World Vintage Motorcycle Sales Co.

"Hippo Hands" Handlebar Muffs for Concours C10, $64.95 US

Click on thumbnails to enlarge.

Hi Ronnie,

I've been using a pair of Dan K's handlebar muffs since the fall of 03 and I've come to regard them as essential travel gear. They're easy to store (each mitt flattens to about the size of a folded long-sleeve T-shirt), they're easy to install (less than 30 seconds total), and, most importantly, they do an amazing job in keeping your hands warm and dry.

I recently put the muffs to a little test on an 8200 mile (11 travel-day) run to Daytona Beach. The muffs were in place virtually the whole time as I was eastbound during the South's mid-Dec cold snap and westbound during the west coast's early Jan downpours. I believe the lowest temperature I saw was 24 degrees (passing through some Texas highlands, at night, enroute to Big Bend National Park). The combination of heated grips (HotGrips with a variable controller) and the muffs allowed me to ride in comfort wearing my wrist length, ventilated, SUMMER gloves. I carried two heavier pairs of gloves (one electric), but the only time I needed them was when I got off the bike (particularly at gas stops).

NOTE to current and potential Garmin 26XX GPS users: I found that I was UNable to reliably operate the unit's touch-screen display while wearing anything heavier than my summer weight gloves. Even the light glove operation was less than ideal. I tried repeatedly to calibrate the screen, but never experienced a successful calibration secession wearing ANY of the gloves I own. Hence the muffs enabled me to continue to access all the GPS functions despite temperatures that which would normally dictate the use of winter gloves.

On the westbound leg I caught MORE than my fair share of rain. However, the combination of Connie's fairing, a one-piece Stich, and the muffs kept me comfortably dry. Following those occasions when I intentionally exposed my gloves to the weather (wiping rain/snow from my face shield, playing with the GPS, off-bike excursions, etc.) I found that the muff-enclosed heated grips were able to quickly dispelled the dampness.

The one time I was AWARE of moisture inside the muffs was following a "static" exposure on a previous trip. I'd left the muff-equipped handlebars turned full-lock left when parking the bike for the night. This positioning exposed a small portion of the bottom-edge of the opening of the right muff to the heavens, thus effectively transforming that muff into a rain gauge. When I straightened up the bars the next morning, water poured out. The good news revealed by this incident was that your hand "almost" never touches the inside of the muff while riding. Wind blasts from trucks (and Wyoming grade crosswinds) can cause the muff to move/collapse momentarily, resulting in glove-to-muff liner contact, but the only part of the body that appears to be in routine contact with the muff is the top of your forearm (upon which the top edge of the opening rests) and possibly your knuckles. Water that runs down your arm and drips onto the inside of the muff (as well as that collected while the muff is in rain-gauge mode) never reaches your hand, so life is good. I've since learned to park the muff-equipped bike with the handlebars straight ahead, and the muffs rotated slightly so that their openings point downward. Of course a smarter, less slothful, man would simply remove the muffs (a 7 second job) thereby protecting them from the elements and eliminating the possibility of loss to thieves.

There are a few things I don't like about these muffs, but I willingly concede that my "issues" are generally self-inflicted, and stem for the most part from "farkle-mania".