Heated Grips...

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Looks pretty cool.. er hot. The install appears very straightforward and easy to accomplish and the auto shut off feature sounds good. My only concern is how well the set screw holds them to the bar. Probably not an issue with a street bike, but with a dual sport/dirt bike, while jumping or really tossing the bike around, I wonder how well the grip would stay in place. Here's a review I found of a guy using them on a mtn. bike. AME hot grip review . ATV review Dirt Wheels review

 
Very slick looking and seem priced right. Haven't seen them in use anywhere yet. Must admit I'm pretty happy with the FJR stock heated grips - only comparison is BMW heated grips I've had over the years.

 
Seems like the website server is all locked up by some hacker... as of 9 pm Sun. 9/25. Not sure what that's all about. Wanted to contact them to see if their product would fit an FJR. Can't go anywhere on the site w/o incurring a hacker message. I've got an Apple computer, so viruses aren't a problem: but I don't think I'd advise anybody to log into that site until they sort out what's wrong.

Gary

darksider #44

 
Seems like the website server is all locked up by some hacker... as of 9 pm Sun. 9/25. Not sure what that's all about. Wanted to contact them to see if their product would fit an FJR. Can't go anywhere on the site w/o incurring a hacker message. I've got an Apple computer, so viruses aren't a problem: but I don't think I'd advise anybody to log into that site until they sort out what's wrong.

Gary

darksider #44

Gary. it works with FJR. PM Sent. Let me know if you have any other questions on this grips.

 
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Gary. it works with FJR. Let me know if you have any other questions on this grips.
Watt or amps so we have some idea of heat capability.

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Due to technical difficulties cougar was unable to post the following answer:

Amp. both on draw 3.6 amp to bring the heat in. Once they come up to heat amp drops to do about 1.7-1.7. Same goes for Watt 44 vs 22. These numbers for both grips combined. Each grip is individually...
 
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Thank you. And yes, I have a real important question. As you know, I have a gen 1. My purchase depends on your answer here. I don't have heated grips right now, and even though I live in sunny Florida, we have plenty of below freezing mornings in the winter... even though it gets up into the 60-70 range in the afternoons. So I need a good set of heated grips. Before I saw these new grips, I was thinking that if I pull my existing grips, and insert some stick-on wrap style elements under the grips, along with a heat troller, I'd be good to go. I was figuring a hundred or so and some extra work to install the heat troller. However, the AME hot-grips you've mentioned here seem to be an easier and maybe even a better quality set up. My big question: what about my throttle lock? Do you think it'll fit around the AME throttle tube? Also, I can trim the OD of a rubber grip just like I already did on my bike, but is there room to scootch the grip out a 1/4 inch or so to accommodate the throttle lock?

In the picture below, you can see the way I've attached my existing throttle lock. I used a coat hanger and bent it up just right, and there ya go. It works great, simply gripping the plastic throttle tube. I didn't have to drill or tap anything on the throttle housing.

throttlelock1.jpg


In the picture below, you can see a little different view of my set up.

throttlelock2.jpg


Gary

darksider #44

 
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Gary...having just installed my Vista Cruise this past weekend I must say your idea is slick. How did you get the grips trimmed so well? I have mine pulled away a bit as I have not trimmed them yet, but love how tight you have everything.

 
Cougar8000 has them on his website at Mishacycles.com. There is a discussion and a price break by Alex HERE. He's offering them at $125 shipped, and if he gets 5 orders before October 10, he'll knock off another $5.

Donno if you have ever ordered anything from him, but he is a stand-up guy who will make sure things are right for you.

I'll prolly get a set. I've spent more than $125 getting drunk.

 
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Gary...having just installed my Vista Cruise this past weekend I must say your idea is slick. How did you get the grips trimmed so well? I have mine pulled away a bit as I have not trimmed them yet, but love how tight you have everything.
Hey Two Wheel:

Put the grip in a bucket of ice water. When it warms up, dunk it again to cool it off. Rubber gets pretty stiff when ya freeze it. I ground it down on a pedestal grinder. You can also do it on a belt sander or just about any sanding or grinding device. I held the grip in my left hand just like ya hold a pool cue, and spun it with my right hand. It comes out round and straight within maybe a 1/16 of an inch in about 30 seconds. Freezing rubber is an old tool and die trick that I picked up years ago. I'll never forget the time half the shop was fighting with a large shaft they were trying to get out of a "bore." It was stuck in there, a press fit... one of the guys came up with the idea to shoot a good blast of CO2 (from a fire extinguisher) through the hollow center of the shaft. All that cold shrank the shaft, and it slipped easily out of the bore. Job done. Amazing what you can do with temperature.

Ready for this? I don't even know what kind of throttle lock I have. I'm sure it's just a cheap one, it's all plastic, but it works perfectly!!! A friend gave it to me and I carved it up and adopted it to the FJR. Anybody out there know who makes it? Just curious.

By the way, website issues I mentioned earlier seem to have been resolved.

Gary

darksider #44

 
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Cougar8000 has them on his website at Mishacycles.com. There is a discussion and a price break by Alex HERE. He's offering them at $125 shipped, and if he gets 5 orders before October 10, he'll knock off another $5.

Donno if you have ever ordered anything from him, but he is a stand-up guy who will make sure things are right for you.

I'll prolly get a set. I've spent more than $125 getting drunk.
Hey Zilla:

I spoke to Cougar on the phone last night. He didn't mention any discount to me, but glad to hear the news... thanks. However I still need to know if I can mount my throttle lock... gotta have some sort of cruise control on the bike. If I can resolve this throttle control issue, I might get a set of them as well. Thanks for the input about Cougar... and concerning the drunk issue, I gave that stuff up 32 years ago for exactly that reason, and glad I did.

Gary

darksider #44

 
I have a pair of these grips coming to me, I'll do up a FJRTech article when I install them.

To answer the OP, the grips have six graduating heat levels for which they can be set. The range of heat is from 95 degrees F on level one to 135 degrees F on level six. The temperature levels are thermostatically controlled so the grip will come up to the set level and maintain that temperature.

After being turned on, the grips will draw a total (both grips combined) of 3.7 Amps or approx 44 watts of power as they come up to the set temperature level. The blue LED will pulsate from dull to bright as this happens. Once up to the set level, which normally takes less than 5 minutes, the blue LED will be a solid dull blue and the amp draw will drop to 1.8 total (22 watts) or below.

The grips are programed with a feature that monitors the battery's charge and they will shut off after 10 minutes if the charging system does not keep up with the draw. This feature is provided to protect the battery power if the grips are left on after riding.

I'll post up my observations as soon as they get here.

I think a pair of Warm N Safe heated gloves would be money better spent. I have both the gloves and the grips and the gloves are definitely a better choice.
I have used both in the past as well.... Johnny80s is right; of the two, the gloves are the better way to go, particularly if one does not have the VStrom Hand Guards in place.

 
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I think a pair of Warm N Safe heated gloves would be money better spent. I have both the gloves and the grips and the gloves are definitely a better choice.
I can tell by the resounding response you received that perhaps you and I are the only two members of Scottish (or are you Dutch) decent!

I, for one (er, two), would question the logic of putting something warm on the bike......rather than on the rider. Has anyone, to your knowledge, done the "duh?" test in this area? i.e. Does it make more sense to warm the grips or the hands? Seems to me a bike mag journalist would have grabbed this topic and run with it!

Michael

 
I think a pair of Warm N Safe heated gloves would be money better spent. I have both the gloves and the grips and the gloves are definitely a better choice.
I can tell by the resounding response you received that perhaps you and I are the only two members of Scottish (or are you Dutch) decent!

I, for one (er, two), would question the logic of putting something warm on the bike......rather than on the rider. Has anyone, to your knowledge, done the "duh?" test in this area? i.e. Does it make more sense to warm the grips or the hands? Seems to me a bike mag journalist would have grabbed this topic and run with it!

Michael
I have First Gear (Warm NSafe) gloves used in conjunction with Dual Star elements installed under my grips. Since there are no wires in the palm of these gloves the heating takes place on the tops of the fingers (sides?), but not the bottom or palm. Using hot grips fills the gap by heating the bottom of the fingers and palm, but as noted above, if you only have the choice of one method, go with the gloves. Having said that, there is no better convenience when going up in the hills on a cool morning and being able to flip on the grips and heat up my Held gloves without having to stop, change gloves and plug in. Change that choice...... go with both!

 
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