Gloves Kemimoto handlebar mitts

[rjs987]

Since buying my Kymco AK 550 I've been looking at finding out a way to NOT install my Gerbing heated gloves controller setup on this new bike. The AK 550 has factory heated grips so it makes sense that I shouldn't need heated gloves also depending if I can make the grips work by themselves. I do prefer to minimize what farkles I install and only install what I need to provide some feature not already available.

After much personal research on the options I concluded that I needed to be using handlebar muffs or mitts. With just the heated grips my hands were plenty warm when temps were down to around 27F (-2.8C) but anything below that my finger tips were not getting the heat and would start feeling, well, actually not having any feeling due to being friggid. Since I ride in temps that sometimes range down well below zeroF (below -17.8C) I needed more than just the heated grips alone.

I tried a few lower priced handlebar mitts. They were well insulated and would likely keep my entire hands warm at any cold temp but all of those suffered from the same major problem. Even with my lightest summer gloves I was not able to slip my hands into them when they were mounted on the bars without using another hand to hold them from being pushed off the bars. Kinda hard to do when one hand is in and the other hand needs help getting into them. Besides, that becomes a hazard should I need to pull out a hand for some reason while riding and then need to put that hand back in. Those also were a bit confining inside so would pose a problem operating all the controls on the fly. Those would just not work. I did read of one user who tried them and he put a stiff plastic panel folded in them to hold them open. I wanted something better than that since I wasn't going to trust any added plastic stiffener to stay put.

One member on the ST-Owners forum recommended a set that he has used and liked really well (@the Ferret ). He recommended the Kemimoto Universal Touch-Friendly Winter Gloves (handlebar mitts). They have a phone pouch on top the right mitt with a water resistant zipper closure that you can operate a cell phone through the window. They also have a stiff foam rib that runs around the opening where you stick your hands into that does really well to hold them open. My AK 550 has a rather bulky handlebar cover and these easily fit over that so I would say these will fit on any motorcycle handlebar with or without a plastic cover. There is plenty of room inside to operate all the controls around my grips including the controls that my AK has on the front side, top and back side of the control clusters. I had no problems operating the brakes and all other controls with these mitts. For those with a DCT and a parking brake on the bars, my AK has a parking brake lever just inboard of the left grip, the mitts will likely have to be taken off to use that. I don't usually use the parking brake on mine but if I wanted to the mitts are easy to remove and put in a top case or saddlebag to use the parking brake lever. Here is a pic of my AK 550 handlebars both without and with the Kemimoto mitts on. I went on a 22 mile test ride with them this morning with temps from 7F (-13.9C) to 10F (-12.2C) and I ended up having to turn the heated grips down from high to low since it was getting a bit too hot on high. To be fair I was wearing my TM PolarTex gloves but I'm certain I would be plenty warm at those temps wearing my summer gloves.



In the pic above you can also see my temp sensor in the phone pocket on the right mitt with the probe sticking out the zipper.
Here are a few more pics of the Kemimoto mitts. You can see in the last two photos how my gloves can slide right in without any problem. There is also a stiff rubber front guard on the mitts with a stiffer rib on the outer edge that keeps them more open inside.




I ordered these directly from the Kemimoto web site link above. It took 15 days to arrive. Kemimoto still has a 15% discount that pops up on the web page after waiting a minute or two.
I also do recommend these handlebar mitts for cold weather riding.

 

[the Ferret]

Good deal, glad they are working out for you. I generally wear thin deerskin gloves when riding with mitts, which transfer heat well from the heated grips.

 

[rjs987]

The palms of my TM PolarTex gloves are just thickened leather but transfer heat rather well. The insulation in those is mostly on the backs of the gloves. Next ride I'll wear my summer gloves to see how those work. Tomorrow the temp is supposed to be a high of 18F so that should be a good test.

 

[ST1100Y]

They look well made and HUGE... guess my GF's arms would vanish up to her elbows in those (inspired by this thread I just ordered some Oxford muffs for her NT700...)
Wouldn't that fluffy plush get soaked beyond anything over time?

 

[rjs987]

@ST1100Y , They stay open enough that if they did get wet the inside would dry out fairly quickly. I really don't expect to be riding in the rain with these anyway since that would mean instant ice on the pavement (at the temps I'd be riding with these) or that it's too warm for me to be using these anyway.

But, to be honest, I did look at the Oxford mitts. Those do have less "fluffy plush" inside than mine, but they do still have enough plush material to hold water if they get rained on. Not sure how much shorter those are compared with what I have. One of the details that made me decide in favor of the mitts I bought is that the Oxford mitts are open around the controls and would let a cool or cold breeze into them from there. They basically only cover the forearms and otherwise work like hand guards with slightly better coverage of the hands and forearms but no blocking of wind going around that opening at the controls. That opening would also allow any water to get inside if used when it rains far more easily than the Kemimoto mitts. The Oxford mitts are very nice. If I were only riding in temp above freezing and not below and I wanted better temp protection above 0C then those would work fine, just not in rain due to being more open where they fit around the controls.

Of course, this is just IMO. YMMV.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Just like the old 'Hippo Hands' of many years ago but they did not have any heat (got a set in my 'archives').

 

[rjs987]

Yes, very much like them. But way better than the version of HH that I tried many years ago that didn't stop any wind from penetrating and freezing my hands (why I ended up with heated gloves instead). These muffs are a little slimmer than I remember the HH that I tried before. But I know there are different models of HH. I just didn't want to spend $130 or more for them.

edit: these Kemimoto muffs cost me a little over $43 shipped to my door and took 15 days from the warehouse in China.

 

[Uncle Phil]

I didn't find them very good but this was before heated grips/gloves and they were a little better than nothing ...

 

[rjs987]

I didn't find them very good but this was before heated grips/gloves and they were a little better than nothing ...

And that is exactly why I did not keep them when I tried the 2007 version of Hippo Hands on the bike I owned back then. I didn't have heated grips and the very first morning ride to work I tried the HH the temp was -5F and my hands froze. So back they went and I ordered my Gerbing heated gloves that have worked great since then.

Now I have heated grips and have determined that I really don't need my Gerbing heated gloves any more since using these muffs with my heated grips keeps my hands warm. Tested so far at temps down to 7F with the grip heat set to low. So I will not be installing the wiring and dedicated connection to the battery for my heated gloves and will likely be selling those.

 

[rjs987]

These worked great with the heated grips on my 168 mile ride out and 165 mile ride back for the RTE at Scooters in Anamosa on the weekend. Even many times of taking a hand out of the muffs when needed and sliding back in without any issues at all. Temps ranged from a start of 21-22F to a high of 42F at the end. They were too warm, really, for the grip heat to be on at the warmer temps. But perfect for keeping the grip heat on low at the lowest temps.

I'll be taking them off for the season now, and only maybe put them back on for one or two days if the temps are lower than forecast. The forecast into mid March calls for temps ranging from high 30sF to mid 60sF. I really don't see needing the muffs at those temps. I might not even need any grip heat at those temps since my gloves alone do well keeping my hands warm at any temp above mid 30sF.

I look forward to continuing my cold season riding next fall and keeping my hands plenty warm with these. Including the Coldest Ride game. I should be able to easily ride in temps below zeroF with the Kemimoto muffs and grip heat set to medium, or high if needed.

There has been some question about if these muffs blow back on the levers partially engaging the brake light but these don't do that. I was able to verify that while running down the Interstate highway at 70-75 mph (about 112-120 kph).

 

[Uncle Phil]

And that is exactly why I did not keep them when I tried the 2007 version of Hippo Hands on the bike I owned back then. I didn't have heated grips and the very first morning ride to work I tried the HH the temp was -5F and my hands froze.

So I don't guess you would respond if I put up an EBay ad for 'RARE - VINTAGE - HIPPO HANDS'?

 

[rjs987]

So I don't guess you would respond if I put up an EBay ad for 'RARE - VINTAGE - HIPPO HANDS'?

Nope. You wouldn't want the version I had anyway. They were not nearly the quality HH became known for nor what the current version is up to these days.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Nope. You wouldn't want the version I had anyway. They were not nearly the quality HH became known for nor what the current version is up to these days.

Oh, the ones I have date back to the 1980s. Like I said 'RARE, VINTAGE' .....