Heated grips - looking for advice

[Padmei]

Great thread. I need heated grips too. Someone mentioned limited electrical power on a KTM, is that something that I need to watch out for, or can I buy some and put them on with no power probs?

The load of a couple of heated grips wouldn't even make a dent on the 9-0s output.

[Highlander]

I have Oxford grips on my new (to me) bike, never had heated grips before and they are a real treat (so is fairing mind you). Takes a couple of minutes to feel heat coming through.

I'm thinking about getting some for my Wife's bike.

[pampa]

It also mentions it can be wired into ignition Specs ... so that may solve problem of them staying on ... my bike is particularly picky about low battery (it seems it won't run if battery is low as the injection needs battery in very well condition)

i have got the same ones as aslan and will be installing them on the PD.They dont draw much current.I beleive the "sports bike" ones are a different more subtle pattern,otherwise the same.If you get them of cycle treads you will have to pay some postage,I just haggled a bit with a local bike shop and got them locally.
The only thing i dont like is the oxfords will stay on if wired directto the battery and turn them selves off after the battery voltage drops a bit.I might see if wiring them to the power socket gives good voltage but also turns them off when the key is turned off,ie not direct to battery as oxford recomend.If that doesnt work it will be direct to battery but via a relay which the ign key will turn onn/off

[pampa]

I guess it all depends. I wanted a bike that was lighter than previous one and I lost the fairing and some other stuff

... when is layed down it worthwile, when u r on the road to get to a place to drop the bike well

I have Oxford grips on my new (to me) bike, never had heated grips before and they are a real treat (so is fairing mind you). Takes a couple of minutes to feel heat coming through.

I'm thniking about getting some for my Wife's bike.

[cooneyr]

For less than the Oxfords you can have heated grips using whatever grip you prefer. Symtec make heaters that you stick onto your LH bar and RH throttle tube then you put your prefered grips over the top. They work really well - hot is too hot most of the time but is good for getting them warm for a start off. I'm using them over alloy renthal bars.



They stick to the bar/tube but have to be glued if you reuse them again (I've pulled mine off and glued them on twice now). If you wire the grips on rather than gluing them you can replace them without damaging the heaters.

Back when the $NZ was worth a bit more I got the heaters and some progrips for less than the oxford grips from California Sport Touring. Good service - less than 10 days from ordering to receiving the package.

Cheers R

[CookMySock]

@Symtec heaters, these will be good for little girly hands that can't fit around the larger oxford hotgrips. I will fit oxfords to my wifes' bike of course, as she is used to having her hands around such large things.

I actually prefer the larger grips - the larger diameter presents a greater area for when I have my weight on the bars (low speed) and its easier on the hands.

edit: I find the oxfords don't reeeeely get that hot. On a bloody cold winters' night, they could be warmer.

Steve

[warewolf]

I've used cheap Daytona(?) hot grips, they did the job heat-wise but the grips were too hard, more slippery and fatter than normal grips.

Since then I've been using the Symtec heaters per Ryan's post, with ProGrip dual-gel grips. With this arrangement, the world's your oyster when it comes to choosing the grips. I wouldn't put the Oxfords on any bike that is going to get dirty; haven't used them but they look like slicks, not dual-purpose grips. No point in having warm hands when they load you into the ambulance because your hands slipped off the bars...

With the alloy fat bars on the KTM, I wrapped 3 layers of foil insulation tape around the LHS bar, and one on the throttle tube. Helps to keep the heat where it is wanted. And do wire them in to an ignition-switched circuit so that they can't be left on when the bike is off.

[Gremlin]

Definitely Oxford. The Hot Grips brand that are apparently supplied as KTM gear are shit. Off - Start - On... On is so weak you won't feel it on a summer night with a slight chill. Start is so hot, you'll still get blisters eventually when the temp is 1.6 degrees... Yes, I used to have a set, and replaced with Oxford.

Great thread. I need heated grips too. Someone mentioned limited electrical power on a KTM, is that something that I need to watch out for, or can I buy some and put them on with no power probs?

Not sure what the Adventure is like, but if its like the 990SM, you should have two auxiliary circuits. Oddly, one is permanently live, the other is only live when the bike is running. Definitely has power to spare, as I am running grips, baehr comms, radar, gps... I even hope to add a bit more

[Rosie]

+1 for the symtechs. I've got a set of off-road dual compound grips over top, and they work really well. Grips are the same size as normal and they don't transmit any extra vibration (which Clint's Daytona ones do). And you can choose grips in a colour to match your bike

[Mr Merde]

I used the Oxford heated grips in the UK whilst working as a dispatch rider. I was out in all weather conditions over 2 years and they worked well.

The one thing i would advise is that while they do put out a lot of warmth this is soon diadpated by the air rushing past the bars.

Get some handlebar mitts to compliment the heated grips. They traop the warm air inside and it is much more comfortable.

You may think they look stupid but I would rather look ridiculous that freeze my finger tips off.

Frozen fingers , IMHO, do not lend themselves to being in control of the bike to the best of ones ability

Chris

[BMWST?]

The one thing i would advise is that while they do put out a lot of warmth this is soon diadpated by the air rushing past the bars.

Get some handlebar mitts to compliment the heated grips. They traop the warm air inside and it is much more comfortable.

Chris

awesome so the hand protectors on the PD will be ok!I was worried they may make the oxfords too hot

[Mr Merde]

awesome so the hand protectors on the PD will be ok!I was worried they may make the oxfords too hot

I rode in weather that makes ourt little cold snap look positively tropical

When the temperature is -10 degrees and then the wind chill on top of that drops it another 10-15 degrees, you want to keep as warm as possible.

My worst hate was freezing fog.

[vifferman]

A couple of comments about things not already covered.
The Oxfords are the best value for money (especially at Cycletreads' prices) and are very easy to fit.
IIRC, they draw only 40W at full power, which is nothing.
Don't wire them direct to your battery; at the very least fit a relay triggered by something that's only live when the ignition's on (like the tail-light).
IN response to BMWRSNUT's comment, they're insulated underneath so there's no problem, You may have to trim any extra rubber that's bled out of the mould when they were made though, to get them to slide on easily.
They're NOT slippery, as they're made of softer rubber than the Daytona grips, and have "OXFORD" in raised letters which makes them very grippy. They ARE fat though - takes some getting used to if you are used to thinner gel grips. For this reason I was tempted not to get them, but to get the Symtec ones, but the Oxords are just so much easier to fit, and cheap too.

[warewolf]

IIRC, they draw only 40W at full power, which is nothing.

Might be nothing on a road bike with a 400W alternator, but on a dual purpose bike with only maybe 200W available (and that at say 5000rpm) it is significant and needs checking.

Running the heated grips on high around town on a winters night will drain the battery on my bike. If I'm at less than open road cruising revs, I have to choose between heated grips and twin-bulb high beam. Pampa's X-Ch will probably have a bit more electrical grunt, though.

I'd be suspicious of the grip of the grips, still. Half the adventure/trail grips I've tried slip when splashed with wet clay, or gripped by gloves covered in mud (as can happen when you have to assist with a stuck bike). I'd be very surprised if the road-oriented oxford's were better than that.

[nallac]

Go for the oxfords if your battery/charging system can handle it.
They are a peace of piss to install..

They ARE fat though - takes some getting used to if you are used to thinner things. For this reason I was tempted not to get them, but to get the Symtec ones, but the Oxords are just so much easier to fit, and cheap too.

Some of us like the feel of the fat grips as we are used to holding big things.