| Author | Message | ||
     Pwnzor |
I've got arthritis in my hands, bad. It's real difficult to ride 100 miles at a time when there is any sort of damp or cold. Having said that, does anyone think that heated grips will help me? Will having heated grips interfere with a bar-end type throttle lock? Also what level of control do you have on the temperature? pwnzor crinknuckle XB12R | ||
| Stou |
I have heated grips on my FZ1, it's really nice. No problem at all with it and 2 levels of heat, low and high. At high level, it's good when ou start but after 30 minutes, you can't keep it at high, too hot. So I just put it at low once it's warn enough. Also very easy to install. | ||
| Davefla |
I have a set of Hot Grips. I haven't installed them yet, but I did a bit of bench testing a while back, just to see how the pulse-width modulated (PWM) variable controller would really affect the power draw. With the 2-level control, you're really just wasting half the power through a resistor when it's set to low. The controllers use a lot less power, except on the full setting, of course. I was using an off-the-shelf PWM circuit kit to control the grips. At an 80% duty cycle and limited to 2.5 Amps by the bench power supply (specs say they'll draw 3 Amps at max), they were 150 degrees Fahrenheit at the grips' surface. I've read claims that they'll dry your gloves, now I'm a believer. There are a couple of sources for PWM or variable controllers besides the Hot Grips catalog. They'll all give you control from 0 to full. The price for grips and controller was about $150 plus shipping. The ends of the grips can be bored for end weights, so I'm guessing that they might work with your throttle lock. Mine had the ends pre-bored at the factory, which is a free option, IIRC. Al at American Sport Bike also lists kits for the wire grid heaters that go under your existing grips, but I can't tell you anything about them. You should be able to use a controller with them, and they should definitely work with your throttle lock. (Message edited by davefla on September 04, 2005) | ||
| Stou |
The kit on my FZ1 is the kit that goes under the existing grips. I bought it for $30. Here's a link to the kind of kit I have http://www.dual-star.com/index2/Rider/heated_grip_kit1.htm | ||
| Id073897 |
@pwznor: maybe heated gloves might be more useful to you. Heatable grips are really nice, especially in spring or fall, but with every grip to the brake or clutch lever you're losing warmth. Regards, Gunter | ||
| Jajarm |
It might be worth your while to get a set of the CityX hand guards to break the wind. | ||
| Henrik |
Matt; depending on the type of arthritis you have, heated grips may indeed help. Softening soft tissues as well at keeping the blood flow up is a good thing. I'm using grip heaters similar to the ones Stou linked to. They seem to have improved the way they work, so you now don't need the resistor, and they apparently have also tried to even out the heating effect to both grips. All good things. I have a "High/Off/Low" switch controlling the heaters (came with the kit), and while not a lot of adjustment, it works fine for me. I've been running Throttle Meister throttle lock, which works just fine. I'm guessing that you can run pretty much any type of throttle lock with the "rear window defrost" type grip heaters. As Jeffrey mentioned, the hand guards may be a good help as well. Henrik | ||
| T9r |
What I'd done on my 9r was installed Polly handlebar heaters. They have 2 settings really hot and amazingly hot. I used them this morning, 60 degree ride into work. They take more time to insert and wire up but they allow you to use any handgrip you desire. It is basically a heating element that is fitted to the inside of your handlebar with fiberfill insulation around it. It has allowed me to ride year round here in Maryland, except on the icy days. |
