Heated grip installation problem

I just purchased a set of SHOW CHROME (brand name) heated grips (LINKY) for my Gen 1 FJR.

The problem: there's too much clearance (about .030) between the ID of the new grip and the OD of the factory throttle tube. At first I thought: electrical tape. However, with all the heat, that's prolly a bad idea. A buddy recommended 1 inch heat shrink tubing around the throttle tube. Do they even make it in that size?

What do you think?

Gary

darksider #44

What adhesive do they recommend?

Some grips require two part epoxy hence the extra clearance.

SLK50 said:

What adhesive do they recommend?

Some grips require two part epoxy hence the extra clearance.

Click to expand...

Hey Slick,THey don't. It just says grip adhesive. The other grip has a nice slip fit, but neither is as snug as the factory grips. Problem: it's a lot of slop on the throttle side.

Gary

darksider #44

Gary,

You might want to contact these folks Dual-Star about their heavy wall heat shrink tubing for installation under the grips. I've used it on the LH side for my installs to keep the heating even, but don't know the exact wall thickness. You might ask Dual-Star for the specs and see if this would help.

CAJW said:

Gary,

You might want to contact these folks Dual-Star about their heavy wall heat shrink tubing for installation under the grips. I've used it on the LH side for my installs to keep the heating even, but don't know the exact wall thickness. You might ask Dual-Star for the specs and see if this would help.

Click to expand...

It's about an 1/16 inch thick. They recommend wrapping the left side handlebar and then putting a throttle side hand grip on it. And since the difference between the two grips on any bike is about 1/8 inch, I'm guessing that it's about an 1/16 thick. I'm thinking of wrapping the throttle tube with some 2 inch wide aluminum tape. It's about .002 thick and would require about 3 or 4 wraps to take up the slack. Hoping the aluminum will reflect the heat and that the adhesive will hold on. Considering that it's made for for dryer vents, I'm hoping the adhesive will hold up under the high temperature.(Edited for accuracy)

Gary

darksider #44

My local electrical shop has big RayChem heat shrink for splicing kits.

I wrap fiberglass tape around the throttle tube to protect the element from the knurling.

Build up the correct diameter with the tape, it insulates the heat from going into the tube.

Epoxy the element, and heat shrink it on to get her squeezed on good.

Next day, cut off the heat shrink and put on the grip.

They have two kinds of heat shrink, with/without glue to seal.

Use the kind without to hold it while the epoxy hardens.

With glue if it fits the right size on the tube under the element.

Sounds like you got cruiser grips which are 1" and your bars are 7/8". 1" Heat shrink is available. Could try golf grip adhesive tape, just spiral wrap it so you have spaces between the wraps. For adhesive, use a little stripe of high temp RTV gasket sealer. Not too much so you can get them off some day when you want to replace them.

Thank you for all the information. I got a little itchy to get the project done and decided to just go with what I had around the house. I figure I can always pull it off if it doesn't work and go with one of the suggestions you guys provided. One thing's for sure: there's a lot of knowledge on this forum. Anyway, I wrapped the bars (I was mistaken, the left side handlebar was 7/8... just like you said... and the throttle side was 1.0 diameter). The left side grip was perfect, but the right side grip was about .030 too big, measuring about 1.030 I.D.

So, I wrapped the throttle tube with aluminum dryer vent tape. It went on perfectly and was very predictable. I was able to get it built up to about 1.025 OD... and the grip slid on. However, the grip was slightly tapered. The final inch or so toward the outboard end of the grip was tapered to a smaller diameter, but not much... perhaps .005 ?? The grip slid on pretty well except for the last inch or so. So I pulled it off, removed a layer of the aluminum tape, and slid it back on. The aluminum tape seemed to work really well because it was so easy to get it JUST right. However, it is really time consuming to take the tape back off. My trusty dial calipers certainly came in handy. A couple shots of grip glue, and everything went together.
Now they're both on and I'm busy wiring.

Gary
darksider #44