You can do that.

__________________
Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

Thanks, greywolf.

Just ordered the new version of Oxford's hot grips. (Touring version)

I can see the oem install plug behind the radiator, but I think I'm going to install straight to battery.

Oxford say these grips now have an intelligence that switches them off if there's no noise on the electrics (i.e. the engine's off)

We'll see how we'll that works!

I'll report back...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B009T4J4Y6/

I did the same thing with the Oxfords straight to battery but didn't know about the plug. Right, they are supposed to turn off though.

I just finished my instal of Oxford Sports and total time approx 2 hours, no tank removal, direct to the battery. Bent the switch bracket, mounted to clutch clamp, simple and I am impressed with the 4 position settings. Took a bit of panel wiggling but pretty sraight forward. OEM hanguards and heated grips, should be toasty
Good clear instructions and as always, research from this forum made it an easy task

__________________
Yamaha FSIE
Yamaha RD200DX
Triumph T140V Bonneville
Kawasaki Z650
Honda CB500/4
Kawasaki GPZ1000RX
Honda CB400T
Suzuki GSXR400R
Suzuki DR400S
Triumph Speed Triple
Triumph T595 Daytona
Honda CB1300
Triumph 600 Daytona
Honda GL1000
Ducati 620ie Monster
Suzuki DL650 VStrom

Well I can assure you that the grips do turn off (the heat but not LED's) after they have depleted your battery down to about 11.5 (or so they say) volts. This is good enough to not do permanent damage to your battery but you WILL NEED a boost to start your bike. I have stupidly done this to myself about 4 times now, forgetting to turn them off when going to work in the morning, only to find out that I need to find someone with booster cables to get home...
I considered getting the plug for the OEM heated grip, but I really like the wiring job I did on the oxfords, and I think that I just need to learn some discipline...

EDIT: I re-nag my statement as I was talking about the older grips. The control panel on these new ones looks different, and has a "power saving mode" which is apparently different from the auto-off switch from the old ones, so I cannot speak to the effectiveness of the grips you mention, but everything still stands for the old style grips (the ones from OP)

I got my Oxfords installed on Tuesday. I went to the trouble of raising the tank up on the "prop" since I was running wires for multiple electrical upgrades at once. Powered the grips from the OEM plug behind the radiator using the Eastern Beaver plug and extension kit. The black box is mounted on the back of the fluid reservoir under the seat as others have done with sticky tape. The control box is mounted on the left side fairing with the sticky tape(Not too sure it's going to hold long term.) as I didn't want to mount it on the handlebars in a way that would interfere with my tank bag at full fork lock. Living in a normally warm climate, I also wanted the control box a little more discreet since it will get minimal use. I mostly wanted the heaters for my planned trip to Alaska. Now that they're mounted, I'll probably find an excuse to turn them on from time to temp when the temps dip a bit.

While I was at it, I installed the Eastern Beaver Dual Headlight Relay kit(Nice quality wiring harness!), an ABS bypass switch on the fairing(Also from EB), and power to my auxillary plugs, also mounted on the fairing panels.

For those who haven't raised their tanks yet, it's a bit of a chore the first time but definitely doable without damage if you follow the instructions in the Owners Manual closely. FYI, be sure to pay close attention to all the hardware that is removed during the process so that all the bolts go back in the proper holes and in the proper order during reassembly. Don't ask. DOH!

Thanks to all the guys on this thread who've shared their install info! That made jumping into this task a lot easier and a successful outcome much more likely. No more cold hands for me.

I installed the OEM Suzuki heated grips on my 2012 Adventure figuring it would be a cleaner/better install. I tapped into the supplied plug behind the radiator and carefully routed all the wires. Now I have had OEM heated grips on my Moto Guzzi and my BMW and aftermarket grip heaters on my PC800 that wrap around the bar and you slide the stock grips over them. The Suzuki heated grips are so far inferior to all of those I cannot believe I paid 5 times the price for them than the wraps for my PC. Does anybody else think these things are lousy? It was 42 degrees out and I have the hand guards and a pair of Held Rain gloves with very little insulation and yet I could hardly tell they were on. The only time I took them off high was to see if the number of lights changed on the controller. On the Guzzi grips High was good for heating them up quick then go to medium because they were too hot to use. The other two were not quite that hot and only had 2 positions. I am going to go double check everything but I am far from impressed.
Maybe I am using the controller wrong? Seems like all lights on would be full power. All else failed so I guess I'll re-read the directions.

__________________
2012 Suzuki DL650 Adventure - Oxford Heated grips, Bags Connection City tank bag, Soupy's lowering links and sidestand, Rick's fork brace, GPS mount, mirror extenders, FZ-1 fuse block, helmet guardian Parabellum windshield, Givi V46 trunk...to be continued.
1998 Honda PC800, 1992 Yamaha Razz, Qty 2 of 1972 Suzuki TS90
About 25 previous bikes now sold. Wish I had them all.

OK, I found other posts where people talk about how hot their OEM grip heaters get. I am going to have to investigate further. I should have went with my gut feeling of using the Symtec grip heaters like the PC has and saved the money. Just thought going OEM would be cleaner.

As an addendum I also found where people talk about how the Suzuki grip heaters heat primarily your finger tips. Testing mine I find that it is true that only a section that would be my finger tips gets hot while the rest of the grip may reach luke warm. BS for a $350 retail set of grips.

Now a new question, if anybody is still reading this thread as it seems I am posting to myself. How comfortable are the Oxford grips since I have none to feel? I understand they are warm but are they comfortable? I know the Hot Grips get a very low rating on comfort from me. I can always install the Symtec grip heaters. The OEM heated grips will be appearing on eBay once I replace them.

__________________
2012 Suzuki DL650 Adventure - Oxford Heated grips, Bags Connection City tank bag, Soupy's lowering links and sidestand, Rick's fork brace, GPS mount, mirror extenders, FZ-1 fuse block, helmet guardian Parabellum windshield, Givi V46 trunk...to be continued.
1998 Honda PC800, 1992 Yamaha Razz, Qty 2 of 1972 Suzuki TS90
About 25 previous bikes now sold. Wish I had them all.

Does anyone know if on the Hot Grips 475-875 you still have to remove the ribs from the throttle tube? The inside of the grips seem to have a wedged pattern so only limited contact with the metal handlebar to keep from loosing heat. I just want to make sure I have all the tools I need available before I start taking things apart.