I have the Oxfords on my BMW - and I have to say they are worth their weight in gold... I wanted grips on my new 449, but figured that it may not be worth investing in Oxfords as I tend to destroy things regularly off-road. I found a set of Bikemaster Heated Grips (part no 10-1922) through Amazon for only $43 shipped! That was less than 1/2 of what I paid for my Oxfords! What I got was a product that was every bit as good - if not better. I like the design of the Bikemaster. They come as an open/closed option which is great for those of us that run real hand-guards. Draw is LOW at only 17-19 watts depending on RPM. I am running mine with zero issue off the little "idiot" light in the headlight. Feel is actually better than the Oxfords as the Oxfords are a bit large for offroad and don't have a ton of feedback. The Bikemaster's are quite a bit closer to traditional grips. I really like the digital control. It remembers the setting (five heat levels) that was last active and will resume that setting (from off - five) upon startup. I didnt know that upon install and may move the control to under the seat. Under the seat offers excellent protection and my seat comes off < 2 secs if I need to switchthem off. Typically if I need them, I need them all day. http://www.bikemaster.com/heated_grips.html Time will tell how they last compared with the Oxfords - but for now they are an absolute bargain. One item that is worth mentioning is that they dont have any advanced voltage detection like the Oxfords. Some folks install the Oxfords direct to a hot 12v source and the grips are supposed to sense when the bike is on/off. I installed mine to a key hot, as I didnt trust this feature. Teh Bikemaster do not have anything like this - they have to be installed on switched power or you are assured a dead battery.
Nice find, thanks. They look like they might be a little slick for mud riding. What do you think? 5 level temp control is cool.
I will post back in a few weeks once I get the bike wet and muddy. I can tell you that that check area is a really aggressive and tacky rubber teet zone. They are quite grabby to the bare hand and with "sticky" palm gloves it is like velcro. Time will tell if that proves reliable in mud/muck. They are literally 100x tackier than the Oxfords, which are essentially street grips. These feel exactly like an MX grip aside from the rigidity that comes with a plastic skeleton. Some folks may be put off by that little extra girth. I think I actually like thicker grips as I find my hands cramp less (which is maybe because one can't really death grip a large grip).
I picked up a set of these for my street bike, been wanting heated grips but never cared for a lot of them or the price they wanted. Installed them on the Triumph Tiger this afternoon and excited to try them out tomorrow. Thanks!
I go through a set of grips every 1-2 seasons on my bikes, so no way I am going to get disposable integrated heated grips. However, the Symtec grip heaters (2 levels, no resistor pack) are only about 50 bucks: http://www.motosport.com/dirtbike/SYMTEC-HEAT-DEMON-MOTORCYCLE-GRIP-HEATERS Another option to consider. I ordered a set for my street ride (Duc Monster) and I may put a set on my 610.
The bikemaster have that neat 5 position controller. I know on my SV, the lo/hi was never quite what I wanted, either too warm or not warm enough
Just a quick update - I was doing some bike maintenance this weekend and realized I didn't test out my grips after dunking my bike a few weeks back - not like I crossed a deep creek - but like I needed friends to find it under water....THAT kind of dunk. Guess what? The grips still work!
