ABQFJR
Well-known member
There seems to be a lot of you out there who are riding with Grip Puppies over your grips. I was originally going to buy a set of Grip Puppies but I decided to look around at some alternatives before I laid down the cash and came across this product:
Original Grip Buddies
So far, I haven't seen anyone posting here as having purchased or installed these, so I figured I'd be the first to do so, and also provide some pics to go with it.
First of all, I have a GoCruise which I usually keep in the glovebox, but occasionally put on the bike when riding the superslab. Because these Grip Buddies are cut to fit the specified bike, I had to call the manufacturer and see if they could make me a custom-sized set.
There are few times when I feel compelled to speak about a customer-service experience I have, but this is one of those few times. The owner of the business, Dave, obviously believes in his USA-made product and it shows. Both times I called him, he a answered the phone immediately and was very helpful and patient answering all of the questions I had for him. Basically, we ended up deciding that I would need one grip cover cut 3/8" shorter than the standard length, in order to make room for the GoCruise. I went ahead and ordered the shorter cover in addition to a set of the standard-length ones, so that if at some point I decide to not use the GoCruise anymore, I can cover the whole grip with a Grip Buddy. The normal price for a set of two is $19.95 + $5 shipping, and I paid $10 more for the extra cover, for a total of $34.95 shipped.
Today, I came home and checked the mail and my grip covers had arrived! Actually, my new VStream came today too, and I installed that first, so you'll see that in the photos as well.
Included is a pretty thorough set of instructions, which is appreciated. You can also view video installation instructions on their website.
Just out of curiosity, I measured the difference between the regular-length grip covers and the special, shortened one that Dave made for me... 3/8" shorter, just as requested. Of note is that he obviously stitched the velcro to the neoprene AFTER trimming the neoprene to the correct length, not after. As a result, the stitching wasn't compromised as it would have been if I had ordered the regular length and trimmed it myself. :thumbsup:
I gathered the grip buddies and a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and proceeded to the garage. Obligatory beauty shot follows:
Here's my bike with the GoCruise installed... you can see why I needed the right-side grip cover to be shorter. I also ended up having to trim the silicone ring that the GoCruise clips to... I used scissors to remove about 1/8" from the silicone ring after I took this photo.
After using some alcohol and a paper towel to clean the spot where I was going to adhere the grip, I peeled the backing off the sticky-backed velcro and placed it so that the seam of the grip buddy is located just past my fingertips when gripping the grip in a normal riding posture. This is explained in detail in the instructions.
Repeat other side:
Then wrap the grip buddy around and attach the other end to the velcro. This is VERY easy to do.
I actually ended up removing the Grip Buddies and re-installing them wrapping them in the other direction around the grips. This reduced how much I could feel the seams under my thumbs, and also made for a cleaner-looking install. By the way, the seams are not bothersome, and if you install the Grip Buddies in the right position, the seams will only be under your thumbs, which you shouldn't be able to feel much at all if you're wearing gloves. I also imagine that these will break in a little and the seam will smooth out slightly.
The finished installation:
All In all, I'm very pleased with these so far. They seem very durable and well-made. They also come with a 90-day warranty from the manufacturer which seems fair considering the nature of the product. Time will tell if these prove to be as awesome as I'm hoping they are. The guys over on the Beemer forums really seem to like them. I'll post again with some follow up thoughts after I've used them awhile. If you want some, I'd definitely suggest you give Dave a call... he's a great guy to deal with over the phone.
Cheers!
Original Grip Buddies
So far, I haven't seen anyone posting here as having purchased or installed these, so I figured I'd be the first to do so, and also provide some pics to go with it.
First of all, I have a GoCruise which I usually keep in the glovebox, but occasionally put on the bike when riding the superslab. Because these Grip Buddies are cut to fit the specified bike, I had to call the manufacturer and see if they could make me a custom-sized set.
There are few times when I feel compelled to speak about a customer-service experience I have, but this is one of those few times. The owner of the business, Dave, obviously believes in his USA-made product and it shows. Both times I called him, he a answered the phone immediately and was very helpful and patient answering all of the questions I had for him. Basically, we ended up deciding that I would need one grip cover cut 3/8" shorter than the standard length, in order to make room for the GoCruise. I went ahead and ordered the shorter cover in addition to a set of the standard-length ones, so that if at some point I decide to not use the GoCruise anymore, I can cover the whole grip with a Grip Buddy. The normal price for a set of two is $19.95 + $5 shipping, and I paid $10 more for the extra cover, for a total of $34.95 shipped.
Today, I came home and checked the mail and my grip covers had arrived! Actually, my new VStream came today too, and I installed that first, so you'll see that in the photos as well.
Included is a pretty thorough set of instructions, which is appreciated. You can also view video installation instructions on their website.
Just out of curiosity, I measured the difference between the regular-length grip covers and the special, shortened one that Dave made for me... 3/8" shorter, just as requested. Of note is that he obviously stitched the velcro to the neoprene AFTER trimming the neoprene to the correct length, not after. As a result, the stitching wasn't compromised as it would have been if I had ordered the regular length and trimmed it myself. :thumbsup:
I gathered the grip buddies and a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and proceeded to the garage. Obligatory beauty shot follows:
Here's my bike with the GoCruise installed... you can see why I needed the right-side grip cover to be shorter. I also ended up having to trim the silicone ring that the GoCruise clips to... I used scissors to remove about 1/8" from the silicone ring after I took this photo.
After using some alcohol and a paper towel to clean the spot where I was going to adhere the grip, I peeled the backing off the sticky-backed velcro and placed it so that the seam of the grip buddy is located just past my fingertips when gripping the grip in a normal riding posture. This is explained in detail in the instructions.
Repeat other side:
Then wrap the grip buddy around and attach the other end to the velcro. This is VERY easy to do.
I actually ended up removing the Grip Buddies and re-installing them wrapping them in the other direction around the grips. This reduced how much I could feel the seams under my thumbs, and also made for a cleaner-looking install. By the way, the seams are not bothersome, and if you install the Grip Buddies in the right position, the seams will only be under your thumbs, which you shouldn't be able to feel much at all if you're wearing gloves. I also imagine that these will break in a little and the seam will smooth out slightly.
The finished installation:
All In all, I'm very pleased with these so far. They seem very durable and well-made. They also come with a 90-day warranty from the manufacturer which seems fair considering the nature of the product. Time will tell if these prove to be as awesome as I'm hoping they are. The guys over on the Beemer forums really seem to like them. I'll post again with some follow up thoughts after I've used them awhile. If you want some, I'd definitely suggest you give Dave a call... he's a great guy to deal with over the phone.
Cheers!
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