Heated grips

[Zombie Master]

1984 R100

Looking to add heated grips to my bike. Seems difficult to find the OEM ones, so I'm thinking of the printed circuit type that fit under the grips. Most bikes have a plastic throttle sleeve, so the kits have a different element for the two grips, or a resistor to help match the heat. Anyone done this install with the metal throttle tube?

Would anybody know how to identify an appropriate accessory circuit would be switched (turns off with ignition) in the headlight shell?

I'm changing my H4 headlight with a direct replacement LED that claims to be 3 times brighter and uses much less current, to lower the load on my stock alternator.

Thanx in advance

[Airbear]

ZM, I tried the cheapo printed circuit type of heater pads with limited success. They sort of work, but getting the pads to stick, and then getting the grips to stick to the pads when there is a lot of heat in there proved problematic. That and the limited control over heat settings (Off - Low - High) led me to spend more dollars for some Oxford grips. There are a few different models available - I went with these:

http://oxford-products.com/us/products/ ... Grips.html

Five heat settings:



And if the battery voltage falls below 10.5V they will switch off to save your battery.
They are pretty easy to install:



Connect the positive to a Green/Black wire (switched and fused) and the negative to a Brown terminal somewhere. I took my cables down under the tank - I have spare power and ground terminals available there. You might find it easier to wire into the headlight.

One difficulty with the Oxfords is that the fluting ridges on the throttle tube must be turned down in a lathe to fit into the grip on the throttle side. The grips are glued on with the supplied 'super glue'.

I know a few other riders who have Oxfords and all seem to be very happy with them. They are a well thought out, mature product.

[ontic]

As Charlie says, I suspect I am one of the riders he knows who are happy with the newest Oxford sports grips. Very happy.
I too went the cheap way first with those thin under grip heaters. I did some tricky wiring to be able to turn them on in series or in parallel or off through a big ugly three way switch which was a better way to have three settings instead of the resistor (? I think) way that comes as the stock option.
They actually worked pretty well for me, usually on high heat, and I had no issues of the adhesive of the heaters or the grips failing- what did fail rather quickly- on the way back from a Alpine Rally (when I really needed them)- was one of the heaters, or more accurately the wires to one of the heaters on the throttle side from flexing back and forwards as this is the real weak point in that system.

The under heaters are cheap- but for me this involved some new grips on top as well, and then one failed shortly after and I had to cut the glued-on-new-grip off, and then the other grip off when I went with Oxfors, so in the end for a bit more money the Oxford grips which seem to keep on working are a far better buy in my opinion.

The only issue I have with my Oxfords is that the left grip adhesive (superglue) has kind of failed. I say 'kind of' because it only fails once the grip is really hot and it starts sliding around like a throttle tube... once it has cooled down again it grabs firmly again and you can't pull it off. It is rather annoying. I suspect this is a 22mm bar issue with a grip designed for 7/8". At this last Alpine Rally a few weeks ago there was another airhead rider there with these grips with this exact same problem- so I would consider scuffing the handlebar a little with sandpaper and using a lot of glue or something to try to avoid this issue.

This thread of course reminds me that I need to remember to pull it off straight after my next ride and see if I can re-glue it again while the grip is hot.

[Duane Ausherman]

Heated grips are the wrong way to go. You are getting heat on the inside of your hand and the wind cools off the outside of your hand. That is backwards.

If the ambient temperature is such that you can stand around with your riding gloves on and not have cold hands, then there is a far superior solution. That is Hippo Hands. They were invented by Craig Vetter, but you won't likely find an original set. Others are making them today and I am told that they work well, but I don't know that from experience.

In any case, riding with Hippo Hands puts your hand inside a small fairing and there is no wind cooling your hands. That is why it is the same as just standing around with your riding gloves and not actually riding in wind.

If you really want heated grips, then to do it right, you are probably going to have to invent your own solution. The heated part should be on the outside of your gloves, not on the inside.

No matter how you look at it, heated grips is not the way to go. They do work well in one respect. The accomplish the original intent. They move money from your pocket to that of another. See, they work!!!

[Zombie Master]

Sorry Duane, heated grips are the best thing since sliced bread. They are always there when you need them. They make a huge difference when you end up staying out later than you thought, and it gets cold. You can't forget to bring them along. They now make gloves designed for heated grips, with less insulation at the palms. They work very well, and with the built in Gore Tex liners, your hands stay dry. Hippo hands certainly will help keep your hands warm, but they are ungainly, take up lots of luggage space when not installed, and maybe even dangerous, in terms of using your riding controls. I guess in arctic conditions, they would be superior, but much, much better with heated grips! But that is not what this thread is about. I wasn't asking for opinion about how to keep my hands warm. I'm asking about heated grips. BTW.... BMW offers or includes heated grips on all their offerings. Why anybody would not want them, is a mystery to me.

[Zombie Master]

I've been using the undergrip heaters for decades with great success. No failures on my hard life dual sport machines. I like that you can choose the type grips you want to use, rather than some generic part. What I don't need is to festoon my bike with a control box with led's attached to my bars, when a simple hidden, and protected toggle switch will do. Like many products, some under grip heaters are better quality than others. I've had no problems with the five sets I've installed and used for many years. I don't buy the cheapest ones I can find. I purchase the best ones I can find. I have had way more problems with the molded in element heated grips. I had a set of Hot Grips that wore the clutch side grip away in short order. They were hot, but I didn't like the feel of the grips. Hot grips did replace the grip. But the best warranty, is the one you don't need. With a good installation, stress relieved wire attachments, protective overlay of heat shrink in wear areas, reliability is not a problem. I can change worn grips and leave the heaters in place with the under grip heaters. It's all about the care and attention to the installation.

What I am asking for is:
I'm wanting to know if anyone has solved the problem of uneven heated grips, due to the metal throttle tube that the BMW R100 has.

Would anybody know how to identify an appropriate accessory circuit would be switched (turns off with ignition) in the headlight shell? Maybe a color code? I know it won't be difficult to check the circuits in the headlight shell. I just though maybe someone could save me some time.

[Airbear]

What I am asking for is:
I'm wanting to know if anyone has solved the problem of uneven heated grips, due to the metal throttle tube that the BMW R100 has.

ZM, both sides have a metal tube, and both should have insulation of some sort under the heater pad. A layer or two of heavy duty heat-shrink tube should work well enough.

Would anybody know how to identify an appropriate accessory circuit would be switched (turns off with ignition) in the headlight shell? Maybe a color code? I know it won't be difficult to check the circuits in the headlight shell. I just though maybe someone could save me some time.

As in my post above - Green/Black is switched and fused 12V positive. Brown is negative.

[Zombie Master]

Thanx Charlie, I'll look for the Green/Black.

[richard t]

1984 R100

Looking to add heated grips to my bike. Seems difficult to find the OEM ones, so I'm thinking of the printed circuit type that fit under the grips. Most bikes have a plastic throttle sleeve, so the kits have a different element for the two grips, or a resistor to help match the heat. Anyone done this install with the metal throttle tube?

Would anybody know how to identify an appropriate accessory circuit would be switched (turns off with ignition) in the headlight shell?

I'm changing my H4 headlight with a direct replacement LED that claims to be 3 times brighter and uses much less current, to lower the load on my stock alternator.

Thanx in advance

Let us know how the head light works out for you

[Zombie Master]

1984 R100

Looking to add heated grips to my bike. Seems difficult to find the OEM ones, so I'm thinking of the printed circuit type that fit under the grips. Most bikes have a plastic throttle sleeve, so the kits have a different element for the two grips, or a resistor to help match the heat. Anyone done this install with the metal throttle tube?

Would anybody know how to identify an appropriate accessory circuit would be switched (turns off with ignition) in the headlight shell?

I'm changing my H4 headlight with a direct replacement LED that claims to be 3 times brighter and uses much less current, to lower the load on my stock alternator.

Thanx in advance

Let us know how the head light works out for you

I put the same headlight on my Suzuki DR 650 and it is way brighter than the stock H4. Will work submerged as well and is supposed to have 10 times the life of the H4

This is the unit:

http://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/3 ... _p_83.html