I'm interested in picking up some heated grips, since I do a lot of cold weather riding here in michigan. was wondering if anyone had suggestions as to brand. Also curious as to price, ease of install and whether or not they are worth the investment. thanks guys.
I would love to find answers to exact same questions this gentleman asked. I am planning to stay on the road as long as there is no ice on it, so heated grips would be awesome.
I have heated grips on mine, I got one of the inexpensive kits on ebay that comes with a toggle switch, these are the exact ones I have
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KTM-HAND-GRIP-HEATERS-HEATED-GRIPS-450-530-XCF-XC-EXC-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem35ad51261eQQitemZ230541043230QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_1574wt_1165
they go under your existing grips, but I took that as a good time to install new grips too. they are a godsend! there are cheaper versions available, such as these.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250713660680&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_4141wt_939
these are 1 setting only, whereas the ones I have have 2 heat settings, warm, and lets make grilled cheese!
I had a pair of these on my last bike.... http://www.hotgrips.com/store.php?crn=203&rn=119&action=show_detail
I really liked them, and I think I'll probably put them on any bike I own from now on. They obviously help in winter when it's cold, but the best benefit to them are those fall/spring evenings when the temperature drops 20 degrees when you weren't really ready for it and you just need something to keep your fingers from going numb.
The downside to them is that the right one was always warmer than the left side because it was attached to plastic instead of metal, and the two different materials insulate the grips differently. The grips are also kind of hard. I got used to them but I missed having nice soft rubber grips.
I have a new pair for my current bike. Haven't wired them up yet but they're the kind where the heating element is a sticker than you just stick on under your normal grips. I put them under my grips but electrical work isn't my thing so I need a good day to really look into it. I don't think the wiring is all the difficult, I just know absolutely nothing about doing those kinds of things. I had my dad help me with the last pair.
Anyway, to summarize, I love heated grips, recommend them to anyone, prices vary a lot depending on how nice you want them to be, and if you have basic electrical knowledge you can put them on yourself. If you don't just find a friend that does.
Jeremy posted that while I was typing mine so I didn't see the links ahead of time, but that first link is actually the exact pair I have on my current bike. I don't remember them being KTM brand, but I'm sure that same pair is labeled under 50 different names.
Edit: Jeremy, I'm gonna send you a PM with some questions about wiring up these grips, since you've already done it!
Check out this thread for a little different method. They go on under your current grips, this is the route I'm gonna go.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=630623
got mine 95% installed tonight. I need to make a bracket to hold the switch, which will just take 10 minutes, and then I need to figure out where to actually attach the main wire for a power source... :dunno_black: Gonna have to do some research on that. I just stuck the wire straight to the battery to test them out. The throttle side got super hot, the clutch side eventually warmed up but wasn't as warm as the throttle side. I know that's because of the metal/plastic difference, but I didn't remember the difference being THAT drastic last time. I'm wondering if maybe one side is made to get hotter and it should go on the clutch side, but I did it backwards and it's having the opposite effect? Nah, they're cheap and the instructions are like 5 steps, I'm sure if that was going on they would've mentioned it.
Someone on that advrider forum said they hooked theirs up so the clutch side is on high and the throttle side is on low, any idea how to do that?? Sounds like a nice option. I don't remember ever using the 'low' setting on my last bike anyway. On/off is good enough for me. I'm hoping to pick up a pair of hand guards to deflect wind while I'm at it. Then it won't be a matter of keeping the inside of my hands warm enough to counteract the fact that the outsides are frozen. If I get some hand guards I think they'll be in good shape all over, plus it would keep the levers from getting as cold.
Gi jo nathan, are you a member on that forum?? If you are you should ask racermdub what he did to his to get the right side to stay on low for me. :icon_mrgreen:
Quote from: tt_four on October 24, 2010, 07:49:43 PM
Gi jo nathan, are you a member on that forum?? If you are you should ask racermdub what he did to his to get the right side to stay on low for me. :icon_mrgreen:
when I installed mine, I used a thick rubber tape on the bar, before putting the element on. it helps insulate the bar from the element. the bar is absorbing alot of the heat on that side, so it takes it awhile to warm up.
I put the hotgrips on my bike, and have been pretty happy with them. I like the controller with 4 settings; plus I like that it shuts off automatically when the voltage drops below 11.5 V. I wired mine through a relay. There is an extra switched lead inside the headlight bucket so the power is shut off when the bike is shut off. I have a voltmeter on the bike, and I notice a drop of 0.3-0.5 volts depending on the setting. You may see the voltage drop below 12 at idle, so be careful in stop & go traffic. I would recommend some type of voltmeter, plus paying close attention to the battery condition is you're going to run heated grips.
The tape is a good idea. I tried to think of what I could do to insulate it that would still be thin enough for the grip to fit on. Tape is probably about as thick as you can get. Next time I install a set I may try to find some ATV grips that are 1" on both sides so I can just cut up an extra throttle tube and glue it to the bars. That way it'll be insulated the same as the throttle side. I would try it on my current setup but I just bought these grips....
You also ought to look at Oxford's Heaterz heated grips, that's what I've been using for a long time now. Here's a link (http://www.lockitt.com/AccessoriesGrips3.htm) to a vendor here in the U.S. that sells them.
Tony
The grips I had on my last bike were a lot nicer, and had the heating elements built into the actual grips. I'll probably get a nicer set next time I'm putting them on a bike I'll really use in cold. I just stuck these on my current bike because I just happened to find them after buying them years ago. Even on the insulated grips though, the left one was always way cooler.
Quote from: jeremy_nash on October 23, 2010, 03:41:35 PM
[...] there are cheaper versions available, such as these.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250713660680&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_4141wt_939
these are 1 setting only, whereas the ones I have have 2 heat settings, warm, and lets make grilled cheese!
I got those.
I figured that for 6.50 incl. shipping there is nothing to lose!
I will use electrical tape under the left hand side grip to isolate bare metal from taking away all heat.
I also ordered these:
http://www.powersportsuperstore.com/Cortech-SCARAB-WINTER-GLOVES-FLAT-BLACK-LRG-p/hh8352-0135-06.htm
They are suppose to be really warm, and protective gloves, and that combination is not very easy to find.
Stay warm and ride safe!
I've been wondering what the best type of tape to use would be. Electrical was my first thought when it was mentioned above, but after I thought about it, might not be my first choice. Once the tape gets warmed up the electrical tape would get really soft and gummy, and might let the left grip start spinning a bit. I wasn't sure if masking tape or even packing tape might hold better.
Also wondering if it would be possible to take a thin bicycle inner tube or something like that and glue it to the bar, then see if I can use the air compressor and still convince the grip to slide over it. What a hassle. I think next time I'm definitely gluing a spare throttle tube to the bar and just getting two 1" grips so they heat is even.
Several guys over on the advrider site have used a piece of heatshrink tubing for the left side, they say that works much better than just electrical tape to help insulate the heating element from the handlebar.
Tony
I would think that gloves would be better to heat, cos the handle bar being metal is just too hard to heat.
Cool.
Buddha.
Yeah I've thought about that too. But what I'm thinking is, the heating elements that go under your grips are way cheeper, and then you don't have to worry about the wires and stuff when you're putting your gear on and off.
yeah, heated gloves work great in theory, but for some reason I would not feel very safe when hard wired to the bike ;)
Well gloves dont wire you to the bike - quite the way you think.
You route em from the battery - which is under your seat to just in front of the seat, then into your jacket and up into your sleeves. leave enough slack in the wires to get off and turn around.
I actually preferred on my sv to route it behind the rider seat but plug it in in front of me, so I was sitting on the wire, it allowed for enough slack wihtout a loose section of wire to worry about.
You can take your hands off the bars just fine ...
Cool.
Buddha.
Yeah I see what you're saying. What I'm mostly worried about is it already almost runs my late for work some days just getting on the jacket, helmet, plug in mp3 player, and gloves at the house, then take the gloves off, unplug mp3 player, and helmet off at McD's to grab a McMuffin. Only to put it all back on and finish the ride to work, and then take it all off again. I'm thinking more wires will just be too much.
Quote from: GI_JO_NATHAN on October 26, 2010, 12:56:21 PM
Yeah I see what you're saying. What I'm mostly worried about is it already almost runs my late for work some days just getting on the jacket, helmet, plug in mp3 player, and gloves at the house, then take the gloves off, unplug mp3 player, and helmet off at McD's to grab a McMuffin. Only to put it all back on and finish the ride to work, and then take it all off again. I'm thinking more wires will just be too much.
McMuffin ... yea ... gotta have that. OK clown you live in SC, WTF you need any warm clothing for I dunno.
And Mp3 player ... yes you need that, for sure. How about you buy this nice prevost bus they got and you're all set.
Cool.
Buddha.
Quote from: The Buddha on October 26, 2010, 01:29:28 PM
McMuffin ... yea ... gotta have that. OK clown you live in SC, WTF you need any warm clothing for I dunno.
And Mp3 player ... yes you need that, for sure. How about you buy this nice prevost bus they got and you're all set.
Cool.
Buddha.
Lol. I'm from Florida..so yeah as far as I'm concerned it gets cold as shaZam! here. Hahaha!! And yeah the music is a must commuting an hour from Spartanburg to York every day. I go crazy and start arguing with my self about the second day without music. And WTF a "prevost bus" I swear you lose me sometimes Srinath. If your talking about the motor-couches hell yeah. I'm gonna sell my house and buy one of those when I retire.
I used to have a bunch of heated gear, it wasn't too bad. You leave the wire hanging out from under the seat and just plug in when you sit on the bike. If you would crash, or forget to unplug when you get off the bike the plug just pulls out, it doesn't hold that tight. They work great, but heated grips are super convenient.
The heat shrink is a great idea! I'll try that idea first. Wish I hadn't already stuck the heating element on. Hopefully it's still sticky enough.
The only other downside to the heated gloves I had, is that they were just gloves, they didn't have the knuckle protectors and stuff like normal gloves, plus they were thicker. The benefit to heated grips is that they actually work better with thin gloves so the heat gets through. I'm hoping to pair those up with some hand guards so the wind stays off the of back of my hands, as well as the levers. My left hand used to always start freezing when I had to hold the clutch lever in waiting at lights and what not.
Yeah I'm thinking about hand gaurds too. Only thing is I think they'd hit the fairing on my bike, so I may have to wait till I pull the bars back some more. The winter gloves I'm using now are pretty thick with no extra protection even though they're cycle gloves.