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A guy that I used to acquaint with was a real cheap bastard. He would make guards like those from empty oil containers and attach them with cable ties. They worked a treat he said.

SteveD wrote:A guy that I used to acquaint with was a real cheap bastard. He would make guards like those from empty oil containers and attach them with cable ties. They worked a treat he said.

Dino or synthetic?

dwerbil wrote:

SteveD wrote:A guy that I used to acquaint with was a real cheap bastard. He would make guards like those from empty oil containers and attach them with cable ties. They worked a treat he said.

Dino or synthetic?

Trouble maker.

I've seen big ones made from 1 gallon bleach bottles too. Ugly as sin, but it might work. I don't remember if people put something inside them to reinforce them, but it seems like they would have to.

dwerbil wrote:

SteveD wrote:A guy that I used to acquaint with was a real cheap bastard. He would make guards like those from empty oil containers and attach them with cable ties. They worked a treat he said.

Dino or synthetic?

There's a clue in the text.

For us in the Great White North...Canukstan....keeping hands warm either on the bike or snowmobile...

Heated grips (I like the Symtec mylar sheets that wrap around handle bar under your grips) + Ski gloves...make sure they're "breathable" like goretex etc...so if your hands sweat then moisture can escape...that's critical in cold weather...moisture + cold is recipe for disaster!

Ski gloves ...palms are thin area so heat transfer nicely to the hand and the topside is where all the insulation is to combat the wind...and they're not bulky and have a good "feel" on the grip.

The key to keeping your hands warm (without a fairing) is heat to the palms and getting the moisture away from them. Any type if wind deflection will help..hippo hands, pop bottle wind deflectors, GS bush guards etc will do the trick...

In really cold weather I wear my snowmobile full face helmet...anti fog double layed face shield and breath guard so doesn't fog up...but then again if its that frikin' cold ...I usually say "WTF am I doing out on the bike!"

I guess the nice thing is if it's really dang cold, you don't have to worry about your hands getting wet. My favorite winter riding weather here is the rare clear cold days with sub freezing temps and blue skies. I haven't ridden in single digit F. weather yet though.

I left Austin one time for a weekend on the RS. Temps were in the low 50's when I left at 2pm. Arriving at my destination at 10:30 pm that night, the temp read 29f. Along with good winter riding gear, I had a great set of First Gear winter riding gloves, with the big gauntlets. Also wore a set of silk liner gloves.
My fingers were numb, to say the least.
Next time, I'll buy electric gloves, said I.

Some excellent comments in this thread, from a wide background of experience.

The common principles coming thru are:

Keep the hands and fingers dry. Waterproofs/gortex.
Keep the wind off the hands to reduce convective cooling. Wind deflection. Fairings, bar-bra, bark buster.
Insulate the hands. Liners, eg silk or thermals.
Do something to provide warmth. Apply warmth...gloves or bars, vests or both.

SteveD wrote:Some excellent comments in this thread, from a wide background of experience.

The common principles coming thru are:

Keep the hands and fingers dry. Waterproofs/gortex.
Keep the wind off the hands to reduce convective cooling. Wind deflection. Fairings, bar-bra, bark buster.
Insulate the hands. Liners, eg silk or thermals.
Do something to provide warmth. Apply warmth...gloves or bars, vests or both.

Yeah, it's amazing how an electric vest will make everything feel warmer. Of course, it's because if your core temp starts to drop at all (if you just generally feel cold), then your body starts to constrict the capillaries in your limbs to conserve heat (because your limbs radiate it off faster: more surface area per mass). Keep your core temp up and your body will let plenty of warm blood into your extremities. Don't forget that your head is probably the thing that radiates off the most heat. A full-face helmet helps a lot, but some sort of balaclava makes a really big difference too.