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Regardless of price which is better: Heated gloves or heated grips?

I used a pair of the very early ones on a /5 with an AVON. Then on a /6 with a different Avon.........Then on an R80 RT with the newer style as shown in the pic.......NO PROBLEMS other than folks looking at you a lot to try to figure it out........VERY worthwhile to have. No problems with levers or lock to lock turning. Yes, one get's used to threading your hands into that opening even in a hurry.
They covered my year round riding style in OKC for many years while I went to school and then became the teacher that parks his bike down there by the woodshop..........God bless.......Dennis
 
I use a pair of the foam covers kind of like what's shown in the photo above made for an ATV on my RT. No interference issues at all. And have heated grips and heated gloves. The grips only get used when it's really cold as in below -10F. Then with all three, grips, Gerbing gloves and the covers, my hands are toasty warm. My low temperature cut off is -20F as the heated liner has difficulty keeping me warm.

I like the comment about always having the grip heaters with you and they are better than nothing but I find the gloves much warmer.
 
For the record, unless I am heading someplace warmer I no longer leave home on the bike when the temps are below 45* Fahrenheit. Been there, done that -- including an epic CDT trip several years back where we dealt with cold rain, sleet, and ice and snow. And all that on buck nekkid, unfaired Suzuki DR650's.

So I've earned my right to sit a home when it's wet and cold and let younger knuckleheads entertain delusions of having fun in that mess... :ha

But I do have an opinion.

With a view to function and versatility (think heat-troller to perfectly control the temps) I vote for gloves.

Sweating under one's clothing in frigid temps is a prescription for disaster, and my experience with heated grips on three K bikes was that it was either too warm (think sweaty palms) or nothing at all. The same was true for my BMW heated vest when it was simply on/off. It was either too warm, or nothing at all.

With gloves and a heat-troller one can layer up and minimize the need to draw on electric power. The same applies to the various heated garments available on the market.

Finally, if the power supply fails and the rider is stranded -- having planned around the electrical support for warmth, life can quickly turn cold and miserable.

And there is still the matter of electrical system output and other mechanical gremlins. :scratch

Remember, as long as you are standing next to the bike you look normal, but when suited up the further you get from the bike the more you look like an escapee from some kind of asylum. That said, I'll stick with my gloves and other bulky alien looking stuff. :thumb
 
For the record, unless I am heading someplace warmer I no longer leave home on the bike when the temps are below 45* Fahrenheit. Been there, done that -- including an epic CDT trip several years back where we dealt with cold rain, sleet, and ice and snow. And all that on buck nekkid, unfaired Suzuki DR650's.

So I've earned my right to sit a home when it's wet and cold and let younger knuckleheads entertain delusions of having fun in that mess... :ha

But I do have an opinion.

With a view to function and versatility (think heat-troller to perfectly control the temps) I vote for gloves.

Sweating under one's clothing in frigid temps is a prescription for disaster, and my experience with heated grips on three K bikes was that it was either too warm (think sweaty palms) or nothing at all. The same was true for my BMW heated vest when it was simply on/off. It was either too warm, or nothing at all.

With gloves and a heat-troller one can layer up and minimize the need to draw on electric power. The same applies to the various heated garments available on the market.

Finally, if the power supply fails and the rider is stranded -- having planned around the electrical support for warmth, life can quickly turn cold and miserable.

And there is still the matter of electrical system output and other mechanical gremlins. :scratch

Remember, as long as you are standing next to the bike you look normal, but when suited up the further you get from the bike the more you look like an escapee from some kind of asylum. That said, I'll stick with my gloves and other bulky alien looking stuff. :thumb

My sentiments exactly. Years ago, when I was one of those "younger" guys, I used snowmobile clothing and layers. I was perfectly OK - though, I admit, I never took any sort of extended trips like many of you did/do, so my method of keeping warm may not be workable.
 
my experiences with choosing and using heated gloves on a naked airhead

i ride a naked R90/6. i recently upgraded to enduralast charging system so i could power heated gear. i didn't want to be on the ragged edge of charging, since i was planning to get a heated jacket liner and gloves, and then possibly a heated pants liner and socks later.

i don't have heated grips, so i will just give you my experiences and thoughts on the gloves.

a few weeks ago, i tried on a couple pair of gerbing heated gloves and went for the T-5 because they had a bit more padding than the gerbing G-3, but still they are not real "motorcycle" gloves. there's no armor, just padding. they are indeed bulky, but for me the alternative would have been heated liners underneath a good armored glove. but that glove would have needed to be over-sized to accommodate the liners, rendering them too big for the other times of the year. so i just couldn't see it.

but if i were to do it again, i would have seriously considered the warm-n-safe ultimate touring gloves. they do have armor, and they also have a good reputation. i might even go ahead and buy a pair, compare to the gerbings, and then send the loser to ebay.

i have gone for several 2-hour rides in the low 30s and the gloves have kept my hand from feeling cold. how warm they feel depends on how fast i am going (how much wind is hitting the gloves). at 80mph on a 4-lane, with the glove controller on full, my hands were comfortable. not warm, mind you, just not cold. which is A-OK.

at lower speeds and sitting at a stop-light, they do feel warm. just for fun i turned the gloves off on a smaller back road going about 35, and my hands got chilled in about a half a minute. i turned them back on and i was good. i have read several forum posts that allude to this same phenomenon of heated gloves not really being warm, but rather keeping your hands from feeling cold, so apparently it's not just me.

bear in mind that i also have a heated jacket liner, two layers of merino-wool and an olympia AST jacket, so my torso and arms are warm, which probably reduces the need for my hands to be really warm feeling.

i will admit that the glove wiring is bulky and hard to stuff into the gloves at first, but i got used to it quickly and the trade-off of getting into all the gear is really worth it when i can ride around on a nice sunny day and not be cold.

one thing i would advise: get a *dual* , *wireless* heat-troller. you will probably decide to get a jacket liner at some point and will need a dual controller. and wireless because you can mount it somewhere easily-reachable and not have wires dangling all over your tank. i zip-tied mine to the top of the turn-signal control unit on my airhead. one good long zip-tie and i can cut it off when spring arrives and put it away til the next winter. the receiver until stashes away in the liner pocket and the only wire i have dangling anywhere is the one connecting to my battery pigtail.

good luck. i hope this information will help you make a decision.

-eric
 
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