| Author | Message | ||
     Twirlin |
I'm looking to extend my WI riding season and am in the market for a nice set of heated grips. Any recommendations from those who've used them? | ||
| Qurtrn10 |
Before you purchase an aftermarket heated grip kit, you might try checking with EBR. When I talked to Tech a month ago, it was on their list of things to do. I'm sure it's not the most important thing on their list, but I'm guessing that they would prefer to have it available before the cold weather hits. I loved the factory kit on my Buell. It blended in perfectly with the controls, snapped into the stock accessory plug (no cutting and splicing - and the EBRs have the same plug), and worked great. I will be purchasing it as soon as it is available. William | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
I never thought much of heated grips. Heated gloves were the way to go for me. My S1k has heated grips and tbh the only advantage I get is that it makes it much easier to grip. The heat doesn't really do much for the outer portion of the hand. The gloves I have are heated on the topside of the fingers and hands. Works great. Especially with handgaurds which I have on my Aprilia. (Message edited by figorvonbuellingham on August 20, 2016) | ||
| Twirlin |
What gloves are you running? | ||
| Crusty |
I like heated grips. I had them on my Uly and XT and on my Guzzi Norge. I also have a pair of Warm and Safe heated gloves that I like. On New Year's Day of 2008, I was wearing both when I went out for my annual ride. The temperature was 8° F (-13° C) and I was able to ride over 50 miles at highway speeds. To be fair, I also have to give a lot of credit to the hand guards that were on the Uly. They helped a lot in cold weather. My recommendation is to use all of the above. If EBR is offering heated grips, then I'd go with them. If not, I say go with a set of Buell heated grips. They worked really well for me. | ||
| Phelan |
A couple problems to using the Buell kit on an EBR. The EBR has a separate throttle cable guide instead of integrated with the switches, not sure if you could change out both to run the Buell switches that have the heated grip toggle. Also, the throttle cam on the Buell throttle tube may nkt be the same cam as the EBR throttle tube, so it may adversely affect throttle response. The nice thing about the DIY kits like polly heaters is that they utilize your existing setup, ensuring compatibility. | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
I use these: http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/joe-rocket-rock et-burner-heated-gloves They work pretty good but offer no crash protection and the gauntlet part is pretty narrow its difficult to get over the sleeve. Otherwise they are good. The price suited me at the time. If I was going to buy another pair I would looks for some with a larger gauntlet and crash protection. I really like not being tethered by a cable too. Just hop off the bike and wear them to the door. I have to admit that using the gloves in conjunction with the heated grips is, indeed, very warm and I could see riding in single digits that way. | ||
| Stevel |
The best way to keep your hands warm is the use of control mitts. many years ago, I ran into these in Japan where they are very popular. They are mitts laced onto the handlebars on both sides They were made from sheep skin. The handlebar and controls enter an opening on one side of he mitt and then are laced closed over the bar. You then place your hand and forearm into the mitt opening 90 degrees from the handlebar slot. They are very warm keeping both your hand, glove and controls out of the cold wind. I have used real sheepskin and plastic imitation and there is no comparison. The real thing is much more effective. In use, there is no control restriction what-so-ever. If you need more warmth than these mitts provide, you should not be riding. | ||
| Ducbsa |
IIRC, Vetter sold them as Hippo Hands. I had a set in the 70's. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I put together my own closed loop heated grip controller and used it with the in bar polly heater cartridges. I think it is the best solution by far. It requires no switches, no attention, and just does the right thing at the right time. It also lets you use whatever grips you want. I am not a fan of the hard factory heated grips. Wiring is pretty simple, two wires from each polly heater out a hole in the bars and under the flyscreen, then one more pair to a very small sensor that tucks under one grip. It will over heat under some circumstances, but that's just because it can't tell the future (heat pumped from the element has to be sent a period of time before it is needed if you want to maintain temp). The only downside is that it takes longer to warm up, or to recover for major changes in temperature. But you don't have to do anything or futz with anything. It just gets warm when it's cold. The factory setup is nice, and professional looking with the easy to reach switch, and not difficult to mange. I could live with the electrical parts of it, even if I am flopping the switch to try and keep the temps right. But I really don't like the hard grips. | ||
| Zacks |
I used the Oxford sport heated grips on mine. Had the same thoughts as Twirlin when I bought it last October. It's tight. Electronics box barely fits under the seat, cable for the Controller runs up the right side. Got a little too close to the header the first time. Controller mounts to the brake lever bracket on mine, but needed to be folded almost horizontal to clear the windscreen. All that said, if EBR offers a kit, I'll be swapping this to one of the Zuki's. I have the factory kits on my Firebolt and 1125 and it's much more sano. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I have Buell heated grips on my 1125R and my Uly. Best part of grips is "they are always where you need them WHEN you need them", not on the sofa at home... or in the bags of the "other" bike. If I rode my RS more, she would get them too, but I won't ride her in that weather. | ||
| Twirlin |
Not sure if anyone has commented on this or noticed, but the ignition cluster, just below the kill switch, on the 1190 has a blank space for what could possibly be a heated grip switch. Can anyone confirm or deny? I'll try to get a picture | ||
| Qurtrn10 |
Yep Twirlin, that's how the switch was placed in the Buell kits, so I'm anticipating the same thing in the EBR switch pods. It gave a really clean factory look - way better than the aftermarket options in my opinion. | ||
| Twirlin |
Any word on how high of a priority a heated grip offering is on EBRs list? With winter fast approaching, late fall in WI has some pretty cold mornings. Wouldn't mind braving the mornings to ride the nice days with some grips. I emailed EBR months ago and they said it was on their list. | ||
| Sparky |
Somebody could ask Erik in person at the upcoming HYR Open House in Redlands, SoCal on Wed. 11/16. | ||
| Twirlin |
Great idea. You let me know how that goes  Tell him thanks from me. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
How do those buell grips do with heat sink on the left side? I had a pair of HotGrips years ago on a triumph, and it left quite a bit to be desired on the left side, while the right side got nice and warm. I've also used some of those stick on heating elements that you put on the bars/throttle tube under your grips, they were nice because you can keep normal grips, but again the left side just wasn't warming up like the right. Anymore I just go on ebay and spend $5-10 on the cheap ones, tape them around the outside of the grip, and cover it in a big piece of heat shrink tubing. Obviously doesn't look factory, but it's all black so you forget it's there, and they work really well considering your gloves are right on the heating elements. I wouldn't mind a nice pair again, but I wasn't impressed with them when I had them. I also had a pair of the heated gloves forever ago, along with some heated chaps and a heated vest. Extremely nice, but I hated being wired into the bike, having no real hand protection, and having to plan ahead for the cold. The best benefit to the heated grips instead of gloves, is they're just always there. You don't have to think about them, if you're out a little later than you planned and the temperature drops, you just flip them on. I feel like a pair of the xb9sx hand guards would pair well with them to block the wind on the back of your hands, but I feel like the point isn't to keep my hands nice and warm, but just to keep them from freezing and going numb, which the grips do, even if the backs of my hands are a little cold. | ||
| Zacks |
I have the Buell heated grips on both the XB and 1125 and have noticed nothing different on the left side. The 1190 has some Oxford Sport grips installed right now. Also no issues with the heat - mounting the controller is a different story. One thing that I did do that made a difference is that I have a pair of Firstgear TPG Cold Riding gloves. They were the only ones I found that had a thinner insulation on the palms to take advantage of the heated grips. And takes care of the cold back of the hands without adding a bunch of bulk. That was 3 years ago, the styling is sightly different now when I look at their website (zipper on the cuff instead of a velcro flap) and the description doesn't address the palms. May have to look at a review or two. Tech at EBR did say they were working on a heated grip kit, but it wouldn't be ready in time for this winter season. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Lee Parks has a nice set of winter gloves designed to work with heated grips as well, FWIW. |
