I gotta tell you, this riding in the cold thing is over rated. We moved from CA to Reno, NV in September. Now I grew up in PA but that was, well too many years ago. I have Gerbing heated stuff, the original gloves & a jacket liner. They were great in CA when the temps dipped down below 45 ( I mostly rode the Sportster then) but here in Reno, at 30 degrees, the gloves just keep up. I have always noticed & heard from otheres that thumbs get cold. I agree, I think it's because they just go along for the ride and stick up by themself.
So Sportster is all tucked away under it's cover for the winter. Winter MC is the 06 SE. The farings, heated seat & grips in addition to the Gerbing stuff make it ok to be out.
The heated grips in combination with the gloved do the trick on the very cold days. I would like to see a little more hear around the thumbs however.
In lots of discussion it is clear to me that Gerbings is the best on the market. It is also very dependent on the person, and their body chemistry. I ride with a guy on a Yamaha FJR and he wears these old military gloves that are falling apart, and sometimes, when it is below 40 turns on his heated grips. He hates to ride if it is over 60, too hot.