Post by bluegoatwoods on Sept 20, 2017 21:22:32 GMT -5
Have I ever told you that I'm the type who just has to design and build the things I want? Within reason, of course. I do need to feel that I have some chance of succeeding.
And that question was half joke and totally unnecessary. Anyone who's read a few of my threads has already figured out that I'm a mickey mouse engineer. It embarrasses my wife. She views the things I make pretty much as Mrs Drysdale viewed the Clampett's old truck.
But she's also mellowed out a bit about it because she's actually approved of a few of my successes. But she also remember some dismal failures. I remember one that might have killed me. But that's another story. And I remember one similar failure that might have killed one of my children. But I'm getting distracted.
I'm also exaggerating. We weren't all that close to death. Might we have gotten hurt? Could be. Killed? Pretty unlikely.
Anyway.......it's a compulsion. I can't fight it and I don't try. It's an itch that I can't stand to ignore. I gotta make it myself.
So here's my latest project: Bar mitts on steroids!
Our host, Brent, investigated bar mitts some time back. The impression I got was that he wasn't too pleased with them and probably doesn't use them anymore. Here's a link: 49ccscoot.proboards.com/thread/7844/cold-weather-riding-help-gear
But I think well of them. I've made my own for bicycles for many years now. But on a bicycle you don't need anything massive.
This design is an upgrade on a design I've used in the past on mopeds. I really liked the results. But a motor scooter is faster and the design needed to be beefed up a bit. And I also had a definite goal in mind. I want to be able to ride wearing plain old brown, cotton Jersey gloves. And I want to be able to push my sleeves up above my elbows. I dislike having my hands and lower arms covered in anything thick. I can tolerate thin gloves without worrying. I much prefer my lower arms uncovered and only wear long sleeves when I have no choice.
My intent was to photograph my steps in order to guide anyone who feels they might want to try it. But that didn't work out too well. The end results pretty much followed the plan I'd had in mind. But I found that I needed to improvise on every step. It would have been too many photos with too much detail which probably wouldn't be germane to any other bike.
But that's okay. The photos will probably show enough to get the picture.
The core of the project is a set of very cheap and basic bar mitts.
One feature that I must have is the ability to install and remove these bar mitts without tampering with the mirrors. I've found myself reluctant, in the past, to install or remove bar mitts depending on weather because I get tired of re-adjusting my mirrors.
So I simply cut those bar mitts wide open so that they can just go around the mirror mount. This makes the front end of the outer covering a bit more complex. But I'm gonna have to live with that.
Now....to beef these up used some foam rubber for insulation on top of and below the bar mitts. This type of stuff:
You can use one of your bar mitts as a pattern for cutting the foam into place. Just cut wide since you're going to want this foam to fold up or down over the bar mitt. For someone who wants something light, you might skip the foam on the underside of the bar mitt. My setup is fairly heavy, come to think of it.
Use your foam cutouts as the pattern for your upper and lower coverings. You'll note that on mine the upper is all one piece from left to right. And I'm sure you can see that this is in order to protect the midriff from wind and rain. The lowers are shaped just like the bar mitts and the foam. Just cut a bit wide, once again.
You can't see it in my pics, but my bottom cover is actually double. One of those cheap blue tarps with a silver tarp covering. I'd probably do a double layer in any case to help it be more water proof. But I also wanted to match the color of my bike. Hence silver on the outside.
The top cover is made out of some stuff that's either similar to or identical to naugahyde. I bought it from Amazon and less than ten bucks got me more than enough for this project. I think I spent that much on nuts, bolts and washers by the way.
Okay.........so..........I want to ride my scooter to work tomorrow. And we're in............of all the darned things........a heat wave. I've taken the bike out for a spin to check that this works well. And all seems fine. I can reach the controls and brakes.
But I can't do any serious riding with something like a carpeted oven on my handlebars. I gotta take that thing off. I'll put it back on when Halloween is approaching. I'd better get busy. The Sun is going down.
And that question was half joke and totally unnecessary. Anyone who's read a few of my threads has already figured out that I'm a mickey mouse engineer. It embarrasses my wife. She views the things I make pretty much as Mrs Drysdale viewed the Clampett's old truck.
But she's also mellowed out a bit about it because she's actually approved of a few of my successes. But she also remember some dismal failures. I remember one that might have killed me. But that's another story. And I remember one similar failure that might have killed one of my children. But I'm getting distracted.
I'm also exaggerating. We weren't all that close to death. Might we have gotten hurt? Could be. Killed? Pretty unlikely.
Anyway.......it's a compulsion. I can't fight it and I don't try. It's an itch that I can't stand to ignore. I gotta make it myself.
So here's my latest project: Bar mitts on steroids!
Our host, Brent, investigated bar mitts some time back. The impression I got was that he wasn't too pleased with them and probably doesn't use them anymore. Here's a link: 49ccscoot.proboards.com/thread/7844/cold-weather-riding-help-gear
But I think well of them. I've made my own for bicycles for many years now. But on a bicycle you don't need anything massive.
This design is an upgrade on a design I've used in the past on mopeds. I really liked the results. But a motor scooter is faster and the design needed to be beefed up a bit. And I also had a definite goal in mind. I want to be able to ride wearing plain old brown, cotton Jersey gloves. And I want to be able to push my sleeves up above my elbows. I dislike having my hands and lower arms covered in anything thick. I can tolerate thin gloves without worrying. I much prefer my lower arms uncovered and only wear long sleeves when I have no choice.
My intent was to photograph my steps in order to guide anyone who feels they might want to try it. But that didn't work out too well. The end results pretty much followed the plan I'd had in mind. But I found that I needed to improvise on every step. It would have been too many photos with too much detail which probably wouldn't be germane to any other bike.
But that's okay. The photos will probably show enough to get the picture.
The core of the project is a set of very cheap and basic bar mitts.
One feature that I must have is the ability to install and remove these bar mitts without tampering with the mirrors. I've found myself reluctant, in the past, to install or remove bar mitts depending on weather because I get tired of re-adjusting my mirrors.
So I simply cut those bar mitts wide open so that they can just go around the mirror mount. This makes the front end of the outer covering a bit more complex. But I'm gonna have to live with that.
Now....to beef these up used some foam rubber for insulation on top of and below the bar mitts. This type of stuff:
You can use one of your bar mitts as a pattern for cutting the foam into place. Just cut wide since you're going to want this foam to fold up or down over the bar mitt. For someone who wants something light, you might skip the foam on the underside of the bar mitt. My setup is fairly heavy, come to think of it.
Use your foam cutouts as the pattern for your upper and lower coverings. You'll note that on mine the upper is all one piece from left to right. And I'm sure you can see that this is in order to protect the midriff from wind and rain. The lowers are shaped just like the bar mitts and the foam. Just cut a bit wide, once again.
You can't see it in my pics, but my bottom cover is actually double. One of those cheap blue tarps with a silver tarp covering. I'd probably do a double layer in any case to help it be more water proof. But I also wanted to match the color of my bike. Hence silver on the outside.
The top cover is made out of some stuff that's either similar to or identical to naugahyde. I bought it from Amazon and less than ten bucks got me more than enough for this project. I think I spent that much on nuts, bolts and washers by the way.
Okay.........so..........I want to ride my scooter to work tomorrow. And we're in............of all the darned things........a heat wave. I've taken the bike out for a spin to check that this works well. And all seems fine. I can reach the controls and brakes.
But I can't do any serious riding with something like a carpeted oven on my handlebars. I gotta take that thing off. I'll put it back on when Halloween is approaching. I'd better get busy. The Sun is going down.
I,ve just ordered a set of universal grip heaters from china £3.50 shipped!!! I,ll let you know how that goes if and when they turn up,
