Hippo Hands

[jim oneill]

Just received Hippo Hands in the mail. Will install later. Question? Do those of you out there who have Hippo Hands find that you have to install brush or hand guards to keep the hippo hands from interfering with the operation of the clutch and brake levers? It appears to me that although i haven,t installed them yet that they will be "rigid" enough to not interfere once I get up to hiway speed. Any opinions???

 

[wheatonFJR]

Let us know from your research if you find that you need lever guards...this would be good to know...

 

[Fred W]

It may not be interference, but if the hippos nudge the brake lever you may have your brake lights on all the time.

 

[Canadian FJR]

I used hippo hands on my old FJ-1200 and Fred is correct. If you don't keep a finger or two over the levers the wind may push the material against your levers. Not an issue once you change your hand position slightly.

Canadian FJR

 

[SacramentoMike]

Here's an opinion from somebody who's never used them (so weigh it accordingly): If you're riding with the Hippo Hands on, I've always assumed they would work fine for keeping your hands nice and cozy, keep the wind from blowing up your arm, etc. But once you pull a hand out (while riding), the windstream would very likely interfere with getting your hand back into the HHs (and on the grips and the levers), which could be a severe problem if you wanted to do it fairly quickly. Say, if you see a hazard in the road ahead or someone starts to crowd you out.

If I've got a hand off one of my grips, I want to know I can grab it again fast if necessary.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Unless you want to be bothered with the HH's on the levers get some sort of hand guard. You choices are VStrom guards adapted to the FJR or something like these Cycra. These came on my new [to me] '09 and they are easy on / off, lightweight and do a decent job of hand protection. Most of the guards are fugly...but at least they're covered up with the HH's.

--G

 

[dcarver]

Unequivocally, YES you will need support ahead of the Hippos to keep them from collapsing on the levers at speeds greater than 70. The other poster is correct too - pulling your hand out of the Hippo is easy, getting it back in again, not so much <wish it was Friday>.

Don't be deterred. HH's work GREAT when it's really cold, not Florida cold. When I know the temps are going to be less than 20F for extended time, the HH's are on KrZy8.

Like riding with a darksider tire, you have to know the limitations and make corrections for the benefits.

<how was that for a darkside slap in a Hippo thread?> :lol:

EDIT - from a thread long ago -

The ride home was much mo bettah. Left Tucson at 0300 CA time, and Uncle Dave (TurboDave) was right; the desert was cold. Discovery #2 – riding in 20 degree F weather for an hour is one thing; riding for 3 hours is another. My hands were very cold, to the point of being numb. Then, interesting discovery #3; I remembered I had my Hippo Hands with me! Install took all of 4 minutes and those suckers really do work although they are a bit bulky and tend to fold in on the levers at 90 plus.

 

[jim oneill]

Unless you want to be bothered with the HH's on the levers get some sort of hand guard. You choices are VStrom guards adapted to the FJR or something like these Cycra. These came on my new [to me] '09 and they are easy on / off, lightweight and do a decent job of hand protection. Most of the guards are fugly...but at least they're covered up with the HH's.

Thanks for the info on Cycra. "Easy on/easy off" are the key words for me

--G

 

[jim oneill]

Unless you want to be bothered with the HH's on the levers get some sort of hand guard. You choices are VStrom guards adapted to the FJR or something like these Cycra. These came on my new [to me] '09 and they are easy on / off, lightweight and do a decent job of hand protection. Most of the guards are fugly...but at least they're covered up with the HH's.

got the Cycra guards easy to install and looks like they,ll do the trick thanks

--G

 

[wheatonFJR]

The other poster is correct too - pulling your hand out of the Hippo Hand is easy, getting it back in again, not so much ...

But what if you have an itch on your nose? Do you itch it or not?

 

[Klunkshift]

Another option to the handguards hipo hands combination.

Get some aluminum flat bars from Lowes or Home Depot and bend it to go from the bar ends to the brake and clutch reservoirs.

Drill a hole on the aluminum bar and get a longer bar end bolt to attach it to the bar end. Zip tie the other end to the reservoir brake or clutch depending on the side.

Use heat shrink around the aluminum bar and or rubber stripping to provide scratch protection.

Slide hipo hands or other fabric hand protectors over the contraption.

Cheap and easy in and out and will store easily in the bike when not in use.

 

[timk]

I put helmet pegs on my bike, and I just use a combination wrench on the pegs to keep the HipHans off the brake light. Nuthing needed for clutch side.

 

[Niehart]

Seattle today. Light rain, 42, feels like 36. Hippo Hands are going on today. :huh:

 

[deanw]

I've got V-Strom handguards already, so wasn't an issue for me. You should have something, but it doesn't have to be fancy- they'll be inside the Hippo Hands. so who cares what it looks like?. Get a little creative with some heavy wire coat hangers. I'd wrap a lightbulb-shape to grip the bar end, and then up to the inside end of the handlebar somewhere.

The HH I have are fairly rigid. Getting my hands in has never been a problem. If it were, get some fairly stiff piping (the little bead of stuff sewn into seams or corners in some upholstery) and sew it to the edge. Or even a loop of small diameter vinyl coated aircraft cable- just something to hold the hand opening open a little bit.

Yeah, they're freakin' ugly. but my hands are warm, dry, and comfortable in my favorite summer gloves...