Riding motorcycles in cold weather can take its toll on your hands unless you have suitable protection to protect your hands from the cold. In this article, we take a look at the best motorcycle hand warmers, different types, and methods to keep a motorcycle rider’s hands warm during the winter months.
Creating a Weatherproof Barrier from Your Hands
In order to stop the cold from penetrating your hands, it is necessary to create a barrier from the weather elements but still retain the ability to use your hands to ride a motorbike.
Standard motorcycle gloves will create a barrier to the weather, but in extremely cold weather conditions, standard gloves will not retain protection for long.
Motorcyclist’s hands need to be responsive for throttle control, clutch control, and braking. Keeping your hands warm is important to maintain good control of the motorcycle at all times.
Let’s take a look at some motorcycle hand warmers that a motorbike rider’s hands will benefit from in cold weather conditions.
Heated Motorcycle Gloves
The first motorcycle hand warmer method we look at is the heated motorcycle gloves.
This type of glove works by means of a rechargeable battery that provides power to infrared heating elements within the motorcycle gloves fabric, the process is controllable by a temperature controller which will have various settings of heat.
The heat will keep a motorcyclist’s hands warm when riding for 3 to 6 hours depending on the temperature setting used and takes approximately 4 to 4 hours to recharge fully.
Heated Motorcycle Handgrips
The heated hand grip method provides heat for your hands from the grips themselves, these types of grips are usually universal fitting which means that you can fit them to most motorbikes. The heated handgrips for a motorcycle are relatively quick to install on a motorbike, so they could be fitted each winter to provide heat for your hands.
The example below is by the manufacturer Oxford, which provides premium quality motorcycle accessories.
Motorcycle Hand Muffs
Handlebar muffs are a great way to protect your hands from the cold, although the motorcycle hand muffs don’t generally have a heating element they do provide enough of a barrier from the cold for your hands to retain their own heat. The muffs simply fit onto the handlebars and cover the handlebar grips, clutch, and brake lever so that your hands are not exposed to the cold weather when riding.
Motorcycle Hand Warmers Correct Heat Settings
When using motorcycle hand warmers whether they are the heated gloves, heated handlebar grips, or motorcycle hand muffs, it is important that you do not have them too hot for your hands.
Air temperatures can vary through the winter months so maintaining a comfortable heat setting is important.
If the heated gloves were set on the hottest setting you could be at risk of chilblains when you stop your motorcycle and suddenly expose your hands to extremely cold icy conditions.
Try to find a comfortable heat where your hands are comfortable for riding the motorbike but not cooking your hands!
The handlebar muffs with a nice fleece lining are very good for maintaining a comfortable temperature for hands, they form a barrier from the cold but also allow the rider to wear thinner or thicker motorcycle gloves to suit the rider’s comfort levels.
Conclusion
In conclusion, creating a barrier from cold weather conditions when riding a motorcycle is important so that the rider can comfortably control the motorbike without his or her hands freezing.
Three good motorcycle hand warmers are heated motorcycle gloves, heated handlebar grips, and motorcycle hand muffs.
Heated motorcycle gloves have rechargeable batteries that allow the gloves to keep a riders hands warm for up to 6 hours, this makes them a good choice for riding to work or longer motorcycle rides.
The handlebar muffs are easy and efficient and do not require battery charging in order to keep the hands of a biker warm and cozy.
