A possible solution to frozen hands: Handgaurds

[2wheelNsanity]

Here is an inexpensive solution to frozen hands. The way I see it wind is the problem when it gets below 32F. Another poster talked about the PowerMad hand gaurds for scooters, the problem was these gaurds had air slots cut into them, and I thought they didn't exactly go with the Buddy style wise. So I searched the net and found these. They're made for the Zuma 50, but with a little work they'll fit the Buddy, and I got them from ebay for $25.

I made a straight bracket to mount them, but it looks like I'll need to make an off-set bracket so the nut clears the body work.

I test drove them at 50mph with bare hands in 50F for 20 minutes and I couldn't feel any wind on my fingers or knuckles. The only wind I felt was on the back of the hand, so I figure initial success. I'll let you all know the final verdict on Monday when it will be 25F.

[Tocsik]

Strong work, 2Wheel!
Did they come with any brackets at all?

[2wheelNsanity]

Yes they came with mounting brackets for the Zuma 50. The brackets are exclusive to the Zuma, because it uses mounting points already on the handle bars, not the mirrors. I'm going to get a torch so I can bend some steel to make a Z-bracket. I have all the measurements, here they are for anyone interested.

[La]

I wish I was that handy. Reflective tape over Powermadd logo and vents is as handy as I get.

[BuddyLicious]

2wheelNsanity,

A possible side business making hand guards might be your forte.

[Tocsik]

Yes they came with mounting brackets for the Zuma 50. The brackets are exclusive to the Zuma, because it uses mounting points already on the handle bars, not the mirrors. I'm going to get a torch so I can bend some steel to make a Z-bracket. I have all the measurements, here they are for anyone interested.

Great of you to post the bracket dimensions. What's that piece you have between the handguard and the bracket in your second pic? Looks like a Cheerio!
Also, do the guards push back against the brake levers at speed?

[2wheelNsanity]

Not a cheerio a lager nut, I used it as a spacer to give it more height.

Update on the riser height of the bracket. it should be 1/2", trial and error.
They haven't pressed against the brake levers at 50mph. I'll have more updates, but its raining atm I'll ride tonight.

I also found a great material for the brackets, I bought an alluminum 12" ruler from wall-mart ($3). You can bend it without heating.

I need to round the edges of the bracket and use a shorter bolt.

Note, I did scratch the scoot with the straight brackets, live and learn. A good excuse to change her over to red and black , tee hee.

[2wheelNsanity]

Final Update! I went on a 30 mile ride (@ 45+mph) this morning in 33F temperature and 15mph winds from the northwest, making the windchill somewhere around 25F.

I used my old leather workgloves with cotton liners. Finger tips got cold around 10miles, increasingly becoming colder until around the 25 mile mark when they became painfull. So I figure, completely unscientifically, the windgaurds provided only a 20% increase in riding time.

So in the end I think the $30 I spent on them and the bracket material should have gone for a better pair of gloves.

[babblefish]

Not entirely unsuccessful - I bet they'll keep a lot of the rain off your hands. You might try other sets of shields with a different shape and coverage. Maybe move them a little closer to your hands. I would suggest fabricating some kind of rubber isolated mount to prevent the vibration from cracking the plastic over time. I was going to try the same thing with my Blur, but since it isn't running right now, there's not a lot of incentive for me to persue it.

[redhandmoto]

Final Update! I went on a 30 mile ride (@ 45+mph) this morning in 33F temperature and 15mph winds from the northwest, making the windchill somewhere around 25F.

I used my old leather workgloves with cotton liners. Finger tips got cold around 10miles, increasingly becoming colder until around the 25 mile mark when they became painfull. So I figure, completely unscientifically, the windgaurds provided only a 20% increase in riding time.

So in the end I think the $30 I spent on them and the bracket material should have gone for a better pair of gloves.

I can kinda confirm what you say in my own quest for true four-season riding, but nonetheless think that handguards are a critical component and that you made a good call in fabbing up a pair. A rough gain of 20% is worthwhile.

I added a set of the baddest, multi-layered, full forearmed, separately lined leather gauntlets I could find (not cheap) and still ended up blue with cold after a 25 miles ride averaging about 40-something mph in an ambient 33 degrees. And that is with a mid-sized windshield, balaklava, and insulated riding suit. While my head and core were comfortable, my hands nonetheless seemed to act as a "cold sink", and largely negated all other measures. I did the math when I thawed out to figure out the wind chill factor: 40 mph at 33 degrees is less than 18 degrees fahrenheit: nothing to sneeze at.

Thought about the bar-mounted "muffs", but I think that my own solution is gonna lie in electric gloves. Ruinously expensive, but because there's a big subjective component in perceiving cold and I'm a notorious comfort weenie, I'm gonna have to bite that bullet, and get some rechargables.

[siobhan]

...So in the end I think the $30 I spent on them and the bracket material should have gone for a better pair of gloves.

Are you kidding? The hand guards look totally badass. I'd say that was 30 bucks well spent. As others have said, heated gloves are the only way to keep riding in sub-freezing temps. Add them with the handguards and you'll be sitting pretty. A lot of us learned the hard way after spending lots of money on gloves, muffs, windshields, etc.

[Tocsik]

Final Update! I went on a 30 mile ride (@ 45+mph) this morning in 33F temperature and 15mph winds from the northwest, making the windchill somewhere around 25F.

I used my old leather workgloves with cotton liners. Finger tips got cold around 10miles, increasingly becoming colder until around the 25 mile mark when they became painfull. So I figure, completely unscientifically, the windgaurds provided only a 20% increase in riding time.

So in the end I think the $30 I spent on them and the bracket material should have gone for a better pair of gloves.

So, I know it's another $20, but you should consider adding the Moose Racing hand guards to your set-up for the colder temps. I've been prowling the interwebs and when I saw these, I thought of your project. They are a little large, but look like they should block more air flow. I can't find the site that had additional images.

Or, Powermadd makes an oversize gauntlet you could add for Winter. This one's really big but I bet it would work great.

[viney266]

Nice work!. They even sort of "go" with the bike...

I had large ones on my KLR650 ( winter bike for 7 years). I had heated grips and plastic brush guards. Even before the heated grips, the handguards worked great. I tore one off in the woods once and REALLY missed it in Novemebr till the new one came in

[LunaP]

I actually like how they look with the dark green 170.

Only $30 is a perfectly great investment for a 20% gain... think about it, if it were 40 or 50 degrees plus whindchill, you'd be zipping around completely unbothered thanks to those, I bet. So right now they may not be a huge help, but a different month they will be.

[2wheelNsanity]

I think the look cool as well. I'm going to keep them, I can still get to town and back without to many problems.

If I get heated gloves, can the scooter handle the electrical output needed?
Does anyone have the new lithium battery powerd heated, I think those may be my best solution, however they are $200, ouch.

Well I'll survive thanx everyone for the input .

[easy]

Think that will work with better gloves thats insulated better

[siobhan]

I think the look cool as well. I'm going to keep them, I can still get to town and back without to many problems.

If I get heated gloves, can the scooter handle the electrical output needed?
Does anyone have the new lithium battery powerd heated, I think those may be my best solution, however they are $200, ouch.

Well I'll survive thanx everyone for the input .

I have the lithium battery packs with standard heated riding gloves (Gerbings). I do not connect them directly to the battery on the Buddy (I even have an upgraded battery) because my commute is only 4 miles each way. They'd kill the battery. Because they come with the harness, I do connect them to the battery on my DRZ. The wires are a pain in the ass, though, so it's really nice to have the battery packs for commuting.

Here are some heated glove options:

LL Bean is selling Venture battery gloves. Interesting reviews on the Bean's site.
Here's a direct link to Venture. I have no experience with them and wonder about the protection in an off.

Gerbing S2
The link above is for the 7v gloves which are $100 cheaper than the ones I have (T5, see here). Hmm. I got the T5s because they're intended for motorcycle riding and not snowmobiling or sport events. What sold me on Gerbings was the testimonials from people who crashed in the gloves, especially the Dutch guy who went down at something like 80mph. He sent in a pic of the gloves and they saved his hands.

The other place I'd send you is Warm N Safe but they only have battery jackets and liners, not gloves.

If others know of other companies that do battery powered moto gloves, post 'em up. Always good to have a running list.

You may want to consider heated grips as they'd be cheaper than the gloves and would work well with the hand guards. My boyfriend has Barkbusters and the Oxford Heaterz and doesn't need heated gloves. (Although he is more wimpy than me and doesn't ride when it's really cold ) I know some MBers run heated grips, I believe directly wired to the battery.