Winterizing the V-Strom

2005-12-20T08:47:00.001-08:00

Step 1. Keep hands warm

I've used these on various bikes over the years, and found them very effective at keeping hands warm... only problem is they are pretty dorky looking and cumbersome. I've used some cheap ATV muffs on my Concours the last couple of winters, but they won't fit on the V-Strom so it was time to check the options.

Hippo Hands are sold by a fellow Connie owner, and are the best fitting, and best looking muffs I've ever seen. They have some made specifically for the Strom, and they fit snugly around the mirrors and handguards. They even have a strip of velcro on the inside to keep them positioned against the hand guards. Price was $72 delivered.

Yesterday was my first test of them - 200 mile ride from DC to Colonial Beach, VA. Temps were in the low 30's when I left home. Haven't gotten around to installing heated grips yet, so was relying on the Hippo Hands... No worries, wearing normal winter gloves my hands weren't at all cold. Fairly toasty in fact.

So it seems, with this low-tech solution, I'm not even going to need heated grips unless it's below freezing. OR if it's above freezing I could use heated grips and just wear summer gloves inside the muffs (in fact I did just that last year on the Connie).

No claims made for waterproofness... since they have some gaps and holes in them, they are going to let SOME water in, but only a little, and will be a lot better than nothing...

Trouble with heated grips is you only heat your palm - unless you can keep the wind off, you're still going to be losing a ton of heat through your knuckles and the back of your hand.

Main downside with muffs is they are a bit clumsy, and take a bit of practice getting your hands into and out of them quickly. Not at big deal really, and these ones are better than most 'cos they are quite stiff and the openings stay opened when you remove your hands.

moto adventures

Winterizing the V-Strom