Heated Grips

Thornton · Jul 15, 2015

Has anyone fitted heated grips? Am thinking of it, do they make much of a difference?

juliana · Jul 15, 2015

Thornton said:
Has anyone fitted heated grips? Am thinking of it, do they make much of a difference?

I don't have experience with the Ducati ones. But have them fitted to my sv1000 and cant believe what a difference they make to winter/night riding. I cant believe its taken me so long to discover the delight of heated grips haha

Jerry Winder · Jul 15, 2015

Thornton said:
Has anyone fitted heated grips? Am thinking of it, do they make much of a difference?

Once you've had heated grips you never go back.

Mine have been on order since about December, last I was told they'll be available in July. In all honesty I'm not that bothered as long as they're here by October!

Jerry

shmakt · Jul 15, 2015

Well it's winter here, and it was a nice chilly 7 degrees C this morning when I took the bike in for first service.
Sure wish the heated grips I have ordered were on the bike, nearly had to pry my frozen, cramped fingers off when I got to the shop.

Joe Bar · Jul 15, 2015

One of the first jobs I do on any new bike is fit heated grips if they've not come installed from the factory. I feel the cold badly in winter, but ride all year round so couldn't be without them. I like the Heat Demon / Symtec ones as they fit under your existing grips work well, and just have a small high - low switch, so look neat and unobtrusive.

pitts995 · Jul 15, 2015

Put the Oxford grips on, don't really like the look off the controller, but not sure I could do without them now (Winter in here in New Zealand now). And a third of the price of the Ducati ones.

juliana · Jul 15, 2015

pitts995 said:
Put the Oxford grips on, don't really like the look off the controller, but not sure I could do without them now (Winter in here in New Zealand now). And a third of the price of the Ducati ones.[/QUOT

Hiya fellow Kiwi! Yes got the Oxford ones too, fraction of the price of the Ducati ones and better quality too.

pitts995 · Jul 15, 2015

Yeap they work just fine. I have been out and about in the last week when we have stunning clear, but cold days (0 deg C). and apart from the icy roads I just want to keep riding

I am not so happy with my mark 1 bracket for the controller, should be better by mark 10

, I will post photos in the morning.
Juliana, I sent you a PM.

greer · Jul 15, 2015

Symtec grip warmers on my bikes first thing. Don't forget to insulate the left bar, otherwise it acts as a heat sink.

Sarah

Joe Bar · Jul 15, 2015

greer said:
Don't forget to insulate the left bar, otherwise it acts as a heat sink.

Sarah

The last two kits I fitted to my wife's Scrambler and daughter's SV650 both came with the heat shrink in the package to insulate the left bar, and a switch bracket, which the earlier kits I fitted didn't have.

greer · Jul 16, 2015

Very handy. I've used heat shrink lots of times; silicone tape works very well, too. Just a note to folks considering a DIY-- some of the other grip warmer brands (Kimpex, Trackside) use a resistor in the wiring to achieve the Low setting, while Symtec wires High and Low separately. I'd suggest avoiding the resistor method since that sucker gets hot as the devil (careful where you place it) and does nothing to reduce the draw from the battery. Joe--jump in and correct me if I'm wrong or expand on this if you like---I pretty much have zero understanding of electrics.

Sarah

Joe Bar · Jul 16, 2015

greer said:
Joe--jump in and correct me if I'm wrong or expand on this if you like---I pretty much have zero understanding of electrics.

Sarah

Sarah - you have it correct. The cheaper under grip heaters use a resisted switch to get high and low settings and fail pretty regularly due to heat. The Symetc's have two elements wound into each heater pad, one on for low, and both on for high, and use a simple on-off-on switch to control.

littleowl · Jul 16, 2015

Heated grips are good, but in my experience (I get REALLY cold extremities very easily) they only heat the palms of your hands and the backs of your hands/fingers still get cold. I have invested in heated gloves which are far superior (IMO!!) as they heat all parts of your hands. But are way more fiddly due to all the wires/connections :roll eyes: .

Joe Bar · Jul 16, 2015

littleowl said:
I have invested in heated gloves which are far superior (IMO!!) as they heat all parts of your hands. But are way more fiddly due to all the wires/connections :roll eyes: .

Horses for courses, although theoretically superior to heated grips, I've not found a pair of heated gloves I like enough to try, whereas I can choose to wear any comfy old pair of gloves with heated grips. Plus, while I'd never wear bulky winter gloves in summer, I do use my heated grips in the evening when it cools, or when it rains, or up in the mountains when the temperature can cool considerably. Finally, having a few bikes in the garage would mean having them all wired for one pair of gloves.

So for me, heated grips tick more boxes and the compromise of not having the backs of my hands warmer is more than compensated by the flexibility of the heated grips. In winter though I rarely venture out on the bike without my heated vest, which really does help keep all over body warmth up and blood circulating.

zenocchio · Oct 10, 2015

pitts995 said:
Yeap they work just fine. I have been out and about in the last week when we have stunning clear, but cold days (0 deg C). and apart from the icy roads I just want to keep riding
I am not so happy with my mark 1 bracket for the controller, should be better by mark 10 , I will post photos in the morning.
Juliana, I sent you a PM.

Can you please share a pic of your bracket? I'm looking at fab one too

bandejapaisa · Oct 15, 2015

I've finally had my Ducati heated grips fitted today, which were on order. Saying the Oxford ones are better is nonsense.

I had the Oxford ones on my old bike. They're equal quality. The grips feel the same, they heat as fast and feel the same amount of warmth.

However, I don't have the ugly Oxford control with these ones! There is a heated grip symbol on my 'dashboard' and you use the starter button to change the setting from OFF > LOW > MEDIUM > HIGH > OFF.

Really nice!

Scraxxl · Oct 18, 2015

Resistance of OEM heated grips

Hi all,
I'd like to repeat a wish:
Could anyone please measure and tell the heated grips resistance please.
Background: I want to operate other heated grips with the Ducati SW and I think it's best if the resistance is quiet the same to the Ducati grips.

Derek · Oct 19, 2015

I measured the LH grip at 10.7Ω and the throttle side at 10.2Ω, I'd say a nominal 10.5Ω. That should provide just over 10W of heat at each grip, assuming a voltage of 14V when the engine is running.

Scraxxl · Oct 24, 2015

Thank you, Derek

SmoquedKiwi · Nov 19, 2015

I've had Oxford and now the Ducati ones.
I loved both but I really like the Ducati controls and how the remember your last setting.

Wow so many kiwis...

Heated Grips

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