HEATED GRIPS

Fencer · Sep 27, 2006

I just picked up the heated grips from Big Bike Parts. The ones listed in the less than $100 heated grip thread. Now that I bought them just yesterday, it is being posted that these grips don't get hot enough. I have not installed them yet. I did, however, hook them up to a battery to make sure they worked. They got what I would consider someplace between luke warm and mildly hot in my bare hands. some are suggesting the should be uncomfy to hold. I don't think the heat I experienced would go through grip puppies or gloves (maybe just a little) let alone both. the ambient air tep was around 75. I guess they would feel hotter if it were 20. Are the big bike grips junk or or my calused hands not sensitive enough?

Is there a way to mod the controller to turn up the heat? I'll dissasemble the cover and post pics if someone thinks this will work.

Derek · Sep 27, 2006

they don't have to get as warm as you might expect. my shoulder season gloves are pretty heavy watkins leather gauntlets. the heated grips just warms the blood going into your fingers as you lightly rest your hands on the bars.

derek

JimLor · Sep 28, 2006

I've got the Dual Stars and on high they actually get pretty warm - more than I'd want to hang on to for real long with neeked hands. I wear "winter" mc gloves and on hi the heat isn't uncomfortable but is noticeable. I think someone else said it best on another thread, you don't need to have your hands feel warm, they just shouldn't feel cold!

NovaFlyer · Sep 28, 2006

you don't need to have your hands feel warm, they just shouldn't feel cold!

+1

I was just looking to have some warmth for those fall riding days where your hands get chilled and numb. No need to fry the suckers, just cut down on the hand chill.

C&C · Sep 28, 2006

Should have just enough heat to keep from sucking the heat from your fingers. You know, neutralize the heat sink of the cold handlebars. (assuming your have a wind proof/resistant glove.)

airboss · Sep 28, 2006

Rode to work this morning at 48 degrees,Big Bike heated grips,grip puppies,V-Strom handguards,mid weight leather lined gloves, hands got nice and toasty, had to turn the heat down some.

Moosehead · Sep 28, 2006

I've got Dual Stars with the Heat Troller control on stock grips. They get pretty warm at about half the dial. When I put the Grip Puppies on there was almost no difference in the heat transferred.

Fjrtn · Sep 28, 2006

airboss said:
Rode to work this morning at 48 degrees,Big Bike heated grips,grip puppies,V-Strom handguards,mid weight leather lined gloves, hands got nice and toasty, had to turn the heat down some.

airboss:

Read your post with interest since I have been trying to find out if the V-Strom hand guards will work with the Big Bike Parts grip heaters (I have the grip heaters and want to install the hand guards too) since they are longer than the OEM grips.

So then, your hand guards obviously worked fine with the Big Bike Parts grip heaters? If not, what modifications did you have to make?

Thanks for your timely post which should help me out on my latest farkle quest. :yahoo:

Fjrtn

VicaDon · Sep 28, 2006

FJRFencer said:
I just picked up the heated grips from Big Bike Parts. The ones listed in the less than $100 heated grip thread. Now that I bought them just yesterday, it is being posted that these grips don't get hot enough. I have not installed them yet. I did, however, hook them up to a battery to make sure they worked. They got what I would consider someplace between luke warm and mildly hot in my bare hands. some are suggesting the should be uncomfy to hold. I don't think the heat I experienced would go through grip puppies or gloves (maybe just a little) let alone both. the ambient air tep was around 75. I guess they would feel hotter if it were 20. Are the big bike grips junk or or my calused hands not sensitive enough?
Is there a way to mod the controller to turn up the heat? I'll dissasemble the cover and post pics if someone thinks this will work.

I have the Big Bike Parts grips on the FJR; they produce only a moderate amount of heat on high (a 3 on a scale of 1-10). I wired them directly to the battery to see if my aux. fuse box was the problem. No difference. I bypassed the controller, still no difference. I have the Hot Grips on the V-Strom, and they are excellent (a 8 on the same scale). I have ordered a set of the Hot Grips for the FJR.

airboss · Sep 29, 2006

Fjrtn said:
airboss said:

Rode to work this morning at 48 degrees,Big Bike heated grips,grip puppies,V-Strom handguards,mid weight leather lined gloves, hands got nice and toasty, had to turn the heat down some.

Click to expand...

airboss:

Read your post with interest since I have been trying to find out if the V-Strom hand guards will work with the Big Bike Parts grip heaters (I have the grip heaters and want to install the hand guards too) since they are longer than the OEM grips.

So then, your hand guards obviously worked fine with the Big Bike Parts grip heaters? If not, what modifications did you have to make?

Thanks for your timely post which should help me out on my latest farkle quest. :yahoo:

Fjrtn

Fjrtn, had to use a little heat(heat gun) to spread the ends V-Stroms out a little, they work great. I don't know if it makes a difference as to how hot the grips get, but right below the glove box is the factory connection for heated grips, unconnected white plug, thats what I use as power source.

Fjrtn · Sep 29, 2006

airboss:

Appreciate the info. I ordered my hand "knuckle" guards from Ron Ayers today. I'll do the heat stretch that you recommend...very carefully

. Looks like my grip heaters are putting out as much heat as everyone else's. Should be nice and warm with the heaters and hand guard combo

.

Thanks,

Fjrtn

timk · Sep 29, 2006

My Hot Grips brand will redden my hands. Just use the toggle between hot and warm. Grip Puppies installed. Takes a little longer to warm em up.

War Machine · Sep 29, 2006

FJRFencer said:
I just picked up the heated grips from Big Bike Parts. The ones listed in the less than $100 heated grip thread. Now that I bought them just yesterday, it is being posted that these grips don't get hot enough. I have not installed them yet. I did, however, hook them up to a battery to make sure they worked. They got what I would consider someplace between luke warm and mildly hot in my bare hands. some are suggesting the should be uncomfy to hold. I don't think the heat I experienced would go through grip puppies or gloves (maybe just a little) let alone both. the ambient air tep was around 75. I guess they would feel hotter if it were 20. Are the big bike grips junk or or my calused hands not sensitive enough?

I too felt Yamaha was ripping us off charging those prices for the factory heated grips. In fact I'm sure the less expensive grips are identical to the factory grips. Yamaha buys those parts from another source & then gives them a Yamaha part number.

Since I also wanted heated grips (I ride all year long) & I wasn't happy with the Yamaha price or the way the Yamaha Control unit sticks out so high from the dash panel, I came up with a different approach. My friend John has an 04 Honda ST1300 with heated grips. Have ridden his bike in winter & those grips get HOT. After inspecting his bike's grips (he & I share a garage) I discovered the grips on his bike are identical to the Yamaha factory grips. The control unit is different, & I like it better. So I order the Honda part # 08T50-MCS-100 after searching on the web & found it for $160, & then installed it myself. Here are some pics:

The Honda Thermostat Control Unit shown above in my opinion looks much better than the protruding Yamaha Controller, & I only had to dremmel out the removable square panel.

This photo above shows my set up of grip puppies over the heated grips (yes the grips still get very hot), with a vista cruise control & manic salamander end weights.

I think this profile with a flush mounted control unit is much cleaner than the Yamaha controller. The best part is it works! And I installed it myself.

Fencer · Oct 11, 2006

Ok I still have not put them on but I did let them stay on high for 25 min today with a deepwell socket inside to simulate the bars. I borrowed a high end infa red thermometer from a friend and here is what I got:

Drivers side Hotest point 161F to 118F over most all spots on the grip the average was was around 148F

Passenger 155-112F average around 144F

I have decide to install them now as I may not have left them on long enough before. I still don't think the reading is intirely accurate with temps in the high 140s I could still hold them with my bare hands easily ( I'm a tough ******* what can I say

) My friend suggested the rubber grip may be deflecting the infared's accuracy. When I pulled the sockets out of the inside They were around 119F .

Per a discussion with IONBEAM we've determined THESE (my particular set) grips to be approx 11 watts.

TheAxeman · Oct 12, 2006

Fencer,

I have the same grips as you and last weekend I rode a couple of hundred miles at a temperature of between 39 and 43 degrees with the grips cranked up all the way. I was wearing a pair of Olympia lightweight gel gloves and my hands for the most part were pretty comfortable, I could definitely feel the heat coming off the grips. However, without hand guards, the wind hitting the tops of my hands started to get uncomfortable towards the end of the ride. I was probably averaging around 75 to 80 mph. I think at any temperature lower than what I was riding in I will want a pair of heated gloves instead. I know you live much farther south than I do so if your not going to be riding in near freezing temps, I would think the heated grips will work out fine for you.

Fencer · Oct 12, 2006

TheAxeman said:
Fencer,I have the same grips as you and last weekend I rode a couple of hundred miles at a temperature of between 39 and 43 degrees with the grips cranked up all the way. I was wearing a pair of Olympia lightweight gel gloves and my hands for the most part were pretty comfortable, I could definitely feel the heat coming off the grips. However, without hand guards, the wind hitting the tops of my hands started to get uncomfortable towards the end of the ride. I was probably averaging around 75 to 80 mph. I think at any temperature lower than what I was riding in I will want a pair of heated gloves instead. I know you live much farther south than I do so if your not going to be riding in near freezing temps, I would think the heated grips will work out fine for you.

Believe it or not we do hit the teens in winter here. Some days Highs are in the 20's. Granted the stretch of cold weather is not as long as yours, but a Witch's *** is a Witch's ***

mbrinitzer · Oct 17, 2006

War Machine said:
FJRFencer said:

I just picked up the heated grips from Big Bike Parts. The ones listed in the less than $100 heated grip thread. Now that I bought them just yesterday, it is being posted that these grips don't get hot enough. I have not installed them yet. I did, however, hook them up to a battery to make sure they worked. They got what I would consider someplace between luke warm and mildly hot in my bare hands. some are suggesting the should be uncomfy to hold. I don't think the heat I experienced would go through grip puppies or gloves (maybe just a little) let alone both. the ambient air tep was around 75. I guess they would feel hotter if it were 20. Are the big bike grips junk or or my calused hands not sensitive enough?

Click to expand...

I too felt Yamaha was ripping us off charging those prices for the factory heated grips. In fact I'm sure the less expensive grips are identical to the factory grips. Yamaha buys those parts from another source & then gives them a Yamaha part number.

Since I also wanted heated grips (I ride all year long) & I wasn't happy with the Yamaha price or the way the Yamaha Control unit sticks out so high from the dash panel, I came up with a different approach. My friend John has an 04 Honda ST1300 with heated grips. Have ridden his bike in winter & those grips get HOT. After inspecting his bike's grips (he & I share a garage) I discovered the grips on his bike are identical to the Yamaha factory grips. The control unit is different, & I like it better. So I order the Honda part # 08T50-MCS-100 after searching on the web & found it for $160, & then installed it myself. Here are some pics:

Do have a link to where you got the grips on the internet? I assume you don't need the accessory wiring harness Honda talks about?

War Machine · Oct 18, 2006

mbrinitzer said:
Do have a link to where you got the grips on the internet? I assume you don't need the accessory wiring harness Honda talks about?

I'm sorry I don't remember which vendor I bought them from, but you can do what I did....just check out a number of Vendors that sell Honda OEM parts (you already have the part number) & get different prices. Don't forget to check shipping costs because one place may have it cheaper than another, but then charges more in shipping that the other vendor that may ship it for free.

ionbeam · Oct 18, 2006

Yamaha heated grip kit vs the cheapie grip kits. The same cheapie grip kit can be found under several brand names. I purchased my cheapies through a standard Service Parts Catalog found at any dealer.

In a nutshell –

Yamaha: The controller is vastly superior and much easier on the electrical system. The Yamaha grips run around 36 watts and can get too hot to hold. The controller senses the voltage of your electrical system and automatically shuts the grips off when the voltage drops too low – like when you shut the engine off but leave the ignition on. The controller does not have a power light. The wiring is more complex that it should be. The grips are too short and very hard. Way, way more expensive than it should be. My first Yamaha kit came with a bad controller. After two years my right grip failed. I just installed a third Yamaha grip kit, purchased used.

Cheapies: The controller is pulsed power and when set to anything less than full power severely abuses the electrical system. The grips have a maximum wattage of 19 watts and hardly gets the grips more than tepid. The grips will try to turn on with voltage as low as 6.2 volts. The controller does have a power light. The wiring harness is too long but easy to connect. The grips are too long and very hard. Even though it is cheap it doesn't perform well enough for use in the northern climes (IMO).

The details:

Yamaha:

The grips are 2 ohms each, connected in series for a total of 4 ohms. The left bar grip has ribs on the inside to keep it away from the bar and minimizes the heat-sinking problem. With the power knob fully on, the grips turn-on at 12.7 volts, but it takes 12.8 for full power regulation. The controller is filled with a potting compound to both weather protect the unit as well as heat-sinking the internal circuitry.

Code:

Volts   12.8           13.0          13.5        14.0         14.4
Amps     2.1            2.3           2.4         2.5          2.5
Watts   26.8           29.9          32.0        35.0         36.0

As soon as the controller is turned on it produces a very narrow power spike that repeats every 140 uS (7 kHz). As more heat is dialed up, the narrow spike becomes wider and wider keeping power on longer. Power ramps up smoothly with very little disturbance to the electrical system. The Pulse Width Modulation is very stable and works great. By the time the knob achieves 100% the PWM will have become 100% DC for full power.

I applied 14.0 volts to the red power wire with a full load on the controller then measured the voltage at the input side of the heated grip fuse, it was 13.8 volts. Measuring the voltage at the output end of the fuse I got 13.5 volts, and measuring at the grip I got 13.3 volts. There is a .7 volt drop between the main power and what actually gets to the grips. That implies that if main voltage drops below 13.5 volts the voltage arriving at the controller will be 12.8 volts (13.5 volts minus the .7 volt drop) which is the threshold for the controller to turn off. This explains why my grips sometimes felt intermittent as my stator started to burn up. The controller can handle more power than the grips can take.

Cheapies:

Begins to turn on at 6.2 volts. The grips are 20 ohms each but hooked in parallel so the controller is looking at a 10 ohm load which can draw 1.4 amps at 14 volts (19.6 watts maximum). The controller knob resistor is not enclosed so the unit couldn't be potted, therefore there is minimal heat-sinking for the circuitry. In two weeks of use the unit was starting to get little white mineral spots all over the components and PCB inside the controller.

The controller does not Pulse Width Modulate. When the controller is at the minimum setting it produces a power pulse at roughly a 700 mS rate (1.25 kHz). As more heat is required the pulses come more frequently. The controller supplies either 0 power or 100% power, like a light switch. If you open the throttle 100% for a couple of seconds then turn loose of it for a couple of seconds then 100% again you will eventually hit an average speed but the ride is gonna suck. This is what the controller does. Every time it pulsed it whacked my power supply and visibly made the output sag and the current meter took a pounding. The current pulsed 0 amps then 1.4 amps then 0 amps then 1.4 amps…. This was brutal on my power supply, just think what it could be doing to your FJR's electrical system.

The power device in the controller is a Fairchild 50N06 which is rated for 50 amps (700 watts at 14 volts)! The grips are only capable of drawing <20 watts so I checked to see if the controller could manage a load like the Dual Star heater elements. I found that the drive circuitry maxed out around 26 watts and started to oscillate wildly. I aborted this test before causing smoke.

All in all, I found the cheap grip kit to be just that, in all aspects. The Yamaha grip kit is wicked expensive for what you get, but at least it works. The best solution is probably heat elements under the grips of your choice, controlled by a HeatTroller. There will be more install work but the final results should be much better.

Edited: This is just intended to compare the Yamaha vs Cheapies. As noted in other posts there are other solutions available.

HEATED GRIPS

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

Why yes, I am a Smart ***

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Active member

Well-known member

Active member

timk

Zero Altitude Test Pilot

Why yes, I am a Smart ***

Well-known member

Why yes, I am a Smart ***

Well-known member

Zero Altitude Test Pilot

2 FUN

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!