Sibbo wrote:
....Maybe you're just a hardier type than me ! ...
I doubt that Sibbo...that's certainly not the message from my post. Maybe it's my extra layer of adipose tissue!
I don't underestimate the value of the RS fairing. Keeping dry is one thing, and keeping the wind off is the other. The RS does this beautifully, and may even work better the faster you go. The other thing that I do if riding over time, in cold weather, is to layer up. Thermal long sleeves, another long sleeve shirt, then good jacket. That first layer of thermal undergarment makes a huge difference. If it was 0C or thereabouts, I'd have 2 thermal shirts.
The gloves I use do get wet, despite the fairing, but they're not exposed to the incessant direct blast of the wind. Most importantly they keep my hands dry. On a bike without the fairing, I couldn't say if they'd operate at the same level, but gortex makes that claim for their products. Ron Moss, as stated in his reply above may not support gloves as able to do the job.
I guess there should be some accounting for individual physiology, as some people are just colder types. In the '80's in the bike club I was in, there was a girl that had Raynaud's Phenomenon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynaud%27 ... Prevalence Have a look at those pictures. I've known of a couple of girls that experience this...no blokes. She rode a Pantah 500, no heated grips!!!