Tucano Urbano handlebar muffs review

[DrDonnyBrago]

Afternoon BCF,

This is quite a long post so here is a TL;DR = some pictures and some information about the tucano urbano R321 handlebar muff, they cost £45 and seem rather good..







I recently bought a pair of Tucano Urbano handle bar muffs on the recommendation of numerous members of this forum.

Whilst they appear to be the BCF muff of choice I don't recall seeing a review posted anywhere, in fact any information on them at all is a bit scarce and hard to find.

So.... here is my addition to the communal knowledge base.


First off there are a few types tucano urbano muff, the neoprene boxing mitt style which seem more ideal on scooters as the controls are left outside of the muff and the big furry kind that cover all of the controls. This review covers the big furry kind.


Of the big furry kind there are several different versions depending on your bike - i.e. does it have handlebar mounted mirrors and does it have bar ends. I went for the R321 - bar ends, mirrors on fairing as they are for fitting to my 2001 CBR6f.


So, purchasing:

Mine cost £44.99 delivered from Harpersraceshop on eGay, they come in a rather fetching carrying case featuring a toucan too. The muffs fit on to the bike using various pull cords, velcro and cable ties. You don't need to go full on as they are rather secure just when placed on but I used all of it to try and make them harder to nick, comes with instructions for the inept but I doubt anybody will need them.

Pictures:
https://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af271/DonnyBrago/mods/STA71293.jpg

https://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af271/DonnyBrago/mods/STA71294.jpg

https://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af271/DonnyBrago/mods/STA71292.jpg

https://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af271/DonnyBrago/mods/STA71291.jpg


So my thoughts:

They are very well made, very plush and look to be waterproof. The bar end fitting is quite secure, I can see it maybe coming off a few times but I don't think it will be an issue if it does. There is a thick plastic part in the muff around where the levers are that stops everything folding in on itself and touching the levers, combined with the bar end rubber bit I didn't have any movement of the levers at 80mph on a quick test ride earlier.

The fur feels nice but not sure what will happen when it gets wet. The rubber bit that fits over the bar end comes with an adaptor for really thin bar ends (scooters/ebay jobbies etc) and if you use all of the ties etc then they are firmly attached to your bars and would take a small amount of effort to steal them, if you park in particularly shit areas then you could always not use the extra bits and just take them off when you park.

Finally how are they to use? Putting your glove back in after messing with your visor can be a bit of an arse, they are surprisingly deep and at speed they close in a little making the hole hard to find, nonetheless that is probably why they work so well. It wasn't cold or wet when I had my test ride so I cannot comment on warmth or water resistance quite yet, but in my winter gloves my hands were sweaty when I got back. Operating the controls (indicators, starter etc etc) takes a bit of getting used to as the muff is slightly obtrusive to moving your hands around. The muffs don't rub anything at normal degrees of bar movement but on full lock (U turns etc) it might touch parts of your tank/fairings depending on your bike/bar arrangement, mine rubbed lightly on the air duct covers at full lock.

In summary, I think they are pretty good for the money, if they leak or are cold then I will report back but I don't think I will have any issues.


EDIT:
Have since done the cold and wet weather test - performed brilliantly, the water beaded up on the outside and my big furry muff stayed dry, not a hint of fluid ingress.

EDITEDIT:
5 year update.
I have nothing but good things to say about these, I've used them every ~Oct-Mar since this review was posted, they stay perfectly warm and dry, don't impede with the controls and don't activate the brake lever at any speed.

They have lasted extremely well, the fur is a little matted in places but it is still doing its job. The outside has dealt with thousands of salty motorway miles amicably, no deterioration, splits or rips. The pull cords have lost their elasticity, but I use them to tie the cross bar between the muffs to the top yoke, so elasticity is not required anyway.

When parking in the rain, there is an interior cuff which is supposed to keep the warm air in (which it does well I might add) around the inside of the muff, pull this out to stop the muff hole filling with rain.

[G]

I find mine do come off the bar ends occasionally. They provide cable ties to hold them on, but I don't find it a big issue - so prefer the ease of taking them on and off instead.

Took me a while getting used to putting my hands back in, but you get used to it and it's well worth perservering for those that don't feel that comfortable doing this!

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Will be interesting to see how waterproof they are compared to the neoprene ones.
https://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/howlingterror_2006/DSCF0604.jpg
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[WULFSTAN]

haha u must be having a laugh u ride round with them things on your bike.thats made my day
____________________
Your backside is better enough for you to run again, if need be – bristle up the courage of the cornered rat, put on a bold front, and to hell with them. Bluff my boy – bluff, shift and lie for the sake of your neck and the honour of Old England

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

https://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/windchill/images/windchill.gif
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[Eddie Hitler]

[WULFSTAN]

[Eddie Hitler]

[Eddie Hitler]

Just took a quick photo of the cheap ebay jobbies i got. Arrived today, for £20. Seem to fit securely enough.

[WULFSTAN]

i really dont see the point u go out an pay loads of money for really good looking bikes and then u throw them on it if u dont want your hands to get wet drive a car or be like everyone else with a pair of gloves and heated grips
____________________
Your backside is better enough for you to run again, if need be – bristle up the courage of the cornered rat, put on a bold front, and to hell with them. Bluff my boy – bluff, shift and lie for the sake of your neck and the honour of Old England

[Andy_Pagin]

I fitted a set of the oven glove style mitts to my scooter last Thursday. Took about ten minutes. The difference they make is incredible, I'd left my gloves in the seat box so they were quite cold when I left work on my 13 mile commute, fifteen minutes later my hands were actually warming up like I had heated gloves. Getting used to using the switches outside of the mitts only took a few minutes. Best 33 quid I ever spent.
____________________
They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[Eddie Hitler]

[WULFSTAN]

[Eddie Hitler]

[G]

HT: remember wind chill's going to be for bare skin.

[Andy_Pagin]

[WULFSTAN]

[Bendy]

[WULFSTAN]

[sickpup]

I'm finding this quite amusing I must admit.

Dannyp929 has only had a big bike for a few months and before that it was a CG so I don't really understand how he knows so much about riding big fast bikes through the winter. I'm also amused by his comment that he drives 90 minutes to work as 90 minutes from my house in Central London I would be in the region of 80 miles from home so he must be well paid to afford the 2 gallons of petrol he uses a day, 6 days a week as that's over £70 in fuel a week.

Of course the really amusing thing is he has never ridden a big bike over a winter so is basically talking shit.

HTH

[Paris2]

So you enter a thread about a muffs review, which you obviously don't care for, just to insult those who use them. You sir are the cunt. There is nothing wrong with muffs, I'm weighing up getting some over heated grips. I'm still undecided so thanks for the review...

And you see all those little dots and dashes, they're called punctuation, learn it.
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Current Ride: Daytona 600

[WULFSTAN]

[WULFSTAN]

[sickpup]

[WULFSTAN]

btw except for the person i called a soft cunt i didnt mean to offend anyone i just thought it was funny that people put these things on there bike having never seen them.
____________________
Your backside is better enough for you to run again, if need be – bristle up the courage of the cornered rat, put on a bold front, and to hell with them. Bluff my boy – bluff, shift and lie for the sake of your neck and the honour of Old England