Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater

Wed, 16 Nov 2005

I got the second hippo hand thing set up last night, and a freeway
run proved that it's keeping away from the controls. Finally! My hands were not cold when I arrived at Jesse's house late last night to show off my oh-so-clever system, although they weren't warm. Jesse was impressed regardless, having just completed a slightly longer ride 5 minutes previously, and having had very cold hands.

Driving around today, the ambient temperature was in the mid 40s, and my hands were actually too warm, between the insulated gloves and the deflectors. Kind of odd in late fall to pull off my motorcycle gloves and have my hands actually be warm. I could get used to this.

The downside, of course, is that these things are fiddly. They're not dangerous, but they're also not convenient. I have to pull my hand backwards out of the bag in order to do anything off the handlebar, like adjust my face shield, or wave to another rider. Putting my hand back in isn't difficult, but it's another step that detracts a bit from my concentration. Because of these reasons, I'm unlikely to keep these deflectors on the bike unless I'm really going to be unhappy without them -- when the temperature is below about 35 for commuting, or when going on a longer trip with the promise of sub-40 degree temperatures.

In another nod to practicality, I rode out to TouraTech USA headquarters, which is conveniently located about 10 minutes east of downtown Seattle. I was interested in one of these Ortlieb drybags. I was actually going with the intention of getting the medium size bag, but upon seeing both of them, particularly their size when sufficiently rolled up to be watertight, I decided the large would be a better choice for me. It should be enough to hold a pair of shoes and several changes of clothes, at the very least.

I'm not sure how I'm going to secure it yet, although there's every chance it'll just fit in the basket. If not, I'm sure it'll strap nicely to the back of the seat. In any case, it provides the kind of packing ability I'll actually use on the Z750s, vs. the $900 saddle bags on the Le Mans, which I used (for real) exactly twice. Not a very good value. At that usage rate, I'd rather have spent $65.

So anyway, now that I have the power outlet (for the heated vest), the wind deflectors, and the dry bag, I feel like I'm well-set for any cold weather travelling, say to see family for the holidays. I'm sure any trips I have to take this fall/winter will be full of the cold and rain, so it's nice to feel somewhat prepared.

Posted at 20:40 permanent link category: /motorcycle

Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater

Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net.