<!--quoteo(post=580595:date=May 6 2009, 09:52 AM:name=PhilMills)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PhilMills @ May 6 2009, 09:52 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=580595"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=579346:date=May 3 2009, 10:37 PM:name=dbx)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (dbx @ May 3 2009, 10:37 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=579346"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I have a 2007AE with factory heated grips, which I hated because they were so hard. Here's what I did:
1. I cut off and threw away the factory grips.
2. I added Symtec grip heaters to the bars.
3. I wired the heating elements in such a way that each side was about 6 Ohms, then wired the two sides in parallel so that the OEM heat controller 'saw' a 3 Ohm load, as compared to the stock 4 Ohm load it was designed for. On the throttle side, the wire for the heating element runs through the same channel where the stock wire ran, so it's a very clean look.
4. Last, I added a set of ProGrip Model 698 gel grips.
P.S. I also added a G2 Ergo throttle tube while I was at it.
The whole process was far from a "you can't" or a "PITA"! On the difficulty scale, I would rate it 1 star out of 5.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Bonus points if you put up a "HOW-TO" with wiring diagrams for the electrically impaired. I'd really like to install my G2, but the thought of destroying a $300 grip in the process has scared me off of it for quite a while.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I never thought of it as destroying a $300 set of grips since the controller and wiring remain in place and the only thing that gets destroyed are those god-awful hard grips, which get replaced by something much nicer, at least in my opinion. <img src="
https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="
" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
As far as wiring the Symtec heating elements, be aware that the two sides are intended to make different amounts of heat because the left side attaches directly to the aluminum handlebar and the right side is intended to attach to the plastic throttle tube. I figured since the plastic throttle tube was being replaced by the aluminum G2 tube, I wanted both sides to produce the same amount of heat.
With that in mind, and knowing that the stock grips are approximately 2 ohms each and are wired in series for a total of 4 ohms load, I wanted my Symtec heaters to match that load pretty closely. So on the left side, I used the Blue and White wires, giving me approximately 6 ohms on that side. On the right side I used the White wire and the Blue&Red (connected together). Per my rough measurements on the right side, White and Blue was about 11 ohms and White and Red was also about 11 ohms, so joining Red and Blue together and using that plus the White wire gave me about 5.5 ohms. So the 5.5 on the right, in parallel with the 6 ohms on the left, gave me about 3 ohms total, which was as close as I could get to the stock 4 ohm load.
It works well so far, and hopefully that makes some sense. My VOM is old and probably not super accurate, especially when measuring such low resistances, but like I said, it's working well so far. Good luck!
Fairlaner - I agree, when you're working on someone else's bike it's a whole different ballgame.
