While our eternal winter sorts itself out here in Detroit, there is still time to review what is essential winter riding gear. Along with quality boots, wool socks, lined pants, t-shirt-shirt-UnderHoody and a decent jacket are your flexible, wind-resistant gloves and of course your heated grips and grip covers. Also knows as handlebar muffs, the grip covers are large, generally unattractive pods that fit over the brake levers, grips and sometimes, the controls at the end of each handlebar.
I've used a couple of versions of these over the years, ranging from bargain basement ATV-style ones (too big) to a generic set from Amazon that are acceptable, but a little floppy. All the while, I've heard about Tucano Urbano Italian grip covers from my European friends. They said that they are perfect, if not beautiful, and keep your gloved hands free from unwanted drafts and rain. They also greatly increase the efficiency of grip heaters, which is always a good thing. They aren't cheap, by any means, but they incredibly effective, or so I was told. And the people who ride in the U.K. know a lot about riding in wet, cold weather.
On my last trip to London, I kept my eye out for a local scooter shop. Being in central London didn't help as the high rents have chased most of these small businesses out to the suburbs and out of my travel range. The one that I could locate had apparently vacated the premises just weeks before, so, forlorn and with cold hands, I headed back to Detroit to continue my search.
I use eBay quite a bit to pick up vintage clothing, so I decided to use my mad eBay skills to pick up some Tucano Urbano grip covers. Sure, I could buy new and pay my sixty dollars (plus the eye-watering shipping) to get them from the U.K., but there had to be a better way. I set-up a search and asked it to locate all "Tucano Urbano" for me. Not two weeks later, I checked the feed early one morning and came across an irresistible buy-it-now for a slightly used set of the muffs off a Vespa GTS, located right here in the U.S.A. For the sum of just $45, they were on the way to me. They arrived in a few days and they were on the Honda Reflex one slightly less snowy day in January.
The Tucano Urbano neoprene muffs come in two styles, for grips with bar ends and for those without. My Honda has bar ends and the installation took just a few minutes. They are held on by by an anti-theft collar that uses a skinny zip-tie to hold the cover to the grip. It took a few minutes to understand how it goes together, and a quick trip to the hardware store for some of the very skinny zip ties, but the covers were soon on and seemed to fit beautifully. They are made of thick neoprene covered with a slick nylon material on the outside along with some reflective highlights and brand identification. On the inside they offer a light fleece finish with slightly deeper fleece at the opening. They feel great and look ok, certainly better than the rather shapeless ones that I had on before. Sadly, trying them out in motion would have to wait, as the snow was thick on the ground that day.
It's wasn't too long, though, until we got a gentle thaw and I was able to ride. The Tucano Urbano grips covers are perfect for riding in wintry or just wet and cold weather. Your hands fit in easily, and the covers remain open, slightly angled down so that you can feel confident about being able to reach back in quickly if one or both of your hands are out at a stop light. If there is one thing about them I would change, it would be the force that one has to use to move the turn signal switch. With these grip covers, the controls are located outside of them, so one has to push or pull through the neoprene material, and as a result, there is a small learning curve about getting the signals to indicate and to turn them off. My other, generic grip covers also go over the controls, so that you have a direct action on the controls instead of pushing a neoprene cover around to manipulate the controls. They are also a lot more drafty than the Tucano Urbano, so the trade off is fair.
If you happen to have heated grips under the muffs, your hands will be toasty and warm, no matter what the speed or weather. It's a bit addictive, but it feels great if you have some cheap, yet highly effective heated grips like my removable Oxford Hot Hands, equipped with a simple on-off switch. With the grip covers, the heat is remarkable, so much so in fact that one has to turn off the heat from time to time in order to avoid the dreaded "hot hands." That the Oxfords only draw an amp is good, as my changing system can keep the battery topped up, but for a bigger draw set of grip heaters, the Tucano Urbano grip covers might allow you to run your grips at a lower setting, saving those amps for better uses, like lights and for operating the starter on your scooter, for instance.
It might be a little late in the season to buy some quality grip covers, but buying off-season gear is another of the little secrets in getting top quality riding gear at a decent price. Keep those eyes and eBay searches peeled!
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