garyt Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 Just wondering if anybody has tried heated grips on their bikes. I have a hard time riding when the temp gets down to the 30's and below, and it seems that heated grips might provide a solution, or at the very least help a little. Wiring on some of the ones I've seen seems pretty straight forward, and the cost is also reasonable. Just wondering if there's something I might be overlooking as it all seems pretty simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 Can't wait for Ishy's response on this one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the artist formerly known as ish Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 (edited) Bloody pansy, wet the hell dust tar need heated grips fer, some u.s. flowers rode last years SSDT with heated bloody grips, now there should be a corner of Trials Central, reserved for this sort of rider, could call it the powder room, or soft bugger are us, er summet!! if tha needs bloody heated gloves thas stood around too much and not riding the bloody thing anyway. Don't buy heated grips!! sell the bloody bike and take up knitting :snowman: Edited December 28, 2003 by ishy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 Yup - pretty much as expected! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the artist formerly known as ish Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 I must admit I did have to start wearing riding gloves, but this was due to the calluses on my hands getting just a bit too rough and complaints from the missus making me forgo foreplay come to think on it!! if I'd wore the riding gloves in bed it would have had the same results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyt Posted December 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 take up knitting I just might give that a try...I've heard that it can soothe the soul. Is there room in your knitting circle for one more? And if so, do you know if they make heated knitting needles? I wouldn't want to be chilled! But seriously...I suffered frost bite as a kid and ever since then, when my hands are exposed to cold weather it gets downright painful. Makes concentrating on anything other than my hands difficult. Plus, unlike the Pacific Northwewst, here in the Northeast, we get real weather in the wintertime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 Whats foreplay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 I was called out last night by the local mountain rescue team to help a guy with a broken leg. They had scrambled a helicopter and a team on foot but I live at the bottom of the hill and could get up to him pretty quickly of the bike. I set of in snow and soon found the going tough. I made it up to the guy in about 10 mins (more importantly here I did it for only two dabs). Anyway the guy was lying in the snow exposed to a strong icy wind. I got him moved and covered up with blankets in a less exposed ditch and waited with him for about an hour and half. By the time the team had arrived and the helicopter had landed I was bloody freezing. I rode back down afterward and can only say that I would have paid quite a lot for heated grips. My fingers were still sore after 3 or 4 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridgrunr Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 I put a set of heated grips on my Dad's ATV for Christmas last year. They work good in that application because the ATV has a thumb throttle and not a twist grip. I did ride and ST1100 Honda once that had heated grips on them. The thing I noticed most, same with my Dad's, is that they are rock hard. They have to be to transfer the heat as they are epoxied on the bar. There is no give or cushion to them at all, so they do tend to send a lot more vibration through the bars to the hands. The grip on the right side twist throttle didn't transfer the heat near as well as the one left. I'm not sure if you could put them on a Trials bike due to the fact that they do not have batteries, but I'm not positive about that. They take a lot of constant power to run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty-python Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 I could have done with some today, the hailstones were bouncing off the ground, and the fun trial was cancelled after 3 laps. Still good fun though!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyt Posted December 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 is that they are rock hard. They have to be to transfer the heat as they are epoxied on the bar. I'm not sure if you could put them on a Trials bike due to the fact that they do not have batteries, but I'm not positive about that. They take a lot of constant power to run. Hey Ridgrunr- Here's specifically what I'm looking at. http://www.dual-star.com/index2/Rider/heated_grip_kit1.htm It seems that these would go under my regular grips. I also have my headlight wired to a quick disconnect plug. I don't see why I couldn't use that same wiring to power the grips instead of the headlight. It's also been pointed out to me that I might be a wuss for even considering using heated grips. At the same time it was suggested that I might try my hand at knitting. Both valid and good suggestions...I think after installing the grips I might just knit myself a handlebar cover so that no one will see the wiring, sparing me any embarassment while adding a certain sense of style to my bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitche Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 Those grips draw 36W according to the maker, which is probably a lot more than the factory headlight your bike comes with. I'd want to make sure the electrical system could handle that load before proceeding. Maybe you could rig up a 12v auto lamp of a similar wattage to test with first. I wouldn't think you'd be risking damage to the magneto/rectifier/regulator, but maybe someone else here can speak to that better than I. Going against most trials purists, I added the headlight from a homologation kit to my Sherco a while back. The lamp purportedly draws 15W, and have noticed that at or near idle, the light dims noticeably; not to mention the effect when the radiator fan kicks in. In other words, I bet you won't get much heat at idle, but if it's that cold, your radiator fan won't be competing for electrical attention as often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikespace Posted December 28, 2003 Report Share Posted December 28, 2003 Following on from the release of the new Sherco 125 'Academy', you may be interested in the latest release. The new Sherco 290 'Puff'. It may not be too easy to see on the relatively low quality photo I am able to attach here, but hidden quite ingeniously behind the handlebar brace is a fairly unobtrusive 32,000 BTU propane mix space heater. I've not snapped a single rear mudguard since fitting mine - I used to come off the back all the time. I do tend to go over the bars downhill a little more often than I used to, but at a rosy cheeked 600 degrees Kelvin you soon bounce back to your feet with a smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the artist formerly known as ish Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 Gary, Dennis Sweeten Apex sports sells them, they work fine he rode with them one winter so do did a few other riders in the club, if you fall off and rip the grip and wires out it could double as a kill button. You can link of the www at the bottom of my post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridgrunr Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 (edited) Gary, those are definately different than the ones I put on the ATV. The ones I put on it replace the whole grip. Same on the ST1100. The ATV grips had a big resistor that had to be mounted out in the slipstream somewhere to keep it cool, but it looks like these have done away with that. I wonder how the grips will stick to the heat mats? Like Ishy says, 36 watts is a lot of power, and the power your bie produces won't be constant. If you try them, let me know. I might like to put a set of those on my ATV and Sabre. Gets cold out here in Utah! You don't even have to knit yourself a bar cover. Just buy yourself a set of hippo hands. They'll cover your bars and keep all those unsightly wires out of sight while your hands stay toasty all day! Edited December 29, 2003 by Ridgrunr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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