Heated Yamaha Grips

[Harald]

I had the OEM heated grips installed about a month ago. I have Renauld's Syndrome, in which cold weather makes my fingertips and toes turn white and get painful. On the plus side, that gets me out of shoveling snow. The downside is riding in cool weather.
The grips make a huge difference for me. For some reason, my left thumbtip still gets cold. Am thinking of adding a gloveliner on that side.

You'll be happy you purchased the heated grips. There's so much blood circulating through the surface of your palms and fingers that keeping them warm does an amazing job of helping warm you all over.

I also have Raynaud's syndrome and the heated grips help a lot but weren't enough for me. I have the Honda ST1300 grips on my FJR and they get plenty hot! I added the Vstrom handguard and this made a big difference because they block the cold air blast onto the hands. I still get some whiteness on some fingers, but not that painfull feeling. I ride year 'round - even in temps down into the 20's and this setup works pretty good.

One thing I've found is that I must be carefull to keep my hands warm before I ride off. If I start with cold hands, they'll never warm up on the ride unless it gets really warm outside.

BTW, I've thought about heated gloves but didn't want to hassle with cords. Now I see that Gerbing has developed lithium ion battery powered gloves that are self contained. I'm going to get a pair of their "snow glove" heated gloves for general use when they get some back in stock. If you don't mind camo, they have those in stock for $20 less. I might even try them on the bike, although they won't offer the crash protection that my Alpinestar gloves provide.

 

[sullivan]

08AE with G. Puppies: Takes a little longer for heat transfer but works well.

My question: clear acrylic wings (windshield attachment) that were on a bike at the CFR08> may want to buy those instead of the European Yamaha mirror covers or the VStrom hand guards. I have not been able to locate. Assist?

 

[glory racing]

National cycle makes the clear hand guards. They attach to the threaded unused mirror mounts. Unfortunately, my '07 only has a mount on the clutch side so no can do.

 

[ionbeam]

...My question: clear acrylic wings (windshield attachment)...may want to buy those...I have not been able to locate. Assist?

Ping Snikr with a PM.

 

[BrettB]

One thing that makes the OEM grips interesting is the way Yamaha designed the routing of the wiring from the grips - the throttle side cabling is integrated inside a cast extension to the throttle grip and the cabling on the left side is routed behind and clamped to the switchgear housing - so there's no loose wiring visible anywhere.

What you describe is what an FJR1300AE OEM heated grip setup looks like (on close examination at the local dealer tonight). On the AE, there is a third 'outlet'(?) for the wire for the heated grip coming from this cast extension.

HOWEVER, the picture of the grip kit in the Yamaha parts catalog, and the pictures of the kit I've seen online, do not show a replacement housing. The hosing on my '08 A has two outlets, which are being used by the throttle cable (I guess, having not taken anything there apart yet )

Can anyone who's purchased the lit please confirm whether the kit comes with a replacement cast throttle housing/extension, or describe how the kit specifically deals with wiring? Pretty please. I need to decide whether to buy the OEM kit or not by noon Monday. If I have to zip-tie wiring to the bottom of the extension, then I might as well go with a Heat Troller and nicer grips. But I like the looks of the clean factory install, plus would pay some extra for the additional electronic capabilities of the OEM controller. I did get my local dealer to allow me to buy the kit at $301.08 - I whined that when I bought the bike from them I had wanted to include heated grips as part of the deal but it never got written in and I expected a better deal then their standard pricing. That was the best they would do...

Oh, and another thought on the OEM vs. good (not cheapy) aftermarket alternatives - since the OEM grip's heating elements are in the grips, would they theoretically be hotter as they would have less dissipation into the handlebars themselves (at same resistance and power levels)? A trade off of some additional warmth in exchange for being stuck with hard, uncomfortable grips?

I'm really stuck on whether to spend just over $300 on the OEM setup vs. heat troller plus dual stars or similar, with BMW grips for more friendly year round grip ergonomics.

Thanks,

-Brett

 

[bramfrank]

The picture on the web site is the older kit. The kit for Gen-IIs right grip includes the tube and housing, as described. It is the same as the AE OEM and other market post-'06 A models.