Hippo Hands

[ponyfool]

I was surprised this Christmas when my mother-in-law bought me a set of Hippo Hands handlebar muffs for my FJR. I was pretty excited because of the cold rainy days we have where I still ride to work.

After riding with them now for about 10 trips to and from work, I'll say that handlebar muffs are the way to go, no doubt about it! They are awesome in protecting from wind, rain, and cold. I'm sure the V-Strom guards are pretty good too, but having your entire hand surrounded really is awesome.

However, in regular stock form, I am not at all pleased with the Hippo Hands. There is no piping or other support at the opening to keep them open to allow you to easily put your hands back in when you remove them at highway speeds. On the FJR, at highway speeds, they actually begin to put pressure on both the clutch lever and brake lever! I had my wife follow me the other day, and she said my brake light was on continuously over 50 mph. So I find myself fighting with the the Hippo Hands while riding instead of just riding.

Rather than giving up, because even with just wearing my heavy summer gloves, I can ride in the rain and 40 degree weather with the handlebar muffs without feeling cold. So, next stop is to modify these to make them what I want. The sad thing is, my first thought is to put V-Strom guards on and put the muffs over the guards to prevent the brake and clutch lever getting squeezed. I'll also get some piping or the like to make the opening more round and inviting while at speed.

 

[dtyo]

I've been using a pair of bar-muffs made for a snowmobile. I agree, they are great. The ones I have (Arctic Cat) hold their shape well and have a fairly ridgid piping oround the opening which makes it easy to get my hands in and out.

Dan

I was surprised this Christmas when my mother-in-law bought me a set of Hippo Hands handlebar muffs for my FJR. I was pretty excited because of the cold rainy days we have where I still ride to work.
After riding with them now for about 10 trips to and from work, I'll say that handlebar muffs are the way to go, no doubt about it! They are awesome in protecting from wind, rain, and cold. I'm sure the V-Strom guards are pretty good too, but having your entire hand surrounded really is awesome.

However, in regular stock form, I am not at all pleased with the Hippo Hands. There is no piping or other support at the opening to keep them open to allow you to easily put your hands back in when you remove them at highway speeds. On the FJR, at highway speeds, they actually begin to put pressure on both the clutch lever and brake lever! I had my wife follow me the other day, and she said my brake light was on continuously over 50 mph. So I find myself fighting with the the Hippo Hands while riding instead of just riding.

Rather than giving up, because even with just wearing my heavy summer gloves, I can ride in the rain and 40 degree weather with the handlebar muffs without feeling cold. So, next stop is to modify these to make them what I want. The sad thing is, my first thought is to put V-Strom guards on and put the muffs over the guards to prevent the brake and clutch lever getting squeezed. I'll also get some piping or the like to make the opening more round and inviting while at speed.

 

[madmike2]

Rather than giving up, because even with just wearing my heavy summer gloves, I can ride in the rain and 40 degree weather with the handlebar muffs without feeling cold. So, next stop is to modify these to make them what I want. The sad thing is, my first thought is to put V-Strom guards on and put the muffs over the guards to prevent the brake and clutch lever getting squeezed. I'll also get some piping or the like to make the opening more round and inviting while at speed.

You might go to your local "Cycle Gear" store or any other store that sells parts for dirt bikes. See if you can find some inexpensive hand guards that you can adapt. Even if you "ziptie" them into place, their only purpose is to hold the HippoHands from pressing on the brake/clutch levers. A piece of aluminuim flat stock bent creatively would work.

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

Pictures please, pictures.

 

[madmike2]

Pictures please, pictures.

Mike, check J.C. Whitney or any catalogue for quads or snowmobiles. They're like giant insulated gloves that velcro around the controls but have an opening for your hands to slip into a "tube". Your hands and forearms are then covered and protected from the wind.

Lookie here.

 

[dcarver]

I was surprised this Christmas when my mother-in-law bought me a set of Hippo Hands handlebar muffs for my FJR. I was pretty excited because of the cold rainy days we have where I still ride to work.
After riding with them now for about 10 trips to and from work, I'll say that handlebar muffs are the way to go, no doubt about it! They are awesome in protecting from wind, rain, and cold. I'm sure the V-Strom guards are pretty good too, but having your entire hand surrounded really is awesome.

However, in regular stock form, I am not at all pleased with the Hippo Hands. There is no piping or other support at the opening to keep them open to allow you to easily put your hands back in when you remove them at highway speeds. On the FJR, at highway speeds, they actually begin to put pressure on both the clutch lever and brake lever!

Similar experience here. I'm not sure if they are worth the trouble though.. It seems to me that heated gloves and/or grips might be the better solution. Also, I mount the X50 LEO detector on the brake reservoir; the HH barely fit over the top. On a recent Tucson to CA run, at, uh, nominal speeds, the HH completely fatigued. I had to keep my front right fingers against the front brake lever to keep it from dragging the brakes. I would love to see a creative solution that places ¼" SS pipe or whatever to provide a form that the HH would press against.. and not the controls. In the meantime, unless it's REALLY FRICKIN cold, I'm going with just gloves and inner liners.. Until I can afford heated stuff.

 

[ponyfool]

Here are pictures on my bike:

(CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)



With the temps steadily in the mid 30's to low 40's here, combined with the rain, something like this is absolutely necessary for me. I am just going to make it something that I'll enjoy rather than something I have to struggle with!

 

[dcarver]

Good point PonyFool.. Let's keep this thread alive.. and come up with a good solution to keep the hands open and away from the controls. Cheap is best...

 

[NightShine]

My wife gave me a pair of Hippo Hands as a Christmas gift this year, too! Perhaps they're comparing gift lists, Ponyfool.

Just before leaving to meet the NorCal gang for a New Year's day ride, I remembered I had them and so put them on the bike for the first time. 38F degrees in heavy fog when I left my house for the 90 minute trip to the ride's starting point, and I was quite comfortable in just Monstrano Racer gloves. Later, the weather on the ride turned severe clear and pleasant, and the muffs proved too warm. But it only took a minute to remove them at a rest stop.

I had noticed that the leading edge of the muffs were contacting the clutch and brake levers, but I didn't think it was pressing enough to activate the break lights (have to check on this). I do remember though the installation instructions mentioning this possibility, and suggesting a stiff wire loop or aluminum strip attached to the handle bars to hold the muffs clear of the levers.

There's always room for improvement, but I find the Hippo Hands comfortable and convenient. Easy on and easy off, they offer a neat alternative to heavy winter gloves. :thumbsup:

YMMV...

 

[timk]

I've used Hippo Hands on various motorcycles over the years. I addressed the wind putting pressure on the brake lever by slipping a 1/2" box wrench over the helmet peg I installed to have a place to hang and lock my helmet. BTW the helmet pegs are worth their weight in gold, as the dreaded "helmet drop" never happens at the gas stations etc.

 

[dcarver]

I've used Hippo Hands on various motorcycles over the years. I addressed the wind putting pressure on the brake lever by slipping a 1/2" box wrench over the helmet peg I installed to have a place to hang and lock my helmet. BTW the helmet pegs are worth their weight in gold, as the dreaded "helmet drop" never happens at the gas stations etc.

Pix please?

 

[ponyfool]

I ended up picking up a set of V-Strom handguards today. I'll put them on tomorrow, but I am pretty sure this is going to do what I want. I will put a snap on the outer edge of the handguards and a companion snap on the Hippo hands thus allowing it to quickly secure it to the handguards.

I am thinking this will do several things. One, it'll prevent the Hippo Hands from activating the clutch or brake lever. Two, it'll prevent the Hippo Hands from sliding forward as well. In addition, the handguards will be used for the 40-50 range temps and the Hippo Hands will be used for colder weather or heavy rain.

If all works out the way I'm envisioning it, it's gonna be pretty ok.

 

[dcarver]

I ended up picking up a set of V-Strom handguards today. I'll put them on tomorrow, but I am pretty sure this is going to do what I want. I will put a snap on the outer edge of the handguards and a companion snap on the Hippo hands thus allowing it to quickly secure it to the handguards.
I am thinking this will do several things. One, it'll prevent the Hippo Hands from activating the clutch or brake lever. Two, it'll prevent the Hippo Hands from sliding forward as well. In addition, the handguards will be used for the 40-50 range temps and the Hippo Hands will be used for colder weather or heavy rain.

If all works out the way I'm envisioning it, it's gonna be pretty ok.

PonyFool, keep us posted? I'm interested to see how your experiment turns out. If possible post pix? Tx

 

[JoshHefnerX]

Updates? Pics?

 

[FJRocket]

 

[ponyfool]

OK, V-Strom guards are on, with HippoHands on top, and I think I have found the right combination!!!!

I may have re-invented the wheel in regards to the V-Strom hand guards, but it went really smoothly with no issues. I did see the install page on the FJR Tech site about a month ago, but didn't reference it again until after I was done. Like the FJR Tech site, I Dremel'ed out the side bar end snaps to make them larger. I ended up with the V-Strom 650 guards, and don't know if they are different than the 1000, but the clutch side took some mods. I ended up cutting off the pre-drilled mounting tabs on the clutch side, created a new hole that slid over and snapped down over the mounting nut. Then I used a grommet and washer to secure it. It was a pretty straightforward install compared to others I've tackled. Including trip to store for parts, it was a 45 minute install.

The HippoHands just slide right over top, and because of the position of the handguards, the HippoHands retain their opening for easy access in and out. My primary concern about the brake and clutch lever were thoroughly addressed as well. All in all, I think this is a very cool set up.

I may still install some snaps to keep the HippoHands secured to the hand guards, but I'll try it out for a few days to see.

(CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

 

[Knifemaker]

Great idea, and good job. Seems to me the 'newer" Hippo Hands are more open than the pair I remember attacthed to my freinds Suzuki Waterbuffalo way back when. They had what I'd almost call a partial "sleeve" , that went past your wrist halfway up to your elbow. You could adjust the opening to match the thickness of your jackets sleeve, so when your hands were on the bars, there was almost no open air spaces around the opening.

Looking at your set up, I might simply try making a set of "bags" to go over my V-Strom guards myself.

KM

 

[ponyfool]

33 degrees and pouring rain on my ride home from work tonight, and I couldn't be happier!! I will install the snaps to keep the HippoHands secured to the V-Strom handguards to perfect my plan, but my hands have never been happier on a cold, wet ride!

 

[dcarver]

PonyFool, who did you buy the Vstrom guards from? Approx cost? Other hardware needed to fit them? I'm thinking they are my next farkle.