Those that have Factory Heated grips

I searched for a similiar poll and couldn't find one. I spent the money on Harley factory grips for my Glide and they quit working in less than 3 months. I am leary of spending the money on mama yama grips since they are so pricey and don't want to repeat any mistakes. I would prefer to have the factory grips for all the usual reasons, designed for the bike, plug play, etc.

I can't vote because mine have only been "working" for 7 months, and of that time, I've only needed them during the past two months.

I would comment however that I do not like them as well as factory heated grips I've had with another marque.

My problem is the continuously variable power switch. It is hard to change the setting while riding, and Yamaha recommends against this. Probably more importantly, it is desirable to be able to change the setting while riding because the grips can become overwhelmingly hot at the higher settings in less than arctic air. I need the grips a few days ago (I tend to go for some heat when riding temps are below 50), and although I had picked an intermediate setting, they turned my Helm gloves from dark brown to a grayish tone. I think the gloves' color will come back with some neatsfoot oil, but fine tuning the potentiometer seems to require some skill. Part of this may be because not only is there a potentiometer for the rider to control, but the bike is also modulating the power to the heated grips, dropping to something close to 0 when you come down to idle speeds. I think its overly complicated, but with that said, mine do provide heat.

On another bike I've got a simple three position switch right by my right thumb. Off - Low - High. Low seems about perfect, and on low I find myself flicking it off, or on, during the ride. I am beginning to think that an easily accessible on-off switch is better than a fancy controller..... same with my Gerbing's heated jacket liner and it's fancy controller.

El Toro said:

I can't vote because mine have only been "working" for 7 months, and of that time, I've only needed them during the past two months.
I would comment however that I do not like them as well as factory heated grips I've had with another marque.

My problem is the continuously variable power switch. It is hard to change the setting while riding, and Yamaha recommends against this. Probably more importantly, it is desirable to be able to change the setting while riding because the grips can become overwhelmingly hot at the higher settings in less than arctic air. I need the grips a few days ago (I tend to go for some heat when riding temps are below 50), and although I had picked an intermediate setting, they turned my Helm gloves from dark brown to a grayish tone. I think the gloves' color will come back with some neatsfoot oil, but fine tuning the potentiometer seems to require some skill. Part of this may be because not only is there a potentiometer for the rider to control, but the bike is also modulating the power to the heated grips, dropping to something close to 0 when you come down to idle speeds. I think its overly complicated, but with that said, mine do provide heat.

On another bike I've got a simple three position switch right by my right thumb. Off - Low - High. Low seems about perfect, and on low I find myself flicking it off, or on, during the ride. I am beginning to think that an easily accessible on-off switch is better than a fancy controller..... same with my Gerbing's heated jacket liner and it's fancy controller.

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My response is like El Toro with one difference. The heat does not modulate with speed, it reduces and shuts down at parking lot speeds. At speeds over 10 mph (actually, don't remember what speed exactly) the heat is fully controlled by the knob.

Ron

First of all, NO ONE has the advanced 'speed sensitive' FJR-specific heated grips for 3 or more years because they only came out with the Gen-II

Second, they modulate fully at every speed - but the duty cycle is cut in half at 5 mph and below, so that in the absence of a breeze (i.e. you aren't moving) they don't feel apparently warner.

I have no problem adjusting the controls while in motion - in fact it is the only way to use them. I also sometimes use my GPS while in motion. That whole 'don't mess with it while moving' thing is part of their attempt to shed liability. Adjusting only when not moving means you are likely looking at jumping your settings all over the place - smack it up and overshoot, then crank it down and overshoot again . . . I even used mine during 100+ degree riding days last summer on our road trip - was good to dry out sweat soaked hands and gloves . . .

I adjust my grips while moving and don't have any trouble.

johnny80s said:

I adjust my grips while moving and don't have any trouble.

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+1

Also, while my FJR is is in neutral after the bike is warmed up.......I can make a few quick revs in N and notice heat rising and lowering in the grips so it must not be a speed related thing as mush as stator output. IMO

johnny80s said:

I adjust my grips while moving and don't have any trouble.

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+ another one I love mine for those cool nite rides. Mine work at all speeds to just cooler at low speed . :clapping:

Mike P said:

Also, while my FJR is is in neutral after the bike is warmed up.......I can make a few quick revs in N and notice heat rising and lowering in the grips so it must not be a speed related thing as mush as stator output. IMO

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Not mine . . . the system description in the service manual also clearly indicates that it is speed related. Perhaps there's a fault of some sort with your bike?

Didn't vote, as I'm not sure the options matched my opinions - thought they match the comments above.

I've only had mine for a couple of months, so can't answer the second question. On the first question, I love them. I started with heated gloves and couldn't stand the extra wires to plug in and hang off your jacket, plus the wires pressing in on my knuckles were very uncomfortable. Returned the heated gear, got the heated grips and am really happy. I ride in the 30s, no problem. I do adjust the grips when riding as needed, but find a setting just above "low" works pretty well for me for temps from ~38F to ~45F, which covers my commute this time of year, so then I set it and don't move it. I didn't answer the first part because it includes "worth the extra money" - on that I'm not 100% sure. I ended up going that route because I let the dealer talk me into their service plan and extended warranty when I bought the bike (on my cars I've always done all my own wrenching, including engine rebuilds, etc). I wanted something factory so I wouldn't have them pointing fingers at an aftermarket install and blaming it for anything gone wrong. I think otherwise I would have done Dual Star heaters with BMW grips and a heat troller, with an end result that would have been more comfortable grip-wise. But for how it works, keeping my hands warm in cold weather, I am really happy with the results.

(I did do my own install, and it was really pretty easy - I had to undo some extra steps that I wish I would have paid attention to, like the new grips coming with a throttle tube, making the ~hour or more taking the old grip off its throttle tube a complete waste of time )

-Brett

I have them on my 07 and they Rock! I opted for the factory grips, not after market because I didn't Yamaha to void my warranty in case I had electrical problems (that happened to me with after market grips on my FZ1).

I rarely use them when I'm not buzzing down the freeway at speed in most part because I'm scared that they will drain the battery if the engine isn't spinning +4K RPM. I may be over sensitive to this with my experience on the FZ1 but I feel its good insurance.

-K

All great responses, I did not specify Gen II or Gen I, and Yamaha offers a set for both, so there is a possibility that a member has had their grips over 3 years. My concern isn't the controller, but rather the heating elements. This is why the option is over a year, I want to see that the elements last many heat cycles.

The last time I dropped the coin on a factory set the element burned out (H-D grips) so I wanted to establish a track record with the FJR grips.

Thanks for the responses, I would rather go with the clean factory install, and like others have pointed out this could possibly be a warranty protector, however that isn't the main concern I have.

I like the fact that some say they get too hot since I may want to wrap them in grip puppies.

Yup, can't vote because I don't fit in any of the choices in the second question. I had mine put on this past fall. Have been very happy with them, they still work - but the guys either didn't epoxy the left grip back on or didn't use any, as it came lose in a month. Just had them redo it.

The grips work fine and they're easy to control while in motion. Now, if I could just figure out how to get heat to the tip of my left index finger -- that's my weak link and the think that sends me back to the garage on cold days.

+1 to Bramfrank.

Slower transmission of heat to me as I added GripPuppies, which I am very happy with (grips feel fuller in my big hands plus cuts vibes). Haven't had a ride in two weeks but not officially "put away for season".

f.y.i.: factory install on my 08AE. Part of my decision on the bike.

Happy New Year.

My factory grips on my 04 quit a year ago, replaced with hot grips-work well 1/2 the cost of factory grips

SCWatts said:

Yup, can't vote because I don't fit in any of the choices in the second question. I had mine put on this past fall. Have been very happy with them, they still work - but the guys either didn't epoxy the left grip back on or didn't use any, as it came lose in a month. Just had them redo it.
The grips work fine and they're easy to control while in motion. Now, if I could just figure out how to get heat to the tip of my left index finger -- that's my weak link and the think that sends me back to the garage on cold days.

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Off topic but, C-5...Illinois...-Scott AFB?

I didn't think about this till today, but the factory grips replace the throttle tube, correct? so that must mean that you lose the 08 and up or G2 capability. This could be deal killer for me. I rode an 07 before my 08 and I don't want that throttle stiffness, or to unwind my spring.

I can't vote because I have the Honda ST1300 heated grips installed on my FJR as shown in THIS thread. Yes, I'm a traitor using Honda parts on my Yamaha, but they work great and at half the cost. :yahoo: Been working great for over a year now. :clapping:

About adjusting the heat while tooling down the road... I think the factory Yami controller would be easier to adjust than the Honda one, although the Honda is easier to see the setting at night because of the lighted LED's. With gloves on it's hard to feel the button that adjust heat on the Honda controller. Seems like it would be easier to grab a knob and turn it.

Greb said:

I didn't think about this till today, but the factory grips replace the throttle tube, correct? so that must mean that you lose the 08 and up or G2 capability. This could be deal killer for me. I rode an 07 before my 08 and I don't want that throttle stiffness, or to unwind my spring.

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I don't have time to verify this right now, but I believe this to be true:

The changes to the throttle pulley that Yamaha made on the '08 were made at the other end of the throttle cables. The throttle tube for '08 is no different from the throttle tube for '07.

...I did not specify Gen II or Gen I...My concern isn't the controller, but rather the heating elements...
...the factory grips replace the throttle tube, correct? so that must mean that you lose the 08 and up or G2 capability...

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The heating elements are not the weak point unless you crush a grip, the elements should work forever. The weak point is where the wire exits the throttle grip, the continual twisting of the wires at this point causes the wires to either break or short. All grips and tape heaters that have trailing wires are susceptible to this. Any variable grip heat controller can be subject to failure. The controllers generally fail at the knob potentiometer or they blow the output driver device.

In '08 they fixed the non-linear throttle problem at the throttle bodies by returning the pulley back to a round shape like it was on all Gen Is. There is no need for a G2 on the '08s. Throttle spring tension is a separate issue from the G2, Yamaha simply used Gorilla Springs.