Wind is wind, and if it's traveling over your fingers, it's going to strip the heat away.
This sort of thing is ugly to look at, but they work *real* well at keeping the heat in, and thereby keeping your hands and fingers far warmer than you'd expect:
I use Hippo Hands myself. Under them are National Cycle hand guards so the Hippo Hands don't press on the front brake or clutch at 80 mph on the highway.
Heated grips are always on the bike and a switch away. So if you are out riding on a lovely warm day and the temperature suddenly drops, you can flick the switch and - hey presto! However they may not be as effective as heated gloves, which can obviously heat the backs of your hands, not just your palms. So the choice is down to which will give you the best relief, or which parts of your hands suffer most. Nothing says you can't have both!
I had a set of the heated glove liners. You could wear your choice of gloves over the liners. I liked them but when i had an issue the company I purchased them from decided they didn't have anymore in my size to warranty them out...so they reimbursed me my money and I just never went back to find another set...
If I were to do it again, I would like to see the battery operated...I hated being tethered to the bike....too easy to forget to disconnect before getting off the bike...
I have Gerbings heated gloves and H-D heated grips with National Cycle Hand Guards. Below 38F I use the heated gloves. The hand guards and heated grips work great to about 38F. With gloves the wires are a PITA unless you have a heated jacket liner. These have the gloves wires already run down the sleeve.
What makes the heated grips work well for me was the combination with the National Cycle hand guards. These block all the wind (and rain) from my gloves so that the back of my hand does not get cold, making the warm grips so much more effective. I have never gone over 2 on my heated grips. With the hand guards, I can wear thin leather gloves as I have no wind on the back of my glove. If you do not have hand guards, you will need gloves that are thin in the grip and thick on the back of the hand and the fingers.
I have had my Harley heated grips for 6 seasons. I had them installed (so my dealer would have to warranty them if they stopped working). The tech told me that if I kept them below 3, they will last for the life of the bike. If I jack them up to the highest settling, they will not last as long. I did use 3 once, but that was a long ride and I did not get home until well after the sun had set and the temperature had dropped to 28 F. I thought about stopping and putting on my heated gloves, but at a grip setting of 3, my hands and fingers were warm enough. Palms hot, and with fingers loosely wrapped around the grip, they remained warm as well. Gloves would have been more comfortable, but I was only an hour away and by the time I decided it really would have been a good idea to use the gloves I was only 1/2 away. I carry the heated gloves on the bike all winter.
Before you decide which is best for you, you need to decide which will get used more often. I use the heated grips a lot, even just on cool mornings. It is so easy to just turn it to one and take any chill off (below 50F), Two is for cold (below 42F and maybe three for freak'in cold (below 36F). Heated gloves are for just plain freezing weather (all day below 32F).
Grips are always on the bike. If you use a hand guard, they become even better. Below 36F they struggle to provide enough warmth to warm the entire hand and fingers.
Heated gloves at first feel bulky, but below 40F they loose that bulky feeling as your entire hand is warm. The pita, you need to have wires run down your arms are hanging off the handle bars. I immediately bought the jacket liner and dual controllers and life became easy again. You need variable controllers for all heated gear. Off/On does not work useless you are constantly flipping it off/On. Variable, set and forget, tweak as the day warms, tweak up a bit as the sun sets.
Battery powered gloves are an option. It does not take a lot of heat if you use hand guard. I tried windbreaker gloves, back of hand still froze even with heated grips.
Wireless controls would be nice and that may be my next optional upgrade, but the wired version has not been an issue for me once I figured out an easy way to use the dual controller.
I live in the Great White North! Heated grips for me (as well as heated seat)
Have heard many stories about the grips failing. Had dealer put on grips on my 09 Ultra. Had them switch them over to my '12 Ultra, and then on to my '14 SGS (as part of the deal).
I also have Helibars, so as part of the deal, it is easier to just switch the bars over with the grips.
grips are still working great! By the way, I never use gloves, even in the rain.
One thing to keep in mind....if you have jumped on the "Apes" bandwagon, you will not have the same hand protection. If my bars were above the fairing I would need gloves. If I need gloves, I would then get heated gloves, if I had heated gloves, they would be battery powered so I could use them at other times.
I chose the heated gloves, they warm you where you need it, on top of the fingers.
I use a wirless controller for no hassle wiring and easy access for adjustment.
I purchased the first gear gloves for around $100.00 I have used them in 35 degree weather having total comfort.
I do have both but have never used the heat gloves, they just seem too bulky, a good pair of insulated gauntlets and heated grips is all I find I need. I am sure I would strap on the gloves though if I were doing a long ride in temps <50*F, but I could see an issue with working the toggles on the hand controls with the heated gloves on.
Heated grips are always on the bike and a switch away. So if you are out riding on a lovely warm day and the temperature suddenly drops, you can flick the switch and - hey presto! However they may not be as effective as heated gloves, which can obviously heat the backs of your hands, not just your palms. So the choice is down to which will give you the best relief, or which parts of your hands suffer most. Nothing says you can't have both!
Best answer!!! I have heated grips for many years now and I love them because I can turn them on whenever I choose without stopping. If I was between gas stops, I would likely never stop to put heated gloves on. But my grips, on and off as I like. They are also good if you get caught with light or fingerless gloves and it gets cold at the top of that mountain pass.
That said I am sure heated gloves offer a bit more warmth for reasons stated above.
Question. 30 Years ago, While serving in the Army, stationed in Germany, My fingers were frostbitten. Fast forward to my new to me 08 Ultra classic I just can't seem to leave home. Driving to work every morning, if it's 55 or below, my 20 mile hike doing 70 turns my fingers numb and white with gloves on. I am thinking either the flame heated grips from HD, (staying with the flame theme)
@ 269.00 OUCH or maybe heated gloves? I see the gerbing's or joe rocket can be had for 140 or so. Any input as to which route to go, plus minuses to either? I see the Joe Rocket has a rechargeable battery operated glove. No wires !
Heated grips are more convenient and handy at in between temperatures when you are wearing say, summer gloves, and just want a bit of heat. As a previous poster said, they are always on the bike and just a flick of a switch away. In colder temps though you freeze the back of your hand from the wind, while the palm gets really hot. Heated gloves however provide a more even and comfortable heat and are better in cold weather as they are insulated and heat the back of hands and fingers, the parts that get really get cold. The downside with heated gloves is you need to plug them in and string wires under your jacket if you don't have a heated liner too. Heated gloves work best with a heated jacket liner as it will allow you to plug them into the cuffs. Since you've got a 20 mile hike, I would go with a heated jacket liner (not vest) and heated gloves and a two channel heat controller, one for the liner, one for the gloves. Heated gear is the cats *** below ~50F and makes riding down to 32F as comfortable as 72F. You also need a FF helmet and textile riding pants and probably a longer length, textile adventure tour jacket (high waisted leather jackets are drafty and miserable in the cold) at lower temps though too though, to be comfortable. When your core is warm your extremities stay warm, from warm blood flow. Never felt the need for heated pant liners though even in extreme cold with motorcycle pants though.
My cold weather riding gear... (comfortable for extended highway riding at 32F with minimal wind protection from shield)
- motorcycle adventure tour type (4 season) textile jacket and pant set (eg. Olympia Ranger, Rev'It Sand, etc.)
- FF helmet with Pinlock/Fogcity anti flog insert
- heated jacket liner with high heated collar
- heated gloves
- appropriate base layers
I have a significant investment in gear however I use the four season jacket and pant all year round. The liners remove and vents open to make them cool in hot weather as well as warm in the cold, plus they are water proof.
10-07-2015, 08:35 AM
