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Wunderlich handlebar muffs By Wes Fleming #87301


IT MAY BE A STEREOTYPE THAT BMW riders are tougher than other motorcyclists, often riding through rain, sand, mud, sleet and even snow to reach their destinations across town or on the other side of the world. A hundred and two degrees out and headed through Death Valley? No problem. Five below zero and off to grandmother’s house for Christmas dinner? NO PROBLEM! We all know a BMW rider who doesn’t hesitate to mount up no matter the weather or temperature. When it comes to winter, though,


we should also all know that cold can kill, and it can do so quickly. It’s important to not only protect the rid- er’s extremities—fingers, hands, arms and toes, feet and legs—but to also ride with some measure of comfort. Every brain cycle spent thinking about those frozen fingers is a brain cycle that should be going towards operating the motorcycle and situa- tional awareness. Heated grips work well, but at high-


way speeds on a cold day, their effec- tiveness is minimal. Heated gloves can pick up the slack there, but that cold wind is still blowing past them at high speed, pulling the heat right off their surface. That’s where handlebar muffs come in handy. Wunderlich isn’t the only company


making handlebar muffs, and it may surprise some to learn that Hippo Hands isn’t the generic name for these items. They all have the same basic purpose, which is to prevent the wind and rain (or sleet or snow) from even reaching the rider’s hands in the first place. All the muffs similar to these Wunderlich ones do about as good a job as the others, but little details set Wunderlich’s offering apart from the competition.


22 BMW OWNERS NEWS February 2017 First and foremost is the clear plastic


window that allows the rider to see both sets of handlebar controls. We all operate our motorcycles on muscle memory most of the time, rarely looking for the high- beam or horn button, but not being able to see those controls at all can be disconcert- ing to some riders. The windows in Wun- derlich’s muffs stay clear and pliable down below freezing, enabling quick looks to reassure riders where their controls are.


While Wunderlich’s muffs might be a tad


more fiddly to install than those made by other manufacturers, taking a little extra time to fit the opening over hand guards and around the mirror stalk and brake and/ or clutch master cylinder is worth it. Once they’re in place, securing them is simple, with a drawstring opening that closes as tightly around the handlebar as the rider wishes. The loose (and by now long) end of the drawstring secures to a clip inside the


member tested


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