what have you done to your "bike" today

[tony.mon]

The good news is the boots were great, feet never felt cold. The winter gloves were not so good however, my hands were lovely and warm to start with, but as the miles went on (5 to 10miles) my fingers were starting to get cold.

Chris.

What makes?
I've been impressed with a pair of TCX boots for wet and winter use; they're a bit clunky for slick gear changes, but if your feet lose all feeling, you're no better off.

Were the gloves heated?

[MacV2]

I took a chance on the weather staying dry on Friday just gone, and took my Storm for a ride-out. Luckily it did stay dry
The idea was two fold, one to give the bike a half decent run, and two I wanted to see how my new winter boots and new winter gloves stood up to the colder weather, well colder for me at 7*C, no sun just grey clouds all over!

The good news is the boots were great, feet never felt cold. The winter gloves were not so good however, my hands were lovely and warm to start with, but as the miles went on (5 to 10miles) my fingers were starting to get cold.

Great to get another ride-out in this year

Chris.

Invest in some heated gloves...

Big choice these days. Hard wire to bike. Battery. Full gloves or under gloves.

I used https://keisapparel.com/collections/heated-gloves...

Used this type for the winter commute...https://keisapparel.com/products/g601-h ... ing-gloves

Did try the under gloves for a bit but the full gloves are better IMO.

Heated gloves far superior than heated grips as they heat the whole hand.

Yep bit pricey if your not riding all year however...

[Pete.L]

Heated gloves far superior than heated grips as they heat the whole hand.

Undoubtedly. But the price has always put me off and what happens if they start leaking? Pricey to replace.

Chris
go for some heated grips. There are some really cheep ones out there and once combined with a decent pair of gloves they can really extend your riding year.
I even use them in the summer if I get caught in a rain storm or I'm off for an early morning spin.

Pete.l

[KermitLeFrog]

Heated gloves far superior than heated grips as they heat the whole hand.

Undoubtedly. But the price has always put me off and what happens if they start leaking? Pricey to replace.

Chris
go for some heated grips. There are some really cheep ones out there and once combined with a decent pair of gloves they can really extend your riding year.
I even use them in the summer if I get caught in a rain storm or I'm off for an early morning spin.

Pete.l

I have two pairs of heated gloves. One Kies that plug in and one pair RST that take a battery. I have had both and used both for years now and they are still going strong. They really are much better than heated grips.

[MacV2]

Went out on The Murvinator...

Surprisingly mild out there.

I bought some gloves recently off ebay which allegedly are 100% waterproof...

Haven't had to check that yet but they are nice & warm...Which is nice.

[sirch345]

I appreciate your suggestions guy's, many thanks

The good news is the boots were great, feet never felt cold. The winter gloves were not so good however, my hands were lovely and warm to start with, but as the miles went on (5 to 10miles) my fingers were starting to get cold.

Chris.

What makes?
I've been impressed with a pair of TCX boots for wet and winter use; they're a bit clunky for slick gear changes, but if your feet lose all feeling, you're no better off.

Were the gloves heated?

First off I must say I absolutely detest purchasing things like motorcycle kit online.
You can call me old school or whatever you like, but you can’t beat trying stuff on before purchasing. So of course that limits me to what is available locally, plus being in Cornwall too makes for a very limited choice.

After doing the rounds at our local bike shops etc and trying on different make's of boots, the ones that fitted me the best were an Oxford product, they are the Oxford Tracker's, see link for details: https://www.oxfordproducts.com/motorcyc ... oot_black/
I would say these feel a bit clunky too compare to summer boots etc, but that is to be expected with a winter boots I think. I have had to raise the gear lever a little for these boots.

Same applied to the winter gloves, very limited locally to what was available and what fitted my 2XL hands. No they they are not heated gloves Tony.
They are made by Duchinni, see link for details: https://www.twowheel.co.uk/duchinni-yuk ... ellow.html

I was quite prepared to pay a lot more for boots and the gloves, but I had to go with the ones that fitted the best!

Chris.

[MacV2]

Chris, grab a pair of these...

I have used these in the past & they work quite well.

As long as there's a bit of room in your new gloves they won't feel tight.

https://frank-thomas.co.uk/product/fran ... lack-54674

[sirch345]

Chris, grab a pair of these...

I have used these in the past & they work quite well.

As long as there's a bit of room in your new gloves they won't feel tight.

https://frank-thomas.co.uk/product/fran ... lack-54674

Hey Mac, that is good idea I'll need to bed the new gloves in a bit first as they are rather a snug fit atm

I did think about giving handlebar hand-guards a go (like Xeris has done, see pic below), although clearing the fairing could be a problem with them.
If those Antifreeze gloves work that would be a lot easier

Thanks for the suggestion and link Mac,



Chris.

[MacV2]

Out & about on The Murvinator, nice & sunny but a bit chilly & greasy roads.

No sign of salt yet as it hasn't been that cold round here.

Apart from the chill northerly winds...BRRRR.

[sirch345]

Out & about on The Murvinator, nice & sunny but a bit chilly & greasy roads.

No sign of salt yet as it hasn't been that cold round here.

Apart from the chill northerly winds...BRRRR.

I'm glad to see you took advantage of the Sun Mac

Chris.

[MacV2]

Out & about on The Murvinator, nice & sunny but a bit chilly & greasy roads.

No sign of salt yet as it hasn't been that cold round here.

Apart from the chill northerly winds...BRRRR.

I'm glad to see you took advantage of the Sun Mac

Chris.

Good job I did it's fekin raining today...

[fabiostar]

Started mine just to heat it up, looked out at the driving rain and opened another beer

[tony.mon]

I wired a second lithium battery in parallel with the bike's lithium battery; connected with the charger lead that stays on the bike.

I had to connect the wires to the "wrong" terminal on the second battery, as the connector reverses the polarity. With both of them charged up I will only need to go out to the garage once a fortnight to top them up rather than weekly.

I know I should just ride the thing instead, but I can't be doing with riding and then cleaning it afterwards.

I bought a new charger which can be left connected as a maintenance charger, but it defaults to ordinary cheap lead acid settings if there's a power cut, which would kill the lithium one, or cause a fire. So I can only charge the battery if I'm around, so I can disconnect it if there's an outage. We get them fairly frequently round here, almost always only fit a couple of minutes, but it would be enough to reset the charger to the wrong setting.

[KermitLeFrog]

Put the charger on a UPS. That will cover the short power cuts.

[tony.mon]

Put the charger on a UPS. That will cover the short power cuts.

That'd work. But I had a spare battery, and would have to buy a UPS.