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Heated grips or Heated gloves??

S

SweetT

Guest
I'm making out my christmas list and I'm not sure which to ask for. Heated grips for my K75 or Heated gloves.
I can see how heated grips would be handy since they would be on the bike all the time, but would they keep my hands warm enough in the winter? Would the tops of my hands be cold? I dont have a fairing or anything that would block the wind to my hands.

I live in OK and the coldest temp I would be riding in would be about 40 or so.

Which would you ask for and why?

Thanks,
Tarren
 
I have the heated grips, they are fine, but the tops/outside of your hands don't get the heat,

I would imagine that gloves would provide heat around more of the hand...
 
Go for the gloves

I like the heated grips on my bike. They allow me to wear lighter gloves in moderately cool weather But..... In the really cold winter temps they are not enough to keep my fingertips and the backs of my hands warm. Gerbing heated gloves do that very well form me. I recommend the gloves if you have to choose and you plan to ride winters in temps of 40 or lower.
 
tarren - i'd ask for both. here's why. i'm in austin. 9 months of the year, i wear mesh gloves, and use heated grips. the mesh gloves allow the heat from the grips through to my hands. i just rode ~500 miles over the holiday, and i rode in 40-50's. (shoulda signed up for rounders...) and i had only heavy gloves on, they weren't heated. the heat from my grips took a long time to reach my hands (due to the good insulation in the gloves.) and when it did, it wasn't very hot, even with the high setting. i made up my mind that if i had another month or so of winter, i'd add heated gloves to my list, because the actual feeling of the heat is what is so nice. also, even at 40, i wasn't really cold on the bike. and i'm on an r1150ra, no fairing, no gs hand guards, nothing. so i get maximum windchill. :D

i dont know how much winter you get, but if it is short like mine, and you have to compromise, then the grips are nice. i like it during spring/fall, when i'm out late/early, and it's still chilly. i fire them up, and my hands feel toasty. sun comes up, it gets warmer, and poof, i turn them off, and i'm happy.

other folks will tell you to get the golves, because you can move them from bike to bike, and you won't lose your investment. that is also good advice. ultimately, you'll have to figure out which pros and cons you want to live with. scraping up a little extra dough will prevent you from having to choose. whoever said, 'you cant have your heated grips and gloves too' was wrong. ;)
 
Tarren,
You also might consider handguards, the plastic shields which clamp to the end of the bars and shield the grips from the wind. They come stock on GS machines, and I'm sure there'd be a set that'll fit your K75. Getting wind off the grips will keep your hands *way* warmer.
They're not as pretty as heated grips, but they're sure easier to use than wired gloves!
 
Having both, I find the gloves to be better on longer rides. The grips work well over 40 deg, or 'take the edge off' when colder (shorter rides).
I have only been using the gloves on longer rides.
 
Dear Santa, I've been good. Well, mostly good... and besides you don't have any pictures of the really bad stuff. Rudolph may have a red nose, but my fingers are quickly turning BMW Blue! So what I really, really want is :
 

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Grips or Gloves?

I am facing the same choice, and have decided to go with a wrap around type grip kit for portability from bike to bike. I have heated grips on my K100 and I use them even on fairly warm days if my hand start to feel "crampy" on a long ride. The heat is very soothing and after a few minutes, I can feel the relief and turm them back off.
 
It really depends upon the temps you ride in.

I've been riding with heated grips only, until today. The temps were in the mid to high 30's, it was windy, and colder than it's been for most of my rides. After 20 miles with the heated grips, I stopped and connected the heated Gerbing gloves for the ride home. Made all the difference. My hands stayed warm, in temperatures that the heated grips couldn't quite handle.
 
I prefer heated grips, because they are always there and work with whatever weight gloves I happen to be wearing. I never would have guessed how often I use the heated grips riding my F home from the desert in the dark even in the summmer. (MX gloves are even slightly warm after the sun goes down)
I've seen a lot of people complain that winter weight gloves defeat the grips. I don't have that problem, but I use winter weight MOTORCYCLE gloves that have thin palms and insulation on the backs. They keep my hands plenty warm.
 
I have heated grips on my r1150rt. I use cabela snowmobile mits. I had no problem riding this morning at 30 degrees with just the low setting. My ride is 1.5 hours. If it gets real cold I have these ATV Handlebar Mitten. I used them on my old bike with out heated grips.
 
matthew517 said:
I have heated grips on my r1150rt. I use cabela snowmobile mits. I had no problem riding this morning at 30 degrees with just the low setting. My ride is 1.5 hours. If it gets real cold I have these ATV Handlebar Mitten. I used them on my old bike with out heated grips.

That what I've been using now for the past year, the ATV handle bar mittens, got mine from API Outdoors, rode this past weekend for 8 hours, 300 miles in mid 30's to low 30's part of which was in freezing rain above 3000 feet and even with light ski gloves my hand stayed dry and comfortable, if it had gotten really cold I'd just throw a chemical hand warmer in each. Even with wet mits (from wiping the ice off my visor) my hands were comfortable the whole ride. for 40 some clams well worth it and prob. most cost effective solultion.

RM
 
dbrick said:
Tarren,
You also might consider handguards, the plastic shields which clamp to the end of the bars and shield the grips from the wind. They come stock on GS machines, and I'm sure there'd be a set that'll fit your K75. Getting wind off the grips will keep your hands *way* warmer.
They're not as pretty as heated grips, but they're sure easier to use than wired gloves!

I have GS handguards on my K75s. I remember correctly they are the ones that come from an airhead R80GS. They do make a difference in the cold, but where I really like them is in the rain, they help to delay your hands getting soaking wet. If you are really looking though at riding when it's super cold out, go ahead and get the heated gloves. The handguards can only help so much when it's really cold outside.
 
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