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Lever covers

skidgillen

New member
Lever covers: What do you use? I am looking to cover my levers with leather or something to isolate the cold from my gloved hands in the cold months of the year. My handgrip warmers work great, but those cold levers while sitting at a traffic light can be unbearable. Any and all suggestions are apprieciated.
 
A year rounder in SD? You must be a tough guy.

I could never bring myself to put leather on my machine. (OK, well maybe if I could find one of those really cool O.E. leather tail packs they made for the GS back in the day)

I would try some heat shrikg tubing or some of that vinyl stuff you dip tool handles in.
 
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Go to any harley shop. You will find all kinds of tassled leather lever covers. Go to the dollar store and buy a pair of scissors. Cut off the goofy tassles, leaving a nice (???) leather cover.

Or put on a wrap of golf club handle or tennis racquet handle tape for insulation and then cover that with big heat shrink tubing.

However - unless I've forgotten my physics - both the leather or the tape will reach the same cold temperatures as the aluminum just sitting there in the cold wind. So unless you keep your hand on the levers to warm them you will be touching objects of the same temperature whether they are aluminum or leather.
 
...unless I've forgotten my physics - both the leather or the tape will reach the same cold temperatures as the aluminum ...you will be touching objects of the same temperature whether they are aluminum or leather.

Paul, never have I dreamt that I would challenge your opinion (I'm serious here - I'm a fan of your seminars & tech articles), but I think you may have forgotten your physics!

Aluminum is an excellent thermal conducter (witness the aluminum heads on air cooled BMWs). Leather is a relatively poor thermal conducter. Cold aluminum will "steal" the heat from your hands and transfer it to other matter. Leather, being less thermal conductive, will do this at a much slower rate.
 
Paul, never have I dreamt that I would challenge your opinion (I'm serious here - I'm a fan of your seminars & tech articles), but I think you may have forgotten your physics!

Aluminum is an excellent thermal conducter (witness the aluminum heads on air cooled BMWs). Leather is a relatively poor thermal conducter. Cold aluminum will "steal" the heat from your hands and transfer it to other matter. Leather, being less thermal conductive, will do this at a much slower rate.

I don't disagree at all. But he said he had gloves on. So he already had one layer of leather and whatever insulation. I was talking temperature - you are talking heat transfer. I think we are both right.

My point was just that the leather on the levers would be just a cold as the aluminum inside the leather. With nothing inside the lever to generate heat the insulative qualities of a leather cover wouldn't change their temperature.

But, if we are talking heat transfer through the leather gloves - then two layers between the hand and the aluminum is probably better than one. Better yet would be a bit of Thinsulite between the hand and glove leather. Because he is still touching those 15 degree levers or lever covers.

p.s. Remember - I was raised in North Dakota. Tongue on doorknob. Bare hands on flagpole. Fingers on wet hockey skate blades. If there was a way to stick metal to bare skin I probably found it. :)
 
Ah Gerbings? Call Gordon's son Jeff. If he doesn't have something to keep those fingers warm I don't know who would.

Although for South Dakota maybe you will want him to put some extra wire in the gloves.


:dance :dance :dance
 
alien_hitchhiker is right. The aluminum is a thermal conductor and leather is not. The levers suck the heat right out of my Thinsulate lined gloves that were nice and toasty warm from my grip heaters. I think I'll try the shrink tubing first. I haven't found any other lever covers that I like so far. Thanks for the input everyone.:wave
 
Find neutral more:)

When I stop at light, I'm almost always in neutral, so holding a lever is no issue. AND, if in N.Dakota in winter, you may want to find a way to "heat" the lever:). Seems simple to me, but I am no electrician! Wire the lever, as it is aluminum and should carry a current well and get warmer. OR, run some current in a wrap around the lever, with say a fine wire and then cover the wire with your leather, heat shrink,etcetc..:). Invent these and you may sell many...Randy:thumb
 
+1

Hippo hands made all the difference in the world.

Do hippos have hands? How did they come up with that name?

I am going to make a new version of license plate bolts.

I think Chicken Lips would be a good name for them.

SCQTT
 
I gotta remember to buy (or make my own) Hippo Hands.

I'm a rounder.. on an airhead. No heated grips, no heated seat, not heated jacket. Just a heated engine.
 
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