Dual Star Grip Heaters

[JimLor]

After a 26 degree commute yesterday where the only thing on me that was "cool" was my hands, I ordered the $30 Dual Star grip heaters. Only question I have is what folks have wrapped the clutch side bar with to keep the heat from warming the bars instead of their hands. I've seen the old standby Duct Tape and can probably come up with a few others - actually paper is a pretty good insulator, but I thought I'd ask you all for your thoughts/experience.

Thanks. Jim

 

[markjenn]

Hi Jim. The left side heater is sized larger than the right to account for the extra heat loss with the bare handlebar on the left vs. the throttle tube on the right.

Nevertheless, like you, I didn't feel comfortable putting the heater directly on the bare metal bar, so I covered it beforehand with large heat shrink tubing. It shrank down very tightly against the bar - whatever you use, you don't want any possibilitiy of slipping here. This worked great, although the self-adhesive heater elements didn't stick to the tape as well as the they did to the throttle tube. But it stuck well enough to get the grips on fine (I used BMW grips and Aqua-Net hair spray for glue) and 8K miles later, they're working fine.

Only other thing I'd note is to be careful in routing the wires on the rotating throttle side. Spend some time finding the right spot where the rotation will clear the throttle cables and not stretch, kink, or bind the wires.

Good luck,

- Mark

 

[dave]

I used nothing on mine and find I have equal heating on both sides. The bars are painted under the grip offering some insulation and the heater stuck very well. I used hair spray as well for grip glue. 3,500 miles and all is well.

Dave

 

[JimLor]

Mark, Dave - Thanks! I've got the BMW grips on there too - don't remember the bar being painted, but then I wasn't looking for it. I'll try the hairspray routine - I used a little dishwashing detergent to get the BMWs on (and the Grip Puppies -since took them off) and that worked well too. Thanks again.

Jim

 

[Mogan]

Curious.

I installed the dualstars last year and have wildly different heating performance left versus right. Perhaps I'll try again with insulator tape on the clutch side. :angry:

 

[james1300]

What type of control switch are you all using?

 

[user 711]

I installed the Dual Star grip heaters directly on the bare left bar and right throttle under BMW grips, and wired them up to a heat-troller using the info in this thread using the red + blue wires to the troller's purple, and the white to the white. Basically the hottest :devilsmiley: option, and the heat is very even between the left and right sides.

 

[JimLor]

Got the package yesterday - good service, I ordered them 3 or 4 days ago. Will take some time after turkey day to put 'em on. Appreciate everyone's comments and the two installs posted. Should get my Kili jacket today and with these on the bike I should be good into the low 20s!!

 

[JimLor]

Finished the install this morning and took my first ride with the Dual Stars at about 31 degrees. I used the Hi-Off-Lo switch that came with the kit. Put it on high and rode for a bit - found the heat to be noticeable and pretty even, but not not all that hot. I was disapointed until I remembered reading on this board that someone said they thought the directions for hooking up hi/low were backwards. So, I flipped it to Lo and lo and behold, the heat was great! Pretty even between grips, but if you put a gun to my head I'd say the clutch was a little less warm (I didn't wrap the handlebar with anything before I put the element on). I also think it may be because I've got a tighter grip on the throttle side (hold it tighter) and anyway, it's not a problem and not noticeable unless I really concentrate. I flipped it back to Hi (which is apparently Lo) and the fact that the clutch side losses heat faster than the throttle side is noticeable, but it eventually evens out.

Bottom line - great $30 investment and not all that difficult to install. I put the switch on the clutch side closer to me than the hazard switch. I had the grip wires meet in front just under the bikes ignition switch (used electrical tape to tape them together. Then I ran them between the left fork tube and "firewall" to the "A" panel (just ran them under the panel to the switch. They ride close to the firewall and don't stick out at all. For the ground I ran a wire to the (-) battery post and ran that behind the dash to the switch (actually tie one wire per grip into the ground). For power I used the green wire on the left headlight - grip is only powered when the bike is running.

Again, as far as I'm concerned this is a great $30 investment.

 

[sanqhar]

Did anyone know that Wilbers supply grip heaters:

https://www.wilbers-products.net/shop/index...l?lenkungsd.htm

 

[sanqhar]

Look for Gabelwärmer

 

[Tinker]

I'm seeing 99.0 Euro? That seems a bit pricey to my eye.