ||
| Chipper6 |
A little late in the conversation but thought I would add. I've been shopping and found that Gerbings offers a Lifetime warranty on the heating elements in their products. I couldn't find that in any other product line. chad | ||
| Ccryder |
One other highlight of Gerbings is they have NEVER charged me for any repairs or modifications. I am wearing the same jacket liner for the past seven years. They have changed plugs, fixed connections and, replaced a zipper all for zero, zip, nada, $0.00 and, in less than 3 days turn-around. They have my business, for life, I can't ask for anything more. Just color me satisfied. Neil S. |
