Heated gloves

[Mummy]

Any of you Brits familiar with adding a circuit and plugin for heated gloves. Besides getting older than I want to be I have a circulation issue to my fingers on both hands and my '71 tr6r has nothing up front except the headlight and my bars. Riding season for us in the upper midwest US in coming up and I would like to set up something that will allow me to get on the road sooner without my fingertips turning yellow and hurting like the devil. I've seen Harley stuff on ebay but nothing for the older British bikes. Any help would be appreciated.
Kind regards, Mike in Wisconsin USA

[L.A.B.]

The main problem using heated clothing on British bikes is probably going to be lack of generator output I would think?

Many of them barely have enough output to run the bike's own electrical system, especially if a daytime headlamp is required?  

[Mummy]

That is one of my concerns. I have been told about a system called Sparx (I believe) that provides an adequate output for improving things like headlamp brightness and so on. Wondering if something like that replacing my 37 year old alternator would be worth the expense.

[Searchguru]

Hi,
I looked for heated motorcycle gloves on the web and found quite a few but but ended up fitting heated grips instead. This was to a 'modern' bike and I was investigating U.K sites via Google. I do not know how the gloves I saw would perform but I seem to remember one pair used rechargeable lithium batteries in the wrists which lasted 3 hrs or so between charges. Perhaps some investigation along these lines might help. They weren't that expensive and obviously were not effected by the bikes electrics (or lack there of). Perhaps these gloves and some fitted handlebar cuffs (Hippo hands or Rhino wrists as they used to be known) would keep hands warm and the cold winds off the outside of the gloves? I hope this helps.

[L.A.B.]

The Sparx three-phase alternator is a popular conversion for the standard Lucas alternators. The kit also includes a new voltage regulator/rectifier. Three-phase alternators have a higher output at lower RPM, so probably would have enough power to run additional auxiliary equipment such as heated gloves, which typically seem to have a power consumption of around 20-25 Watts.
Connecting the gloves into the (12V) electrical system should be easy enough.

http://www.sparxelectrical.com/acatalog/shop.html

Sparx products are available from various sources in the USA.





  

[Mummy]

Thank you for the responses. For now I'm going to check out the LI battery gloves, but I really like the sounds of the Sparx alternator as a long term alternative to the Lucas alternator. I've been running a Boyer for the past 4 years with great results as compared to the old points system. I guess I carry tradition so far, but I like to keep the bike as original as possible, within reason. I've had more than one long walk back home; prefer the last one being the last one.
Regards, Mike

[Searchguru]

At least with battery fed gloves you'll have warm hands should you have to walk home!

[Mummy]

That's very true. With plug ins I'd have to tear out the gel battery and harness. Carrying that for several miles to keep the old digits functional could get tedious.

[Mummy]

Ordered "thermologic padded gloves" this morning. $79.99 US including shipping. Come with lithium rechargable batteries and a charger. Will see how these work. The hype says they're great, but we'll see.

[L.A.B.]

With plug ins I'd have to tear out the gel battery and harness. Carrying that for several miles to keep the old digits functional could get tedious.

Walking several miles in winter motorcycle clothing would, I guess, keep you quite warm enough?
And if you were pushing the bike, then I certainly doubt you would want anything that generated any extra heat!!

[redcoat]

Late response, so I suppose it won't get read, Just joined the forum. Thought I'd add this:

I've ridden year round on the west coast of Canada for 20 years (except when I'm in the UK), and by far the best way to keep your bare hands warm to the freezing point is to use both Hotgrips wired into your bike- 30watt draw I believe- same as the low beam anyway on my bike, and ATV Logic bar muffs, or what ever you call them where you are- I've heard elephant ears and others. The bars heat up, and excess heat warm the air trapped in the bar muff, so both sides of your hands stay warm. Of course, a large plexiglass windscreen works wonders for hands and the rest of the body.