WA. riders ?

[Duster19]

Will someone let me know if heated grips and a nice pair of riding gloves will be enough. I drive about 20 min. each way to work and would

like to stretch my riding as long as I can. This past week my fingers started to get cold.

All suggestions for best way to add heated grips I'd appreciate it. I'm not the best with doing things like this myself and want it to look

professionally done. I think the Honda flat panel thermostat looks the best.

Dave

 

[kurtfriedrich]

Will someone let me know if heated grips and a nice pair of riding gloves will be enough. I drive about 20 min. each way to work and wouldlike to stretch my riding as long as I can. This past week my fingers started to get cold.

All suggestions for best way to add heated grips I'd appreciate it. I'm not the best with doing things like this myself and want it to look

professionally done. I think the Honda flat panel thermostat looks the best.

Dave

I used heated gloves a few times last year, and I had heated grips on a former BMW and my currect FJR. Gloves can be warmer. I think my gloves would have kept me warm at 10F. The heated grips, with decent gloves, are surely good for 40, maybe 30, but your hands won't be toasty warm. But for 20 minutes, they are great.

I HATED the gloves. Hooking up, and un hooking was a pain, so I often had cold hands with the heated gloves left back at home. For 20 minute trips, I'd never use gloves. If I was going to do a long trip in the very cold, I might by the heated gloves even though I have the grips,

 

[Ignacio]

For watt challenged Gen I bikes doing the same Tri-City commute I went with V-strom handguards and extends my season to year round here without having to use inconvenient electric gloves.

If one does goes with electric gloves and gear I think the best are Warm-n-Safe with an electronic heat controller.

 

[OlyFJR]

I have the V-Strom handguards with Dual-Star heated grips controlled with a Heattroller set-up. I recently had a commute from Lacey to Seattle with Temps in the 30's. I was able to turn the heat up as needed and kept my hands mostly warm (the tops of my hands and tips of my fingers were the exception but didn't get to bad). I use the Olympia 'Cold throttle' gloves which work great with heated grips. The handguards are a must for cold weather riding IMHO.

 

[markjenn]

Heated grips are really more of a cool weather deal, allowing you to run summer or spring/fall gloves in weather that would normally require full winter gloves. When it gets really cold (i.e., below freezing), you're going to have to go with winter gloves and then the heated grips don't make a whole lot of difference as the gloves are insulating you from the grips so much.

IOW, heated grips and cold weather gloves are complimentary, not replacements for one another. In WA state, I'd go for a good, lightly-insulated, waterproof glove for winter riding and get the grips too.

The cheap way of getting heated grips is to go with Symtec's, but you do need to be handy with wiring and know how to replace grips. There are several DIY's scattered around the net. If you're unsure of your abilities here, you might want to just bite the bullet and get the Yamaha stuff and have the dealer do it - it won't be cheap, but it will fit and work well. The ST1300 grips can be adapted to the FJR, but it will also be expensive and will require adaptation - if you're going to go non-plug-and-play, I'd get the Symtecs and save the money.

- Mark

 

[galactus]

Hard guards go along way. I highly recommend them. With the temps down into the low thirties I'm still comfortable with my mesh gloves for short commutes and around town driving. For highway speeds and/or longer rides I go with the heavier gloves and they're just fine, almost too warm for me at times.

 

[El Gordo]

I use both the V-strom guards and heated grips and have been comfy down to just about freezing point.

The hand guards are a farkle that I wish I had done sooner rather than later.

 

[snowmonkey]

No heated gloves or grips, insulated gloves with silk glove liners works for me during the winter months. But of course I'm over here in the banana belt on the westside.

 

[KitsapFJR]

I rode all last year with just a pair of leather gloves. It was horrible. Told myself that I would never go through that again! Three weeks ago I purchased a pair of Gerbing's G3 heated gloves. They are incredible! The G3 gloves are much more slim and formed that the original which looked like snow gloves. These are much easier to use the controls and they fit great.

Yes, it's a pain in the *** to plug in and run the cords every morning, but once you feel the heat kick it you won't regret it. I just wish I had done this a year ago. After riding with these I can't see how heated grips would actually do anything. These heat the backs of your hands as well as your fingers. Wonderful things.

Gripes: 1. plugging in is a pain, but not that big of a deal. 2. They cost $169!!!! Dang... that's a lot of money.

However, the very next morning it was 34 degrees outside and my hands had never been that warm. Above 45 I can only plug them in for about 10 - 15 minutes before they get too hot. I'll have to buy the thermostat next if I want to moderate the temp. But plugged straight in they kept me warm at 34 for as long as I want to ride.

Steve

 

[Checkswrecks]

"Gripes: 1. plugging in is a pain, but not that big of a deal. 2. They cost $169!!!! Dang... that's a lot of money. "

Plugging in becomes part of the morning routine. Bring the cord over the back of your hand and they are easier to plug in, but you develop your own technique. I plug in both before putting either on and they initially hang there like kid's snow mittens, but it works.

It is a lot of money up-front, but if you ever want to sell them, those gloves do very very well on EBay.

Bob

 

[AethonFJR]

I am at the same decision point on heated gloves vs. heated grips and comments I have received are heated grips with hand guard go a long way, especially for short trips. The issue seems to be if you want you full hands warm on long trips or lower temperature.

I think I am going to take the plunge for the heated gloves, because I don’t plan to be taking them off and back on every half hour….. comfort on longer rides is the ruling factor for me… .

Ken