heated grips

[hywaystar]

first winter riding for me here in the northeast part of new jersey .my heated grips do not always feel hot enough on highest setting. anyone with same .any solution or something i can check.thank you.

 

[Rotten Ralph]

My solution was heated gloves - the grips don't seem to do much for the back of my hands and fingers.

 

[Bill Hagan]

hywaystar wrote:

first winter riding for me here in the northeast part of new jersey .my heated grips do not always feel hot enough on highest setting. anyone with same .any solution or something i can check.thank you.

In what passes for "serious" cold here--something that we actually do have in the South; remember that the song Dixie begins with "Early on one frosty morn'"--the heated grips are of little help. Ralph is right; at least to someone breaks the code on hand guards that work for the Norge, one needs heated gloves.

The heated grips are fine down to probably the 30/40F break, but after that, little effect, IMO, and why I break out the electric stuff for any lengthy cold-weather rides and even short commutes in the 30's, much less lower.

Do think that if one could find winter gloves with a great wind-block and insulating features on the outside with thin layer on the palm side, one might be able to OK with heated grips alone. My experience, however has been (and I'm to m/c gloves what Imelda marcos was to shoes! :whistle: ), the ones that make wind blast bearable are too thick in the palms to permit the heated grips to work. 'Course, with our ever-reachable Mandello Mittens (the valve covers! :laugh: ), we have some additional relief handy (so to speak).

Bill

 

[cmgies]

Something that worked well for me on my trip was the Aerostich glove covers: http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Aer ... 16447.html. With my regular gloves, these rain covers and my heated grips, I was pretty comfy.

Michael

 

[john zibell]

This may be a little off topic, but all the bravado aside for riding in cold weather, electric gear is great for your comfort in cold weather riding. Being comfortable when you ride is very important to alertness and to reducing fatigue.

What is more important is the temperature of your tires. When tires reach their glass point, traction is lost. Also the closer you get to their glass point, the less traction is available. Motorcycle tire compounds have a glass point somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees F (-7 to -1 degrees C ). Once the temp goes below 32 F (0 C), I park it. Not to say I haven't ridden when air temps were much lower, but with ignorance and luck I got by.

Conversely, Motorcycle tires have their maximum adhesion at about 212 F or 100 C core temp. So you can imagine that as you approach freezing or get to sub freezing the amount of traction loss.

 

[NeroGuzzi]

Bill Hagan wrote:

, the ones that make wind blast bearable are too thick in the palms to permit the heated grips to work.

My theory is heated grips, thin windproof winter gloves, and handguards will be enough to keep hands from freezing in 30+ degree weather for about 45-60 mins.

I agree with Bill. My winter (too thick) gloves degrade the effectiveness of heated grips. It seems with thinner gloves and an insert, the grips make the palms toasty, but the back of the fingers still get cold. I recently ordered thinner, windproof, waterproof gloves to hopefully find a happy medium (http://shop.shiftracing.com:80/ecomm/Pr ... 00001F.jpg). I'm still waiting for them to arrive. I will post whether or not this combination does the trick.

Now, I also talked to MI about the compatibility of Aprilia Dorsoduro handguards. They will be getting a Dorsoduro soon and will see if the handguards will fit a B11/Norge. The Dorsoduro handguards are under $70 for the set and mount to the mirrors like the Camponord handguards.

I have the heated grips installed. I'm waiting for the gloves and handguards to test this theory. Having said all that, heated gloves would probably be the smartest option. I just don't want more to do every time I jump on the bike.

 

[Bill Hagan]

john zibell wrote:

This may be a little off topic, but all the bravado aside for riding in cold weather, electric gear is great for your comfort in cold weather riding. Being comfortable when you ride is very important to alertness and to reducing fatigue.

What is more important is the temperature of your tires. When tires reach their glass point, traction is lost. Also the closer you get to their glass point, the less traction is available. Motorcycle tire compounds have a glass point somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees F (-7 to -1 degrees C ). Once the temp goes below 32 F (0 C), I park it. Not to say I haven't ridden when air temps were much lower, but with ignorance and luck I got by.

Conversely, Motorcycle tires have their maximum adhesion at about 212 F or 100 C core temp. So you can imagine that as you approach freezing or get to sub freezing the amount of traction loss.

Hey, you safety stick-in-the-mud with your common-sensical party-pooping, have mercy. Bravado keeps me warm. ;P

Seriously, that is a timely and good point. Moreover, I've often wondered about at what point m/c tires became "useless" because of cold.

FWIW, I rarely start out if the temps won't at least be in upper 40's or more in the afternoon, and, even then, even more rarely if start point is at or below 32. In Atlanta's Third World government, a broken water main can make riding in town more exciting than one wants. :woohoo: And, to extent it helps, I also ride gingerly first few miles.

I'll be even more careful now. That said, John, using the figures you do about max traction, I'm beginning to wonder if it's even safe to ride in the middle of the summer.

Thanks.

Bill

 

[Brian UK]

Seems to me that a decent fairing/handlebar design which kept the windblast off the hands would have been the best solution. But Italian design has always been form over function. :angry:

Keep the windchill factor out of the equasion, and keeping your hands warm suddenly becomes far easier.

 

[DanR]

Had the same problem on my Norge,they just didn't seem hot enough in cold weather last year riding the Blue Ridge in November. I solved the problem by accident one day by putting on my summer gloves instead of the heavy ones. Bingo ! It let the heat come through to the point of uncomfortable if left on high. Get a pair of Warm weather gloves that have armor on the the back side it helps with the wind chill on the back of the hands. I have 2 pairs of Teknic Chicane short gloves that I like a lot and wear year round.

 

[Zapa]

Ahhh the winter.

This setup is good enough for snowy days.

 

[john zibell]

Bill Hagan wrote:


I'll be even more careful now. That said, John, using the figures you do about max traction, I'm beginning to wonder if it's even safe to ride in the middle of the summer.

Thanks.

Bill[/quote]

Actually it is safe. Tire pressure impacts tire temperature. As the tire flexes, it warms. It is just when the ambient is below 30 and the pavement is cold, the tire cools just about as fast as it warms.

 

[DanR]

Had the same problem on my Norge,they just didn't seem hot enough in cold weather last year riding the Blue Ridge in November. I solved the problem by accident one day by putting on my summer gloves instead of the heavy ones. Bingo ! It let the heat come through to the point of uncomfortable if left on high. Get a pair of Warm weather gloves that have armor on the the back side it helps with the wind chill on the back of the hands. I have 2 pairs of Teknic Chicane short gloves that I like a lot and wear year round.

 

[NeroGuzzi]

Zapa wrote:

Ahhh the winter.

This setup is good enough for snowy days.

Zapa: With those mitts, you could put a blade on the front of the Guzzi and plow snow. I'm curious, where did you pick those up?

 

[hywaystar]

Thanks to all for some great info and insite on cold weather riding!

 

[Zapa]

NeroGuzzi wrote:Zapa: With those mitts, you could put a blade on the front of the Guzzi and plow snow. I'm curious, where did you pick those up?[/quote]
I thought about it

Those are made by Tucano Urbano. Click on Hand Grip to see the different models.
http://www.tucanourbano.it/main/termoscud.aspx

 

[Bill Hagan]

This didn't seem worth a new thread, and barely qualifies in the "tech" category, but it's close enough to this subject than any other, so here goes.

For some reason, tho I do try to focus on a light grip on the handles, I still managed to wear my Norge's rubber grips down. At the 20K or so mark, I had uneven wear and, worse (and why I post it here), actually exposed some of the heating elements of the heating unit.

I figure I must be grabbing 'em hard while screaming in my helmet during some ... erm ... truly stupid riding. It happens. :woohoo:

Anyway, what to do? One could buy new grips. I did. From MPH. About $67. Actually, not bad. But, I was worried about screwing up installation with only a day at home after Texas before launching to Grandbabies, Virginia. So, I poked around in the garage and found some of that "X-Treme" tape I 'd bought for I don't remember what.

http://www.aerostich.com/product.php?pr ... FQod2C9f_Q

Perfect.

I'll get around to replacing the grips one of these days, but in a pinch, this stuff is great. Lasted about 4K miles now. The heat actually seals it better.

Lordy, I almost feel like a techie when I post stuff like this.

Bill