Cold Weather Package On The Way

[Burnspot]

Been watching all of the latest cold weather topics (and reading through the last 5 years worth of related posts) while waffling over which path to go down for cold hand relief while on a limited budget...gloves or hardware. I ended up opting for the hardware, ordering a set of Symtec grip warmers today and then calling up "Guru Glenn" (I got Paul) from FJR Goodies to order the complete V-Strom handguard kit (they DO have some in stock in case you're wondering). I figure the combination of the two should make for ideal hand conditions. I opted to pass on the Heat-Troller mainly to save the cash...the flush-mount switch should do fine for now based on the comments I've seen.

With the Symtec kit, is heat shrink tubing more effective than simple electrical tape on the clutch side to create a thermal break? Or does the higher output on the clutch side scratch the need for either? I see folks going both ways on this. Also, I've seen mention of using the currently unused OEM grip heater connector in the left fairing (I have an A), but haven't found any real details. Is that used simply as a trigger source or as a complete power source (I have not looked at the plug in a long time)? I'm still somewhat newbish on electronic stuff above simple direct-to-battery wiring.

 

[Knifemaker]

I think I would not use electrical tape, as when the heater is on, it will heat the adhesive and it might cause the grip to break loose.

Shrink tubing would only get tighter.

KM

 

[Burnspot]

I think I would not use electrical tape, as when the heater is on, it will heat the adhesive and it might cause the grip to break loose.

Shrink tubing would only get tighter.

KM

Yea, I kind of wondered the same when I read about people using tape there, but apparently, it seems to work.

 

[Bungie]

I ended up opting for the hardware, ordering a set of Symtec grip warmers today and then calling up "Guru Glenn" (I got Paul) from FJR Goodies to order the complete V-Strom handguard kit (they DO have some in stock in case you're wondering). I figure the combination of the two should make for ideal hand conditions. I opted to pass on the Heat-Troller mainly to save the cash...the flush-mount switch should do fine for now based on the comments I've seen.

Good timing on this. My Symtec heaters arrived today. I won't be installing till Spring though. Bikes already parked for the season :/

BTW, the Strom hand guards really go very far in keeping your hands warm and dry. It has to be very close to freezing before I even think about putting on my insulated gloves, even without the grip heaters. I've ridden through some really heavy downpours wearing only mesh gloves at highway speeds only to find my hands dry when I stopped. THEN they get wet!

 

[JamesK]

I would second the use of a thick heatshrink tubing for the clutch side. It has worked well for my install for nearly 100k miles. The only thing to keep in mind that from that point onwards you'll need to use two throttle grips anytime you're replacing the grips since the this heatshrink brings the OD of the clutch bar to about the same as the throttle bar OD. This is the Heavy Wall Shrink Tube from Dual-Star that I'm using and it really works well.

The crude LO/HI/OFF switch is cheap, but is really hard on your electrical system, so I would recommend using some kind of PWM based controller. The HeatTroller units are certainly nice, and work as advertised, but there are now other much cheaper alternatives you could try. Below is a PWM (Pulse Wave Modulation) control unit on eBay for $5.

PWM Controller

Here is another unit that can run up to 50A loads. This one is made in Russia (can use any of the online translators to read the specs in English), which I suppose is not any worse than made in China

High Power PWM Controller

 

[dustyrains]

After you install the handguards, you can make them more effective by doing something like this to them.

 

[Burnspot]

Thanks for the tips so far! I DO plan to add a Heat Troller eventually, but the crappy little switch will do the trick for now. Can I tap in to the OEM grip heater plug wiring for heater power? I'm thinking it should be no problem.

My Symtecs arrived today, so I started by pulling the old grips off (gotta love the air compressor slipping grips off without damage) to get started. I have not tracked down any heat shrink yet (local NAPA out of stock on most sizes), but I have a number of local places still to check...in any case, I can start on the throttle side.

QUESTION: My bike has a Brakeaway Throttle lock that was installed by the dealer for the previous owner. I noticed that there is a floating spacer between the Brakeaway and the throttle cable housing...installation mistake by dealer? The outer housing of the Brakeaway does not rotate, so it's purpose there is questionable. I'm thinking that I can move that spacer to the outboard side of the Brakeaway to provide a floating surface that'll protect the Symtec's wiring from rubbing against the Brakeaway. Is my line of thinking correct on this?

With the Brakeaway hogging space, there's not much cushion for the Symtec.

 

[Burnspot]

Just to follow up, I removed the Brakeaway, moved the spacer and re-installed everything, ending with the installation of the Symtec. Spread out some glue and aired the old grip back on with no issues, zip-tied some strain relief (through grip flange) and began wire routing to dash. Throttle/Brakeaway appears to function fine. I'll get some heat shrink for the clutch side tomorrow and wrap things up.

Question regarding tapping the OEM grip connector is still open.

 

[Harald]

I tried using the factory grip wiring to power my ST1300 heated grips and it didn't work well for that controller. The ST1300 controller monitors voltage and will kill power to the grips if the voltage drops too low. Because of the small gauge wire used by the factory grips, there was too much voltage drop and so my controller would easily go into "power shedding" mode. I rewired off a power strip and no longer have that problem. YMMV.

 

[Burnspot]

Finished up my install last night. As things turned out, I ended up installing a small barrier strip behind the glovebox (velcro'd in place) and running power for the grips off that. The barrier strip, which is also now powering my GPS, is fed by a relay velcro'd to the front of the glovebox...which picks up its signal from the glovebox outlet power wire (main power and ground are wired across to battery via rail behind dash). Grips heated right up and felt great! I'll road test tomorrow, having opted to drive the cage to work today.

My drilling of the blank panel in the console didn't go exactly as planned...the switch sits off center to the left, but still looks great. As I looked at it more, I realized I could probably add a bit of bling to the right of the switch by installing some LEDs to indicate the state of the switch...so that's something I'll play around with, lol.

V-Strom handguards should be arriving any day now.

 

[FJReady]

Burnspot,

You should be just fine with that set-up. I've been running the Dual-Star heated grip setup with the V-Strom hand guards for 5+ years now. I can ride with comfortable hands down into the mid-high 20's with a lightly insulated leather glove. I run the guards year round because of the great rain protection they offer as well.

 

[Burnspot]

Burnspot,

You should be just fine with that set-up. I've been running the Dual-Star heated grip setup with the V-Strom hand guards for 5+ years now. I can ride with comfortable hands down into the mid-high 20's with a lightly insulated leather glove. I run the guards year round because of the great rain protection they offer as well.

That's exactly what I'm betting on and looking forward to. I'd leave the guards on year round as well. Tested the grips out last night and they were almost too hot to hold onto (mid-50's last night)...that was nice. The hand guard kit will hopefully arrive today or tomorrow.

 

[Burnspot]

Just a follow up for those interested in doing similar mods, the V-Strom hand guards arrived yesterday and I installed them last night. The clutch side needed only the standard trim for the bar end, but the throttle side needed quite a bit of trimming around the lower mounting point to compensate for the way the Brakeaway throttle lock mounts to the lever bolt for stabilization. The end result is that the lower mounting point really doesn't do anything for the guard's stability, but it doesn't matter as the top mount makes it quite sturdy already. Another issue with the guard and the Brakeaway is that the throttle lock pushes the end of the grip out, past the end of the bar and uses an aluminum spacer to fill the gap created. This puts a little more strain on the end of the hand guard and means more friction against the grip. I did not have a big enough washer to place between the spacer and bar end to create a channel for the guard to sit in, but I did have some aluminum strap laying around. Took a quarter, traced out a circle (just larger than the spacer), and got busy with the Dremel; ended up with a crude washer of sorts. With my homemade washer between the spacer and bar end weight, I created a nice channel for the guard's end to sit in (much like one of the guys did with his custom made bar end), keeping it away from the grip and allowing smooth throttle movement (I also trimmed the lip of the grip off). It's not the greatest looking bit of engineering, but it works and that's all that matters. I'll probably take the guards off over the weekend and Dremel the ends a bit so they'll sit deeper on the bar end weights...probably would make it look even cleaner.

This morning's commute served as the first somewhat cold test for the combination as the temp was 37. I used my 3 season Vegan gloves rather than my winter gloves and took off on the 20 mile ride to work. The grips ended up being very hot...but comfy, lol. Very pleased with the results. I should add that I ended up NOT using heatshrink or any other insulating wrap on the clutch side when I installed the warmer and I found no difference between the heat in either grip...both were very hot and did the job nicely (even thru Grip Puppies).

At the office this morning...

 

[bradman]

Just a follow up for those interested in doing similar mods, the V-Strom hand guards arrived yesterday and I installed them last night. The clutch side needed only the standard trim for the bar end, but the throttle side needed quite a bit of trimming around the lower mounting point to compensate for the way the Brakeaway throttle lock mounts to the lever bolt for stabilization. The end result is that the lower mounting point really doesn't do anything for the guard's stability, but it doesn't matter as the top mount makes it quite sturdy already. Another issue with the guard and the Brakeaway is that the throttle lock pushes the end of the grip out, past the end of the bar and uses an aluminum spacer to fill the gap created. This puts a little more strain on the end of the hand guard and means more friction against the grip. I did not have a big enough washer to place between the spacer and bar end to create a channel for the guard to sit in, but I did have some aluminum strap laying around. Took a quarter, traced out a circle (just larger than the spacer), and got busy with the Dremel; ended up with a crude washer of sorts. With my homemade washer between the spacer and bar end weight, I created a nice channel for the guard's end to sit in (much like one of the guys did with his custom made bar end), keeping it away from the grip and allowing smooth throttle movement (I also trimmed the lip of the grip off). It's not the greatest looking bit of engineering, but it works and that's all that matters. I'll probably take the guards off over the weekend and Dremel the ends a bit so they'll sit deeper on the bar end weights...probably would make it look even cleaner.

This morning's commute served as the first somewhat cold test for the combination as the temp was 37. I used my 3 season Vegan gloves rather than my winter gloves and took off on the 20 mile ride to work. The grips ended up being very hot...but comfy, lol. Very pleased with the results. I should add that I ended up NOT using heatshrink or any other insulating wrap on the clutch side when I installed the warmer and I found no difference between the heat in either grip...both were very hot and did the job nicely (even thru Grip Puppies).

At the office this morning...

That was an awesome read Burnspot! I ordered my handguard kits from Paul today and hope to have them by Christmas. He said that he has had a "run" on these kits over the last couple of weeks. I wanted to try the handguards first, then if I'm still experiencing the frozen fingers, I'll do the heated grips.

I took my bike out on Friday, it was 35 degrees or so and my fingers got so cold. Ouch!

Another simple solution found on this forum. I know that I would stop riding in the cool weather if my fingers were going to stay cold.

 

[TriggerT]

Since I like to run with a dash / shelf, which is not compatible with the hand guards, I am thinking of getting a set of Hippo Hands. Anyone have any experience with them on a FJR?

 

[alchemy]

Since I like to run with a dash / shelf, which is not compatible with the hand guards, I am thinking of getting a set of Hippo Hands. Anyone have any experience with them on a FJR?

I'm running hippos and a shelf. I'm not sure if they are the correct one for the bike or not (took them off my Futura). They do hit the shelf, but they are more flexible so give when hitting it. It also could be the location I have mine at. I have a screw running through the hippos into the long bar end weight (90mm? bolt) so it keeps them in place. Bolt location is 5" from the opening of the hippo.

If you need a pic I can shoot you some tomorrow.

 

[cota95]

Since I like to run with a dash / shelf, which is not compatible with the hand guards, I am thinking of getting a set of Hippo Hands. Anyone have any experience with them on a FJR?

The only problem I had with the hippo hands is the right one tends to press against the the brake lever at speeds over 45, causing the brake light to stay on. I just installed the hand guards with the hippo hands, which imo is the perfect setup.