I rode yesterday here in Ohio at about 30 degrees Farenheit. That was stupid but I don't own a car, just a motorcycle.

Lesson learned, my fingers hurt hours later. I got home and ordered these gloves:



www.newenough.com/tour_master_cold_tex_gloves_page.htm

Should be here by Wednesday or Thursday. How far down do you guys think the mercury can drop before I'll be hurting?

In case anyone was wondering about how bad shipping would be, I would up paying $7.22 (total = $34.22, which still seems decent).

my 2 cents.
If you plan on doing a lot of cold weather riding I would get a pair of electricx gloves from people like Gerbing.  I've been riding in PA since 1992, I ocasionally ride in the cold and used to used Gaunlet Winter gloves but my finger tips would always get cold/ almost frozen.  This past summer I bought a pair of electric gloves on sale and think they are great.

tourmasters are sucky gloves.  They don't last and they don't protect.  (worst of both worlds)
Get electric grips, less than a 100 bucks and a couple hours to install.  Then you can wear real protective gloves.
I've ridden for hours in 20 degrees (although wasn't very humid) with regular Held gloves and electric grips (BMW)

no idea about the gloves, but newenough.com is an awesome retailer.  A++ service all the way.  (they are 15 minutes from me as well.)  

I just got back from a~200 mile ride on my WR426 (all road miles). I only had my Held Profi gloves on and my fingers are still thawing out. I dont have grip heaters on the WR like I do some of my other bikes.

I second the opinion that grip heaters are the way to go. The WR's eletrical system can't handle them though.

Most roda bike's electrical systems can handle a set of the Dual Star heated grip elements...I love those things...and they probably cost less than the Tiurmaster gloves.

I don't have anything against Tourmaster, but I didn't like the way their gloves fit...I love my Helds and will probably only buy them from now on.

Quoted: I second the opinion that grip heaters are the way to go. The WR's eletrical system can't handle them though. Most roda bike's electrical systems can handle a set of the Dual Star heated grip elements...I love those things...and they probably cost less than the Tiurmaster gloves. .

I used to have some of those dual star heated grips, they were the greatest thing in the world.  no need for liners or anything, and my hands felt so much better after long rides.  

The problem I forsee with heated grips, and maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like the tops of your hands would still get cold. Is that so?

i went with the joe rocket rush gloves and they've been great.  i haven't done any huge distances in really cold weather (i don't ride below about 40), but my hands have never gotten cold since i got them.  they're only 50 bucks and they're pretty cool lookin'- worth a look.  i'm gonna try to hotlink, but they've got one of those funky macromedia sites.

Joe Rocket

edit, just checkout joe rocket gear, golves, textile gloves, rush- sorry can't figure a way to link directly there.  good luck.

Quoted: The problem I forsee with heated grips, and maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like the tops of your hands would still get cold. Is that so?

Yes, you're right about that.

I've heard that there is a fabric called Outlast that is made to spread heat around a surface. I guess they make glove liners out of it for skiers and a few motorcycle glove companys are starting to put a layer of it (or related materials) in gloves. It would essentially take the heat from the grip and transfer it through the glove liner and heat up your entire hand.

I don't know how well this works from experience, but I've read a few positive things about it on some other boards. I read liners are only about $10 or so.

Quoted: i went with the joe rocket rush gloves and they've been great.  i haven't done any huge distances in really cold weather (i don't ride below about 40), but my hands have never gotten cold since i got them.  they're only 50 bucks and they're pretty cool lookin'- worth a look.  i'm gonna try to hotlink, but they've got one of those funky macromedia sites. Joe Rocket edit, just checkout joe rocket gear, golves, textile gloves, rush- sorry can't figure a way to link directly there.  good luck.

I actually thought about ordering the Rush gloves. I am a poor high school student, though, and didn't have enough for both them and a case of .223.

Glad to hear that they work well.

Edit for spelling.

Here's what I have for cold weather. Toasty warm. There are other choices there too - Fox Creek Leather.

GL

Being a scrounger, I made my OWN heated liners, controllers and hooked it up to my bike.  The heater wire was scrounged from an inoperative electric blanket.  At 2 Ohms per foot, 6 feet was more than enough for each glove liner.  I got some $3 glove liners from Academy.  These are warm and comfy, even under my Joe Rocket riding gloves.  The hardest part was sewing the wire onto the gloves.  A bit of RTV silicone sealant keeps the connections sealed along with obligitory heat shrink.  Ugly but effective and no one sees it once they are inside the riding gloves.  The maximum power is 16 Watts when the engine is running.  The wires run alongside each finger and loop between the base each metacarparal pair(hand bones).

The controller was a bit more involved.  It is a freely available MOSFET PWM
(pulse width modulated) design I snagged off the Web.  It is good for 15 amps, more than enough for two gloves.  I used a sealed project box and double o-ringed the adjustment shaft to keep water out.  Since the heating element is 12 Ohms, even if the MOSFET shorts out and goes full power, the maximum current is just a bit over 1.2 Amp.  At full on, they will get quite warm but will not burn the skin.

I used two-wire trailer connectors to hook the glove liners to the controller.  It will pull free from the controller.  

Cost?  Well, the wire was free.  The controllers cost me $5 to make, including the case.  The connectors were $3.00, with tax.  Glove liners were also $3 on sale.  So for $11, I have warm hands regardless of the weather.  If you ride in sub zero conditions, you might want to go down to 8 Ohms for each glove which would give 36 Watts but safety is not assured.  Better put a safety switch in the system.  Mine is intrinsically safe so I have no switch.

That sounds like a pretty cool project....the problem is that I know absolutely NOTHING about electronics. Absolutely nothing.

We're learning that at the end of the year in Physics, so maybe I'll see if I can do that for some sort of a project.

Quoted: That sounds like a pretty cool project....the problem is that I know absolutely NOTHING about electronics. Absolutely nothing. We're learning that at the end of the year in Physics, so maybe I'll see if I can do that for some sort of a project.

Shoot, it is EASY once you know how to solder.  Oh yes, you need to know what is the anode/cathode of a diode and be able to read instructions.  

The heart of a good PWM controller is the MOSFET.  Think of it as an electrically controlled switch that can act really fast and handle considerable current.  Here is a good write-up.MOSFET

Now to control it we need some other electronics.  Enter either an operation amplifier or an adjustable timer.  The one I used was the op amp.

Op Amp driven MOSFET PWM

Ignore the 24V operation including the J2 pin, U2, C4 and C5.  The quad op amp pins are numbered 1-14 starting at the end with a notch.  Looking down towards the notch, number 1 pin is on the left and the rest are sequential in a counter-clockwise direction...IC pinouts

It looks complicated but if you keep track of connections, you will do fine.  Use a pre-drilled board and make the connections with the IC/capacitors/resistors with fine 24 gauge wire.  Only the connections with the MOSFET handle any real power so make these 18 gauge..and only the drain and source.  The gate only needs 24 gauge.  

Now wait for the DIY headlight modulator...

Quoted: Quoted: Now wait for the DIY headlight modulator...

The previous owner DID install an on/off switch. I think it'd be cool to have a switch that gave me the option of flashing my headlight annoyingly so that I could get the attention of other drivers in the day time (i.e. not get creamed in traffic).

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Now wait for the DIY headlight modulator... The previous owner DID install an on/off switch. I think it'd be cool to have a switch that gave me the option of flashing my headlight annoyingly so that I could get the attention of other drivers in the day time (i.e. not get creamed in traffic).

Another easy DIY project.  Mind you, this isn't the FMVS code approved commercial unit, rather one that works very well and is quite robust.  If anything goes bad, you switch it off and it is bypassed.  I connected it to the high beam circuit only by removing a connector pair from the block and making individual connectors.  Each was insulated with heatshrink to keep things clean and tight.  The bypass switch is located near the fuel selector, attached to the fairing with Velcro and well hidden.  I can switch it just as easily as going to reserve tank and it is protected from elements.

DIY modulator
Another similar design

This was the starting point as I had most on hand including the 556 dual timer chip.  I went with the 2N3055 output transistor since all my MOSFETS were less than sufficient for 55 Watt highbeam draw.  The 3055 is good for +10A, roughly double the actual draw.

Yesterday some idiot turned left right in front of me.  I almost knew he was going to do this so along with  serious braking, I hit him with modulated high beams.  The look on his face was priceless.

If you have a decent pair of cold weather gloves and have found that they're only good down to a certain temperature, try wearing latex or vinyl gloves underneath.  They don't take up any perceptable room inside your regular gloves, and will add an extra layer of insulation.  I've ridden in weather down to about 20 degrees, and the latex gloves at least added to the amount of time that I was comfortable.

Also, remember to keep a loose(r) grip on the bars when it's cold.  Grip too tight and circulation suffers.  Gotta keep warm blood flowing to the digits to better your chances of staying comfortable.

These were just a couple of tips for those that live in places where it doesn't stay cold enough to justify electric grips or gloves, or folks that just don't want to pay the premium for either.

Quoted: If you have a decent pair of cold weather gloves and have found that they're only good down to a certain temperature, try wearing latex or vinyl gloves underneath.  They don't take up any perceptable room inside your regular gloves, and will add an extra layer of insulation.  I've ridden in weather down to about 20 degrees, and the latex gloves at least added to the amount of time that I was comfortable.

I tried something similar to this...

I have a pair of summer-ish gloves (lots of mesh/vents). I took a pair of the disposable chemical gloves from work and put them over top. That seemed to help a lot, but just not enough. The chemical gloves are like kind of thick (about 2-3x what a latex glove is) rubber with a real thin fuzzy lining on the inside. It really didn't prove more warmth per se, but blocked all the wind and moisture very effectively.

ETA: My gloves got here, but I am chickening out on riding to school today in light of the fact that it's 28 degrees. I figure my legs will freeze off.

LATEX gloves under insulating gloves?  Yuck.  Sure, the latex will block the wind but it also blocks mositure and soon the hands become wet.

It would be far better to use a vapor permeable layer like Gore Tex.

Quoted: LATEX gloves under insulating gloves?  Yuck.  Sure, the latex will block the wind but it also blocks mositure and soon the hands become wet. It would be far better to use a vapor permeable layer like Gore Tex.

When I've used them it was always too cold to have to worry about hands sweating and getting too wet.  Plus they are cheap and easy to find (I once asked a gas station employee if they had any and she gave me a pair.)

A friend of mine who rides every day above forty uses an insulated set of these.  They work like a champ.  

http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat21412&id=0006032520269a&navCount=2&podId=0006032&parentId=cat20147&navAction=push&catalogCode=UF&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20147&hasJS=true

Don't know how to make the link shorter but they are handlebar mittens.

I went riding tonight with my new gloves. It was about 40F with little wind.

The liners made my hands sweat some, but I am the kind of person who constantly has sweaty hands (I have sweaty hands right now). They did not wick away moisture but trapped it close to your hands.

The gloves were warmer than my old gloves but not very good. They kept my hands warm but I don't think I'd want to use them below 30F without an additional liner or something.

The best non-electric _cheap_ but warm glove solution I've found in 33 years of riding is a pair of army surplus leather gloves on the big side with one or two pairs of regular brown cotton work gloves as a liner. For super cold, use wool liners and one pair of cotton work gloves inside that.
Laugh all you want. It works for me, and it's cheap.

That said, electric grips are great. Get some.

Quoted: The best non-electric _cheap_ but warm glove solution I've found in 33 years of riding is a pair of army surplus leather gloves on the big side with one or two pairs of regular brown cotton work gloves as a liner. For super cold, use wool liners and one pair of cotton work gloves inside that. Laugh all you want. It works for me, and it's cheap. That said, electric grips are great. Get some.

That's what my history teacher does.