Even though winter just doesn't seem to get started over here I figure that some day I will be very glad to have some heated grips on the Terra, so I installed some on both the missus' Terra and my own. The missus still had a set of Oxford hot grips lying around collecting dust. They were bought for her FZ6, but we hadn't bothered yet with getting them installed. I got myself a set of Symtec heated grip pads and made some pictures of the installation procedure for both. I started with the Oxford set. On the clutch side the plastic tube with the grip comes off easily after removing 2 little screws. On the throttle side I used the missus' hair dryer to make the grip a bit more flexible and melt the existing glue a bit. After that it's a question of a long screwdriver and copious amounts of WD40 to loosen the grips bit by little bit. The Hot Grips will not fit on the throttle side without a bit of modification to the plastic tube. There are some ridges on the tube that keep the grip in place on both sides of the tube. I cut those of and filed everything down nice and flush. I test-fitted the grips, lubing the plastic tubes with some WD40. It turns out they are a bit wide and would impede free movement of the throttle with the bar ends installed. The Oxford grips are designed to be cut down for such a situation, but I decided to just move the controls on both sides 3mm inwards. It makes for a much cleaner look than cutting into the rubber of the grips. After that I can get started on the final install. The most important tool for this is: Hair spray is just perfect. When still liquid it acts as a lubricant and when dry it gets very sticky. Just make sure to install them like in the pics above. Especially on the throttle side, it is important to make sure the wiring coming out from the grips shouldn't impede the brake lever with the throttle in closed position. After all that it is just a matter of cleanly guiding the wiring to the battery. Some Electrical tape over the connectors should prevent any water from getting in. According to the Oxford installation manual the main module can get pretty hot and shouldn't be installed against the battery. On top of the fuel pump does not seem like a very good idea either. But there is just enough room between the seat and the cross bars of the frame to install it there. That should act as a pretty decent heat sink. I'm not sure whether this will be the final placement, but it will do for now. The final piece of the puzzle is the control module. It is rather bulky and come with an alu installation plate that I couldn't really find a good place on the Terra to install. But I found a ring lying around that is used to install devices on a mountain bike. Fits nicely on the 22mm Terra handle bars. The control unit is glued on. And we're all done. I'll go into the Symtec heated grip pads install on my own Terra in a different post.
Over to the Symtecs. As you may know, the Symtec Heat Daemons are not traditional heated grips that replace the original grips but rather heated pads that are installed under the oem grips. I opted for the set with the rocker switch. The beginning of the install is similar to the Oxford grips. On the throttle side remove the grip, there's no need to cut down the flanges in this case. On the clutch side no need to take off the plastic tube, just remove the grip from it. Then glue the pads on the tubes. They are self-adhesive and just glue on. Again, make sure the wires don't interfere with lever operation. The result looks like this: I will install the rocker switch in the plastics above the head light unit. The cover comes off easily and reveals plenty of room for additional wiring. I need to drill a 20mm hole for the switch. Unfortunately my biggest drill is only 15mm, so I do some sculpting with that until the hole is wide enough. The cables go into the unit where the head light wiring comes in and go out through the hole. Then they 're cut to length and attached to the spade connectors that come with the kit to hook up to the switch. The rocker switch is plugged into place. It looks like it has always been there from the factory. I run the wiring to the fuzebblock under the seat. All done!
Never much liked heated grips as the insides of your hands seem to get heated up but the outsides freeze. Have had heated gloves for the last two years. Batteries last for only one longish trip, so I´ve got a replacement set. Changing batteries once a day is a bit of a drag but the gloves seem to have solved the winter problem of taking the bike on longer trips. Still contemplating heated boot inserts.
Great job I duib pure laziness I had bought the original grip set. Definitely cost more, but the wiring is already prepared. You how much you paid? Until now I have not needed to use them, but January 31 to 'Elefantentreffen in germany definitely I'll use
It is true that heated gear (gloves, jackets, ...) warms you up more efficiently. But it also has some annoyances. You're always either working with batteries that require frequent recharging or with leads that you need to connect/disconnect every time you get on or of the bike. Heated grips have always provided enough warmth to keep my hands comfy in combination with decent hand guards that keep the wind off the top of my hands. But in winter temperatures here rarely get below -5C. And below that you can always use muffs. The Symtec grip pads get very hot and you can ride with summer gloves all year round if you combine them with muffs in winter. €57 from Adventure-spec. I doubt the elefantentreffen will be as cold as the past 2 years though
