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Handlebar muffs
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:16 pm
by BikerGran
Anyone used them? I've often thought of getting some but they look rather awkward to get hands in and out so I'm a bit doubtful....
Re: Handlebar muffs
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:39 pm
by Dalemac
BikerGran wrote:Anyone used them? I've often thought of getting some but they look rather awkward to get hands in and out so I'm a bit doubtful....
I have tried many varieties on the falco but none of them fitted correctly. Most of them don't leave much room for, say, steering. So i didn't bother. (not sure what they would be like on the trike....maybe go to stealer and try a pair on)
I have used them opn the gpz before now, and they worked brilliantly, combined with heated grips. Talk all the coldness out of winter riding.
I am going to be prototyping some wind deflectors for the falco pretty soon, to prevent most of the wind making my hands cold in the weather.
Dale
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:14 pm
by D-Rider
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:45 am
by BikerGran
Hm. It was just that were some on a special offer - maybe I'll wait and see cos I may be getting the bars changed.
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:23 pm
by flatlander
I had them many years ago on a cx 500 and they were great and that was with a bike and sidecar if that helps but they were right big old jobbies .... (don't worry Pete Andy or John will be along to mop up that comment no doubt

)
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:40 pm
by Aladinsaneuk
I have you know I am being well behaved
But nice to know you had a Plastic maggot fitted with a side car for muff diving purposes......
You must have been so proud Geoff!
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:45 pm
by MartDude
Had you considered hand guards as an alternative? Perhaps with heated gloves/grips? I've never been totally convinced that muffs are safe - I wouldn't want anything impeding me letting go in a hurry if I had to (like I did 3 years ago)
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:33 pm
by BikerGran
Hand guards will be a real possibility if get ordinary bars put on, good thinking! Not heated grips though - the GT is a bit electrically challenged anyway and I intend to drag a trailer which will mean more lights.
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:51 pm
by D-Rider
Do you not have room for a wood-burning stove on one of those things
.... just askin' ....
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:03 pm
by MartDude
BikerGran wrote:Hand guards will be a real possibility if get ordinary bars put on, good thinking! Not heated grips though - the GT is a bit electrically challenged anyway and I intend to drag a trailer which will mean more lights.
Some of the heated gloves are designed to run off rechargeable batteries if you don't want to plug into the bike electrics. E.g.
http://www.keisapparel.co.uk/#product-89
I've occasionally used my Klan gloves with heated inners. They work fine. I've never used heated grips, so I can't say how they compare with the gloves; however, as grips just warm the insides of your hands, while it's the outsides that get the cold wind-blast, I'd expect the gloves to be more effective, especially if paired with hand guards.
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:01 pm
by mangocrazy
I used heated grips and handlebar muffs for about 4-5 years when I needed to commute between Stafford and Solihull for work in all weathers, and I would agree that handlebar muffs do reduce your ability to respond quickly and can also cause brake drag at higher speeds.
However compared to trying to get icy fingers to operate clutch and brake levers, they win every time.
Hot grips in my view are heating the wrong parts (the palm) when it is the back of the hand that suffers from wind chill. Basically it's a motorcycle version of 'Baked Alaska' - (Google it). Which is why I would go for heated gloves every time if I were doing the same thing now. But I'm not, because I have more sense now...
If I were riding regularly in winter for distances greater than a few miles it would be heated gloves plus wind deflectors, every time.
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:13 pm
by D-Rider
I think that a couple of nice warm muffs might be the way to ensure riding happiness.
I already have the heated grips but to supplement them with a pair of muffs might result in toasty heaven.
..... which would then refocus attention on to the next cold area .... maybe toes or knees ..... and when we've sorted them all out we'll have nothing to divert our minds away from thoughts that the roads are so slippery with ice/frost/mud/diesel/a slurry of rock-salt and grit or whatever and there is no way we'll ever make it round the next corner ....
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:45 pm
by flatlander
Aladinsaneuk wrote:I have you know I am being well behaved
But nice to know you had a Plastic maggot fitted with a side car for muff diving purposes......
You must have been so proud Geoff!
Pete I believe Andy has summed it up perfectly
D-Rider wrote:I think that a couple of nice warm muffs might be the way to ensure riding happiness. ....
And Mart what is going on in your pipe tonight fella?
MartDude wrote:...- I wouldn't want anything impeding me letting go
MartDude wrote:I've occasionally used my Klan gloves ... I.
I cannot possibly be the only one thinking of Finnbarr Saunders tonight ... can I ?

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:24 pm
by D-Rider
I believe that the heating element in those is a blazing cross .....
..... and we're back to the wood-burning stove ....

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:59 pm
by snapdragon
I don't like the idea of barmuffs, they seem a bit restricting, handguards definitely make a difference though. I have them on PeggySue but I'd love to get some for the Raptor, if only there were more space on the bars to fit 'em.
Just got a pair of waterproof overmitts - hoping it will help keep the cold wind at bay as well as rain, and they're small enough to pack away in the near-non-existant underseat storage.