Hand Guards

[Red Herring]

Originally Posted by Sally

Bah they make no difference apart from when moving the bike, how often do you use full lock on the road while riding?

Just about every time I go out, filtering, turning in the road, some T junctions, the list is endless. When I changed the front over to GSXR forks one of the few downsides was the reduction in steering lock, means you are forever having a dab when slow riding.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by Red Herring

I'm just trying to picture handguards on clip ons... Maybe it's just me?

style points: 0/10
keeping hands warm in -2degC 50 mile each way motorway commute: 2/10 - but every little helps

Originally Posted by ophic

style points: 0/10
keeping hands warm in -2degC 50 mile each way motorway commute: 2/10 - but every little helps

Yeah, that may be true, however hot grips alone will not be enough to keep my hands warm (or not freezing) on a 200 mile compulsory trip during Dec thru Feb. Every little helps was the mentality i was going for.....

[Nobbylad]

Never had a problem with the DL650 handguards preventing full lock on my K8

[ophic]

Originally Posted by metalhead19

Yeah, that may be true, however hot grips alone will not be enough to keep my hands warm (or not freezing) on a 200 mile compulsory trip during Dec thru Feb. Every little helps was the mentality i was going for.....

I concur. I have them. And heated grips.

And my hands still freeze

Originally Posted by Nobbylad

Never had a problem with the DL650 handguards preventing full lock on my K8

Hmm thats random. A guy from suzuki told the shop i was thinking of ordering from that they wud hit the fairing.....

Originally Posted by ophic

I concur. I have them. And heated grips.

And my hands still freeze

O right thats not good then, my hope was they wud deflect some of the wind away from my hands jus to help eliminate the wind chill but mayb im just too hopeful

[ophic]

Originally Posted by metalhead19

Hmm thats random. A guy from suzuki told the shop i was thinking of ordering from that they wud hit the fairing.....

they do touch the fairing - they also squish just slightly to allow full lock. I find its only a problem when hauling the bike around in the drive.

Originally Posted by metalhead19

O right thats not good then, my hope was they wud deflect some of the wind away from my hands jus to help eliminate the wind chill but mayb im just too hopeful

They do, they're just not as effective as you might imagine. But they definitely help, and they're dead easy to take off for summer, leaving the fittings in place for a quick re-fit come next winter.

If you really want warmth, and you can manage with them, get some muffs. I've also heard really good things about HG Pathan 2 fingered gloves. But if you're riding down motorways in severely cold weather, you're gonna get cold, there's no way to avoid it - staying functional is more important.

[Nobbylad]

Yep - mine did 'touch' the fairing, but not so much that they prevented full lock.

Also, as has been said, the guards will take the wind off your knuckles and the backs of your hands, however these bits tend to stay warm anyway due to their mass and the fact that most gloves have knuckle guards/padding there etc. It's your fingertips that take the brunt of the cold and they're usually on the underside of the grips, where the guards don't prevent windchill.

I had these guards and the Semtec grip heaters through last winter, but still after an hour or so of riding quickly in low temperature, my fingers were going numb with cold. Never got on with bulky winter gloves and to be honest, after having some Spada WP Enforcers for a month or so, they don't feel that much warmer than my Richa Blaze summer gloves.

Heated gloves might be an option?