Cold Hands | GTAMotorcycle.com

Cold Hands

WestBrantKid

WestBrantKid

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With the weather warming up, I'm looking to commute, on nicer days, on my bike. I didn't get my winter ride re-assembled this season, and without winter tires I didn't want to ride on cold wet roads, so I'll be using my summer ride without the heated grips and Bark Busters. I could move my Bark Busters over to my summer bike, but I want to avoid that if I can.

My question is, what are some tips, or tricks you all know of for keeping your hands warmer on long commutes, without spending cash or accessorizing the bike (I did that to my winter bike). The clutch hand is easy, just sit on it. But the throttle hand has to stay exposed.

One great tip I heard, which doesn't work on my Katana, is to place your hands on the engine every time you're stopped in traffic.
I also tried latex gloves under winter gloves, but that didn't work.
 
WestBrantKid said:
With the weather warming up, I'm looking to commute, on nicer days, on my bike. I didn't get my winter ride re-assembled this season, and without winter tires I didn't want to ride on cold wet roads, so I'll be using my summer ride without the heated grips and Bark Busters. I could move my Bark Busters over to my summer bike, but I want to avoid that if I can.

My question is, what are some tips, or tricks you all know of for keeping your hands warmer on long commutes, without spending cash or accessorizing the bike (I did that to my winter bike). The clutch hand is easy, just sit on it. But the throttle hand has to stay exposed.

One great tip I heard, which doesn't work on my Katana, is to place your hands on the engine every time you're stopped in traffic.
I also tried latex gloves under winter gloves, but that didn't work.
Click to expand...
Throttle rockers and vista cruise allow you to vary your hand position (and easily ride with a fist to keep you fingers out of the wind).
 
If you do not want to spend any money.
The best tip I can provide is to simply deal with it. The joys of Canadian motorcycling...

If you want to spend a little cash follow the good advise of @GreyGhost

If you want to spend a little more cash, heated gloves, grips and/or hand cozy's

But it'll warm up before you know it.
 
WestBrantKid said:
With the weather warming up, I'm looking to commute, on nicer days, on my bike. I didn't get my winter ride re-assembled this season, and without winter tires I didn't want to ride on cold wet roads, so I'll be using my summer ride without the heated grips and Bark Busters. I could move my Bark Busters over to my summer bike, but I want to avoid that if I can.

My question is, what are some tips, or tricks you all know of for keeping your hands warmer on long commutes, without spending cash or accessorizing the bike (I did that to my winter bike). The clutch hand is easy, just sit on it. But the throttle hand has to stay exposed.

One great tip I heard, which doesn't work on my Katana, is to place your hands on the engine every time you're stopped in traffic.
I also tried latex gloves under winter gloves, but that didn't work.
Click to expand...
Using latex gloves under whatever gloves you normally use, will keep your hands warmer. Downside is you'll have clammy hands but it's a far sight better than cold.

EDIT: Just re read your post; didn't work eh? Probably has to due with the speed, are you taking highway jaunts? We use them with our students in the parking lot in April/October and it makes a noticeable difference.
 
Evoex said:
Using latex gloves under whatever gloves you normally use, will keep your hands warmer. Downside is you'll have clammy hands but it's a far sight better than cold.

EDIT: Just re read your post; didn't work eh? Probably has to due with the speed, are you taking highway jaunts? We use them with our students in the parking lot in April/October and it makes a noticeable difference.
Click to expand...
I suspect the efficacy is substantially affected by wind. At low speeds in the parking lot, you don't have tons of wind being forced into every seam on the gloves. Wind strips heat very quickly and the latex provides almost no insulation on its own.
 
I've got what is probably a mild form of Raynaud's syndrome so I have heated grips on all the bikes, even the summer ones. I'll run the grips on 75% power with summer gloves if the ambient temp is lower than about 25*C. Lower than about 17*C calls for winter gloves and heated grips on high. Lower than about 10 or 12*C requires muffs/barkbusters, heated gloves and heated grips. The exact cutoff points depend on how fast I'm going though. 100+ km/hr windchill is a real thing.

Heated grips are just worth having. It's better to be comfortable with both hands on the bars than compromising your control.
 
Evoex said:
Using latex gloves under whatever gloves you normally use, will keep your hands warmer. Downside is you'll have clammy hands but it's a far sight better than cold.

EDIT: Just re read your post; didn't work eh? Probably has to due with the speed, are you taking highway jaunts? We use them with our students in the parking lot in April/October and it makes a noticeable difference.
Click to expand...
I shouldn't have said it didn't work. The effect was minimal. My commute is about 25 minutes on a country road, so about 90 kms/hr. Only a couple turns and one traffic light. It's a great commute in good weather.
 
What worked for me... My commute was ~ 30 to 40 minutes each way. All year around except the worst weather, Toronto (Gardner and DVP).

-Heated vest = warm core = warmer blood to the extremities easy to adjust temps vs adding/removing layers and way less bulk.
-Good cold weather waterproof snow boarding gloves that don't let much wind through, even at speeds. Make sure the fingers (length) of the gloves do not interfere or hang up on the leavers.
-Ear plugs, I started getting ear pain from the cold. Ear plugs fixed that.
 
Ash said:
I've got what is probably a mild form of Raynaud's syndrome so I have heated grips on all the bikes, even the summer ones. I'll run the grips on 75% power with summer gloves if the ambient temp is lower than about 25*C. Lower than about 17*C calls for winter gloves and heated grips on high. Lower than about 10 or 12*C requires muffs/barkbusters, heated gloves and heated grips. The exact cutoff points depend on how fast I'm going though. 100+ km/hr windchill is a real thing.

Heated grips are just worth having. It's better to be comfortable with both hands on the bars than compromising your control.
Click to expand...
I forgot that I bought heated gloves at the end of last winter. You just reminded me! That'll help.
 
backmarkerducati said:
What worked for me... My commute was ~ 30 to 40 minutes each way. All year around except the worst weather, Toronto (Gardner and DVP).

-Heated vest = warm core = warmer blood to the extremities easy to adjust temps vs adding/removing layers and way less bulk.
-Good cold weather waterproof snow boarding gloves that don't let much wind through, even at speeds. Make sure the fingers (length) of the gloves do not interfere or hang up on the leavers.
-Ear plugs, I started getting ear pain from the cold. Ear plugs fixed that.
Click to expand...
I have a two piece snow mobile set and warm boots, so I'v never felt cold in the torso, legs, feet or arms all last winter. I think the coldest I rode in was -17C. And I had Bark Busters and heated grips on that bike, so I never thought about a warmer body keeping the extremities warmer. That's smart! I'll use the heated gloves for now, but watch for a heated vest when I can afford one. Thanks.
 
I know you don't want to spend anything, but "hot hands" work very well. They work for about 8/9 hours.
 
Wingboy said:
I know you don't want to spend anything, but "hot hands" work very well. They work for about 8/9 hours.
Click to expand...
I looked into them last season. I bought a few to try, and the heat doesn't reach the backs of the fingers where the wind contacts the gloves, and since they don't have an off switch, the heat is down to a slight warmth after an 8 hour shift, so I could be using 2 per day if the afternoons are cold, too.
 
WestBrantKid said:
I looked into them last season. I bought a few to try, and the heat doesn't reach the backs of the fingers where the wind contacts the gloves, and since they don't have an off switch, the heat is down to a slight warmth after an 8 hour shift, so I could be using 2 per day if the afternoons are cold, too.
Click to expand...
Hot hands work by reacting with oxygen. While you can't turn them off, if you seal them in a plastic bag, you can slow down the reaction and when you pull them out for the ride home, they may be rocking again.
 
GreyGhost said:
Hot hands work by reacting with oxygen. While you can't turn them off, if you seal them in a plastic bag, you can slow down the reaction and when you pull them out for the ride home, they may be rocking again.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I'll have to try that. Thanks. Still doesn't work on the backs of the fingers, though.
 
Ash said:
I've got what is probably a mild form of Raynaud's syndrome so I have heated grips on all the bikes, even the summer ones. I'll run the grips on 75% power with summer gloves if the ambient temp is lower than about 25*C. Lower than about 17*C calls for winter gloves and heated grips on high. Lower than about 10 or 12*C requires muffs/barkbusters, heated gloves and heated grips. The exact cutoff points depend on how fast I'm going though. 100+ km/hr windchill is a real thing.

Heated grips are just worth having. It's better to be comfortable with both hands on the bars than compromising your control.
Click to expand...
Same. Raynauld’s. Warm & Safe heated gloves. The money was worth it.
 
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I just remembered a trick I worked out last season with the latex gloves. I would put on a pair of those thin knit gloves, as a layer of insulation and to allow the skin to breath, then slip a pair of Grease Monkey gloves over them, and follow that up with my gortex winter gauntlets. I did this before I installed the heated grips and Bark Busters, and it worked pretty well. My hands, at that time, would freeze to the bone about 15 minutes into a 25 minute commute with the gortex and Grease Monkey, and adding the knit layer delayed that freeze by about 5 minutes which was a big deal because the last 5 minutes of the ride was at lower speed.
(You might be noticing a pattern here. I'm not know for having a great memory! lol)
 
Yup, any waterproof or windproof layer works best when it's on the outside of the insulation. At one point I tried XXL dishwashing gloves over top of regular motorcycle gloves. That works quite well to break the wind, except that the rubber gloves put more pressure on my hands and restricted bloodflow, which is counterproductive to staying warm. That's something else to consider: if your gloves are too tight they will feel a lot colder.
 
You know, the total cost of Bark Busters, heated grips and regular winter gloves is not too far off the cost of proper heated gloves and a basic 3 mode switch
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