Motorcycles

[VaderDave]

I rode the bike home from Tahoe and was so cold I had to grab onto the exhaust pipes to keep my rabbit fur gloved hands from freezing. Getting heated grips ASAP.

Yikes! It's a good thing you got home before the storm rolled in yesterday (I hope!).

 

[John Doe]

I rode the bike home from Tahoe and was so cold I had to grab onto the exhaust pipes to keep my rabbit fur gloved hands from freezing. Getting heated grips ASAP.

You're welcome.

 

[VaderDave]

Holy ****, yeah, that must have been slightly unpleasant! Have never had heated grips, mainly because we usually have at least a weekend each winter month where weather is pleasant enough to ride without, but then again, you do seem to do more long rides than we do, so I can see how that might be a good idea!

My GS (used) came with heated grips and I must admit that they are really nice when it's cold outside.

 

[UrbanComposition]

View attachment 1542768
You're welcome.

I saw those on the Long Way Up and thought “well THAT’S overkill...”

Boy howdy, now I know better. Made it home before the storm thankfully.

 

[John Doe]

I remember those Hippo Hands from the early '70's and I thought they were ridiculous but they're still selling them. I long ago gave up riding in the cold, I once lost my voice from riding in the cold on a long trip.

 

[VaderDave]

I remember those Hippo Hands from the early '70's and I thought they were ridiculous but they're still selling them. I long ago gave up riding in the cold, I once lost my voice from riding in the cold on a long trip.

Yup. My friend has a pair on his almost-new Multistrada. He really likes them.

 

[otc]

I always wanted the bicycle ones...

Heated grips aren't really an option there

 

[emptym]

Heated grips are great. I used to commute year round in Boston and installed them halfway after the first winter. It was kind of a pain. My shop told me it would cost something like 4 hours of labor at about $100 an hour back in 2002. I think it took me like 8 hrs. I didn't have a torque wrench and was afraid of undertightening, so I snapped a bolt when reattaching the handlebar.

Those hand covers seemed to have two disadvantages to me: (1) getting cold/dirty/wet unless you took them inside every time you used them, (2) possibly binding your hands in a fall. Maybe they'd be OK if you used them on occasion for long rides. Another possibility that I never tried are lobster glove/mitts.

 

[gnatty8]

Heated grips are great. I used to commute year round in Boston and installed them halfway after the first winter. It was kind of a pain. My shop told me it would cost something like 4 hours of labor at about $100 an hour back in 2002. I think it took me like 8 hrs. I didn't have a torque wrench and was afraid of undertightening, so I snapped a bolt when reattaching the handlebar.

Those hand covers seemed to have two disadvantages to me: (1) getting cold/dirty/wet unless you took them inside every time you used them, (2) possibly binding your hands in a fall. Maybe they'd be OK if you used them on occasion for long rides. Another possibility that I never tried are lobster glove/mitts.

You commuted on a motorcycle year round in Boston? You sir, are a dedicated motorcycle rider.

 

[John Doe]

Or a masochist.

 

[otc]

Another possibility that I never tried are lobster glove/mitts.

The lobster is not enough (also, some are better than others...I've owned lobster mitts for biking that were neither warmer nor less bulky than many pairs of 5-finger gloves I have owned).

Combine the fact that you are moving at speeds with high wind-chill with the fact that you are gripping a steel bar that is cold (and is kept cold by convection from the wind) and you're in trouble. The outside of the hands you can insulate, but your grip will crush the insulation on the inside of the gloves and the rubber grip itself doesn't slow the heat transfer all that much.

That's why the heated grips are effective--they hit the exact spot where insulation fails and as long as they can overpower the heat loss from the other side of the gloves, you'll be comfortable.

 

[emptym]

Mainly I was always running late, and bicycles and motorcycles offered quick, door to door convenience. I started by bicycling year round, but one time I was riding into a wind-driven hail and it felt like needles hitting my face. So I thought I needed a full-face helmet, and I figured if I got a full faced helmet, I'd need a motorcycle. Dumb logic, or maybe just an excuse to get a motorcycle.

I only had a 6-7 mile commute, so it wasn't too bad. In 4 yrs of daily commutes (in Boston, then 2 in DC) I only fell a couple times on black ice, while cornering. I had nubby tires, which were fine in up to about an inch of fresh snow. Boston kept the roads pretty clear. The worst days were when it froze after a thaw, creating a lot of black ice. On those days I usually rode the bicycle, figuring that if I fell, it wouldn't do so much damage to me or my bike. Wet, decaying leaves in the fall could be as slippery as ice too.

During the warmer months, there'd be a fair amount of bikes out. I'd see several per day, but once it got cold, you'd see maybe one other rider a month. We once had a month where even the highs never went above freezing. Then one day it got to about 34, and I remember raising my face shield to enjoy the "warm" air. Summers could suck too, with the heat and humidity. The Bay Area is like paradise for motorcyclists, with temperate, mostly dry weather, and legal lane-splitting. Although, the most afraid I've ever been was when I road across country when moving here, and I first crossed the Bay Bridge. The winds were insane, switching directions suddenly and violently. I posted a thread about the trip way back then, w/ a bunch of pics.

 

[otc]

The worst days were when it froze after a thaw, that was when there was a lot of black ice out. On those days I usually rode the bicycle, figuring that if I fell, it wouldn't do so much damage to me or my bike. Wet, decaying leaves in the fall could be as slippery as ice too.

You can also legally run studded tires on a bicycle!

Although I find that the light weight and increased control dynamics usually means that you can keep yourself upright on a bike. Maybe you have to put a foot down and slide a little, but with good balance and not hammering it into corners, you'll end up fine. I never actually commuted with studs.

 

[emptym]

I considered studded tires, but never got any. I think I heard that the ride is super bumpy when you're not on packed snow or ice.

The lobster is not enough (also, some are better than others...I've owned lobster mitts for biking that were neither warmer nor less bulky than many pairs of 5-finger gloves I have owned).

Combine the fact that you are moving at speeds with high wind-chill with the fact that you are gripping a steel bar that is cold (and is kept cold by convection from the wind) and you're in trouble. The outside of the hands you can insulate, but your grip will crush the insulation on the inside of the gloves and the rubber grip itself doesn't slow the heat transfer all that much.

That's why the heated grips are effective--they hit the exact spot where insulation fails and as long as they can overpower the heat loss from the other side of the gloves, you'll be comfortable.

That makes sense to me. I also installed hand guards, and I think they helped.,

 

[Nader393]

Similar to how I had to fab up new intakes to adapt the CB200 "vert" head to the CL175 "sloper" bottom end, I had to do the same with the exhaust. Made it into a high-mounted scrambler style, 2 into 1 with custom reverse megaphone, from scratch.

Here is the stock 1" tubing in mild steel. Not shown are the two cones that I welded big end to big end to make the reverse megaphone.

Cut slots and notches in the tubing to get the curves needed. Then tack-welded into place. And there's the reverse megaphone I made.

Just pointing out here that I'm doing all this work in the corner of a dark, cramped, unheated shed where I store a car and lawn equipment. Welder is way in the back corner. 50 year old car's gas tank is uncomfortably close to the exhaust I'm welding.

Finished welding and painted up with VHT header paint. Made exhaust collars and a heat shield for it, too. The collars are a little bulky and need to be trimmed down. Brought the bike back inside the living room to do a valve adjustment and ignition work before the inaugural start up and tuning.

Oh, and I used a bit of scrap titanium plate to fab up an exhaust hanger. Had to torch this thing red-hot to bend it into shape.