Heated Grips Questions

[silverstrom]

I'm looking for heated grips for my wee and I have a few questions.

Do the Suzuki heated grips come with the necessary plug to attach to the harness behind the radiator?

Does anyone know the part number for any adaptor plug that may be required to attach other heated grips to plug behind the radiator?

Any suggestion as to which heated grips are best? How about from a cost and function point of view?

Thanks for your help.

SS

[silverstrom]

Item #7 on this page. $7.30
http://www.ronayers.com/fiche/300_0331/wiring_harness_model_k4_k5/wiring_harness_model_k4_k5.cfm?man=su&groupid=280&parent=240

Thanks Tom.

How does this work? Edit: Info found at http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/VStrom3.html


SS

[silverstrom]

No..the connector for the horn lead also fits the aux connector lead behind the radiator.

I just discover that at http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/VStrom3.html the directions were pretty clear. "Use a horn lead wire to attach a couple accessories to your bike, such as heated grips. There's an available plug behind your radiator with orange wires, taped with black electrical tape against one of the wire bundles. Loosen your radiator, find the plug (a flashlight helps), and us an x-acto knife to cut the electrical tape holding the plug to the wire bundle. A needlenose pliers helps to push the male extension onto the female plug. The horn lead, Part #36852-06G00will fit the plug and accepts spade lugs. About $7."

Thanks again Tom, I apprecite your help.

All I need now are grips.

SS

[limobob]

For me, a set of generic ATV heated grips worked just fine. $26 and a 1/2 hr. of labor. Got 'em at the local dealer.:)

[silverstrom]

For me, a set of generic ATV heated grips worked just fine. $26 and a 1/2 hr. of labor. Got 'em at the local dealer.:)

I've considered this also. Thanks limobob.

SS

[Fatstrat]

For me, a set of generic ATV heated grips worked just fine. $26 and a 1/2 hr. of labor. Got 'em at the local dealer.:)

Can you post a pic of those?

Thanks. :D

[Martin]

I have the OEM heated grips... they're relatively easy to install and work OK for +10C temps but below that, they don't help much... the main problem is that they're not heated all the way around... I think the Hot Grips brand are though.

If you search for "Hot Grips" or "OEM heated grips" you should find all the relevant info you need.

Anyway, I've got a pair of Gerbings heated gloves on the way... that's pretty much the gold-standard for keeping the hands warm.

- Martin

[silverstrom]

I have the OEM heated grips... they're relatively easy to install and work OK for +10C temps but below that, they don't help much... the main problem is that they're not heated all the way around... I think the Hot Grips brand are though.

If you search for "Hot Grips" or "OEM heated grips" you should find all the relevant info you need.

Anyway, I've got a pair of Gerbings heated gloves on the way... that's pretty much the gold-standard for keeping the hands warm.

- Martin

I was wondering about the OEM heated grips. If they don't work well below +10C then it sort of defeats the purpose I suppose. Also, they are pretty expensive at $229. If you were to replace them what would you get?

What was the price on the heated gloves and where did you get them?

Thanks for your help.

SS

[Martin]

If I were to get heated grips again I would go with the Hot Grips, they're heated all the way around.

The Gerbing G3 heated gloves were pretty much the same price everywhere, $169 + $69 for the controller. I ordered mine from Amotostuff.com 'cuz I've dealt with them before and they're good.

- Martin

[SithDL]

I've got a set of Hot Grips and they're awesome! I wired them straight to the battery with a pull-up type headlight switch. They come with an inline resistor for the "low" setting but I didn't bother with it. I run them at full power and if my hands get too warm (which they sometimes do if it's over about 45 degrees) I turn them off for a minute.
Be sure to wire them in series, not in parallel. I had a set of take-off snowmobile elements under the grips on my DR-Z wired in parallel because I didn't know better. They draw a lot more power that way so they get really toasty, but I burned up my voltage regulator. D'oh!

[happycamper]

I found a place that sells the OEM heated grips for 130.00 shipped. I'm guessing that they haven't updated their price list recently. The grips install in a couple hours or less.

http://www.cheapcycleparts.com/pages/catalogs/detail/35/351/775/15666/1/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/heated-grip-set.aspx
(http://www.cheapcycleparts.com/pages/catalogs/detail/35/351/775/15666/1/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/heated-grip-set.aspx)

[silverstrom]

Thanks for the info everyone.

Has anyone tried the Dual Star elements that go under the stock grips? I like the idea, but I'd like to know how effective they are.

SS

[10-95]

Not Dual Star, but I have the Symtec grips. They work well and you can get them from California Sport Touring for less than $30. The install looks pretty good too.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/64/switchlocateqt3.jpg

[silverstrom]

Not Dual Star, but I have the Symtec grips. They work well and you can get them from California Sport Touring for less than $30. The install looks pretty good too.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/64/switchlocateqt3.jpg

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at the Symtec grips. The Dual Stars are the same price. I'll look at the specs on on both of them to see how they compare.

Did you wire them to the spare connection behind the radiator?

SS

[V-Tom]

I am very happy with "HotGrips" heated grips. They work very well.. no issues.

I suspect for really cold weather you would want heated gloves but they seem to work well for me down to -5 Celsius (roughly 20 F) for my 45 minute commute. They are also great for keeping lighter gloves on when the weather gets cooler than expected.

..Tom

[morm914]

The dual stars and the symtecs are the same thing. I have installed both, and just put a set on my Wee. Cal Sport Touring has the best deal if you want the nice round rocker switch.

[10-95]

Did you wire them to the spare connection behind the radiator?

SS

Yes, on both my V and the wife's wee. The connector on both were just hanging there loose, no drama at all.

[silverstrom]

Thanks for the assistance everyone. With so many different heated grips to choose from its difficult to decide. Reading your posts has certainly been helpful.


SS

[silverstrom]

I checked once agian with my dealer today about the OEM heated grips. They are $292 in Canada!! The dealer says his cost is $200. Holy Crap. I just saw them at Cheap Cycle Parts for $127 US, which is now $127 Cdn. Too bad they don't ship to Canada.

I think I'll call Dual Star and see if they ship to Canada.

SS

[K6OST]

Not Dual Star, but I have the Symtec grips. They work well and you can get them from California Sport Touring for less than $30. The install looks pretty good too.




+1 on the Symtec's

Dollar for dollar probably the best mod I've done so far (it's a toss up between them and the 16t sprocket). And damn do they get hot!!

[happycamper]

I posted the link for the grips at cheap cycle parts.

After installing the OEM grips, I'd suggest trying something else. On the plus side, they are easy to install. The downside is the throttle grip gets really hot, while the clutch side is merely lukewarm.

[water warrior]

Go with the Symtec heaters and insulate the clutch side bar before installing the heater. Works great on Lynda's bike. Should have had the foresight to do that to the Wee. A big + for California Sports too.

[GRS1959]

Go with the Symtec heaters and insulate the clutch side bar before installing the heater. Works great on Lynda's bike. Should have had the foresight to do that to the Wee. A big + for California Sports too.

What do you use to insulate the clutch side bar?

[K6OST]

What do you use to insulate the clutch side bar?

If you buy the grip puppies from CA Sporttouring for about $8 then you don't need to insulate anything. You put the grip heaters ontop of the original grips and the grip puppies over that. I did it that way and it worked out great.

[GRS1959]

If you buy the grip puppies from CA Sporttouring for about $8 then you don't need to insulate anything. You put the grip heaters ontop of the original grips and the grip puppies over that. I did it that way and it worked out great.

Great idea...thanks! :)

[silverstrom]

I posted the link for the grips at cheap cycle parts.

After installing the OEM grips, I'd suggest trying something else. On the plus side, they are easy to install. The downside is the throttle grip gets really hot, while the clutch side is merely lukewarm.

I was told that when installing heated grips it is best to wrap some aluminum tape around the clutch side handlebar first and then add whatever heated grip you like. The aluminum tape is supposed to prevent heatloss into the handlebar. Because the throttle grip doesn't sit directly on the bar, that side isn't a problem. Thanks to darryl in Belleville for that great idea.

SS

[silverstrom]

Does anyone know if cal sport touring ships to Canada? I need to be able to ship it to Canada by USPS rather than UPS. If I ship UPS there is the brokerage fees to dael with. I can't see paying a $50 brokerage fee for heated grips that cost $30.

SS

[K6OST]

sorry, no idea.. send them an email, couldn't hurt.

[silverstrom]

sorry, no idea.. send them an email, couldn't hurt.

Thanks K60ST. I'll try calling them and dual star tomorrow. Hopefully one of them ships north.

SS

[silverstrom]

I just ordered the symtec grip heaters and the heat troller from adventure motostuff. It was quick, efficient and painless and only took 5 minutes. I must admit that I was surprised with how simple the online process was. Total cost with USPS priority shipping was $117.60 US, which is pretty much the same in canuck bucks these days. This is way better than the $292 for the OEM heated grips in Canada. Now I have to sit and wait for 6-10 days for the stuff to get here. The suspense is killing me already.

Thanks again everyone for all your help. You've proved once again that stromtroopers is the best site on the web :D:D:D

SS