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TECHNICAL MOTOBRICK WRENCHING In Remembrance of Inge K. => The Motobrick Workshop => Topic started by: F14CRAZY on March 20, 2016, 10:01:15 PM

Title: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on March 20, 2016, 10:01:15 PM
This weekend I figured out that my left grip wasn't heating up. My bike has Symtec grip heaters and Pro Grip 699 grips and an OEM switch (as Drake installed...there's a write up by him here).

Pulled the gas tank and found the connections for the grips. The wiring was just twisted together and taped over (don't think that was Drake's doing). Thinking that was causing a short I cleaned that up with crimp nuts. Still no heat. Up to the grip itself I poked the wiring with a multimeter and it's getting power but no heat.

The Symtec kit and Pro Grips are still around but I felt like trying something else, so earlier tonight I went and ordered an Oxford Heaterz Premium Touring kit from Revzilla ($89.95)

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/oxford-heaterz-premium-touring-heated-grips (http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/oxford-heaterz-premium-touring-heated-grips)

I'll follow up with pix and a review when it arrives and I install them
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Motorhobo on March 21, 2016, 11:33:48 AM
I have aftermarket grips that are Symtec or something similar and one of the grips doesn't work and the other one only has one setting: way too hot. I haven't even bothered to try to fix them because it's not worth it. Saw the Oxford ones at a local bike shop and I really like that they have some kind of control interface. Very interested to know how it works out for you...I think a reasonably priced alternative to the OEM ones is long overdue. Seems a lot of people who have had the aftermarket ones for a few years find themselves with only one working. That's never happened to me in the 10 years I've had the OEM ones.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on March 23, 2016, 08:33:18 PM
Documentation says the grips draw 4 amps. What do the OEM grips draw? The Oxford kit has enough wiring and terminals to connect directly to the battery but I wired it to the bike's factory heated grip connector under the tank (where Drake had the Symtec ones hooked up).

If you want to go straight to the battery the controller can sense when power is low (or the bike is off) and automatically turn off after a few minutes in case you leave them on. I decided to just go for switched power though.

At any rate the kit arrived today (from Philadelphia, PA). Took the tank off, snipped the old wiring, and ripped the old grips and heaters off. I took a box cutter and put a long cut across each. The part that took the most time was getting the old grip glue off the throttle sleeve. I found it best to leave the sleeve on the bar and take emery cloth to it. The goo came off with the emery cloth and brake cleaner. I took the time to clean up and re-lube the throttle sleeve and bar and the little chain and all that too.

I used the included bracket and put the controller below the left switch assembly.
 
Running the wiring wasn't difficult but it's thicker than the Symtec wiring and it's kind of big where the wiring is molded into the grips...not that big of a deal on the left side but it's kind of weird for the right side as that goes upward with the throttle being twisted...so there's like a loop that goes around and over the master cylinder reservoir.

Sorry I don't have any photos yet. It was dark by the time I finished. I'll try to get some tomorrow so this will make better sense.

I haven't ridden the bike yet to test them...it's like just above freezing tonight and raining. I would have went out if it weren't for the rain. My hands were freezing though and the grips felt rather hot after being on 100% for a few minutes (started the bike up for that).

Will follow up with pix and a review soon
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on March 28, 2016, 07:49:43 PM
I'll have to post again tomorrow with a pic of the controller and how I mounted it...oooops

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uArZzMqO5UxbA6Z9zwloBBPvWkbVJSs7PWWATFq4nefmdms8z2SL2Y52db0KavPaKwZQ9gFhQZ6LSkCImbkTU3CVUmXkl6A6TZXGxxzCowNodQA7ga72E32ar5Jwc6EgZO59jbqA_FecEbB9oKIM7gukFmAKDOFbD8ZHs-ILcWHVMNrOuX61o-09Lfo7-MFO9hcV0eotpZ5k1fGUxfjJEUKjdnRU6OeM77x5qC_WlHXD-le2_nrkoSv8zUU_1PmVBkPvWrwX74KJQBgV1cVntS1RutJy4l3hHlN_IRQ6LYb6Ckfnxj0tuOHxGFalfaZ8vp4S2uugptu6EYAz_Y81UGGgQtB1xruFlMWU0oqtGgogOvnFk9vCHsy2_jIHm1GOjxvTexjbwszZmRHUoT9m-QIwV3ROBcyQCX4RJKMeeiHkftSVYxEfZC9_gPThz4ztJbWnlfcx9QHuAWFpiMokf7kVsuEfM-apHex-augI8c9ZjAC-7LXVrshgA98uj20o-MK03QCzS_TWBAbtoe81BTQk87sz-U4izg3BFrLBZ2bGZjh9O8xb6K053W8FLdelXoSbfg=w1184-h666-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4YXPn24KuOaNHzFeabp83YZd1QDlT1GoOcW_4JjCHKOswPALM2bT05T83vibqDWitgkALK0Jv0iraopykTVY5-GlPah3L8UytTru_vSwjAeyugu49viV6ynvwiw0Kpm_Nj_5HIPvNsdCwQr-f4w8iKTHeZXDRjjMPHtawK6fjhfdl77PptZtZDpNJvyIOAOuL8GM4zkw7WpAcoEsX115NyvidD0-3lRY8sjf0t8GYa0cjkB1a-nSDQwUn1Cl9iewy-O58zJWZMMgptwdWdcl0cRfViN87XHVqPXWjUWa9LBHrshctVaEjK4F5xqPweCFxJ0_VhlsU2VO6IkZvw6NO7Q_lTj4WeNu0HzO7y7Kik_5JU9zBDdbGwjSfQ2ZU8DKK84VZ5-QgaYD2xTJikhATb5slcAeBsViswbWqhJXJMTPyJVXYmJFv0GOBF2uf9Va6gOLlt4UwP7hArntejIVF896Hgr4TEQBl9mEmGjBPFH2NzbPesIyLDH8gp0_zcXR87JWE0oorABDgbruwJvVtbd3OZLYhDU39Z0v-s7_uusAuy7PM96zL_PIOiv48mWceeC2kQ=w1184-h666-no)

About the only real complaint as I mentioned is how large the wiring leads are. Not that big of a deal on the clutch side but on the throttle side you have all that wiring that needs to be loose enough for when you twist the throttle. I have it zip tied to be about the minimum. I need to pick up some black zip ties as you can see as I just had the natural ones in my tool bag. The zip ties that came with it broke while I was taking them out of the package...

I've had them set at 100% on an extended 30 degree ride...with my gloves (Joe Rocket Sub Zero with silk Tour Master liners) my hands still get a little cold. The big difference compared with the Symtec ones is that my hands would get cold and I couldn't tell whether the warmers were on or not. The Oxford grips stay warm through the gloves...you can always tell they're on.

Not quite as soft as the gel Pro Grip grips but I don't really think it's a negative.

They're also slightly bigger in diameter in my hands than the Pro Grips. Not a negative...they're just a tiny bit bigger. I wear size small gloves though so it's probably easier for me to tell the difference.

They're nice and grippy though. I like the pattern on the rubber.

I wish the controller would remember what setting it was last on when they get power again (which in this case is when I turn the ignition on). It'd be nice if you didn't have to turn them back on if you left them on.

And the little tube of superglue they came with isn't that great as the clutch side came off. I picked up some loctite epoxy and fixed that.

Oxford provides a 2 year warranty. Made in China according to the box but this is typical of most everything (and probably typical of heated grips)

Overall they're nice grips...they're hot, seem to be of high quality, easy to wire up. The only bad thing I can really say is about the large wire leads. Pick up your own zip ties and epoxy though (or grip glue or w/e else you prefer to use)
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on March 31, 2016, 02:31:28 PM
the controller:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/twjCCN39myjUgPknUEtGo9Wc1RaYDxo5z_1NiMyqgjkPlWIBXAj8AidIKjeB9A4g2GVdrQVhCAN7bR-q3BmMf_gwYqc5ONFz9XAfnxHM6z_tYEQhLy4lXzCGNT6RG5PwepSmBLn8FUWGrcNDCTUMEzCc5lgJ82e9jUkadVrQSMlJt0Z9xnlKRgTCZjHRqKh-Mm2A8kqAbV2jeNXJpITlNMWJZj8VjWC3gDqaSr-jJDlK16kIoF8wDSfetcRjXKFW4yQHw9PdEGCDChJnid8eh64zj5mTEoKHk97lWnbD5F4KIy9QdOe5JuT5u0GNKPS8UOcdmTbYXEpVtvSajsQJzkxJzoCjgYZSeHbyWWWkYz09yuKuAZjPzfUj9C23JiokQET4tO-Pd7pt3yQH56QFRskfVFDq9qEnW_e7ebRTgjJ49H9J6aZ5mQDQtjpPt6pmMc0xw0cJPl8MRpPXfKpz13l3PNYnbKW4LWHWCMVTiYQZw6XftGa0Aq6Dd9PqWqjwk3HvX-Y9Tg7yP6rTYBifRyZBLJgdNBWJuSH7rT1iHcL1-MUBJ6_5XMa47Bbxg0WzEw2gwA=w1184-h666-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jyAklQc1QKpdMZgRQrRmGXHT2blP2bbYH9s44czc5B30PBpG6ZF0IT8KbHMWGzLpTbvYCIHsVK1FOtLik72EDg5uIuNl12AVC5CWhq3rLY9vRphGrWSKqbnuOJ2lavefMwWnGwCSU2eGui8SBZFGyN5d2bD07N1Hzpg_Nw_LTv01t_YF4ifFsmHmq_4jmkCqWhtj0x211k-d-fjVS5n2t9u0P9NERMp7JIdDgDrng5ZEYh2NCDk96RjDwvUmsCEulpzpIGs_jaXRbeqsQ13S634rCJ2-RbF23x0sVWAv3YxP6Etuv7J7r62-8AHeyVkRuvEHW-55TYzIC8Fi2lKHc2x2bMcCVbEvRzoNGclmkOyjJWC-Zk_Pt884gKMHH-JQYUgJPKFjlzl3Z-cyFewo7ulkeP75Ms5Zthxy87BjF028BUq1QXK9bo9l0SilzJPq0TRz-PZvgXD2RLp6P8ajWRXJ71Z00sF6N1tlQuRiFa7pF6BJqUmCXfshq52K7QqIN6458HjDLdYYGws3FH-lkD_xdkFMjCm7HcmSHHNev24jEp_LivImCKsSp7wONuqn6-ckJg=w1184-h666-no)
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: johnny on March 31, 2016, 02:45:33 PM
can you go full lock on the steering...

can you easily adjust it with  tank bag on there...
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on March 31, 2016, 03:40:59 PM
no issues with full lock johnny...haven't tried it with the tank bag yet. Will report back
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Motorhobo on April 13, 2016, 04:52:06 PM
Am I the only one who can't see these pics?
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Laitch on April 13, 2016, 05:54:53 PM
I can't see them.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: The Mighty Gryphon on April 13, 2016, 06:36:11 PM
See what?
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Laitch on April 13, 2016, 06:38:54 PM
I bet they look pretty darn good though.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on April 13, 2016, 07:30:43 PM
Weird...they show up for me. I used another browser and logged out and they still showed up. Should be 4 pix
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Elipten on April 13, 2016, 09:56:46 PM
Not seeing them on my iPad


2014 CB1100 DLX
2013 CB1100 Std
1990 BMW K75 RT
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Bill on April 13, 2016, 09:58:51 PM
Ubuntu Linux and Chrome can;t see them either .....
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Martin on April 14, 2016, 03:25:44 AM
I thought they might have been posted in Braille but I can't feel them or see them. :dunno
Regards Martin.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Scott_ on April 14, 2016, 07:07:58 AM
No pics visible here either. Multiple browsers and os's, even logged while logged into my google acct, no difference.

Linux with Firefox and Chromium.
Win 7 with IE and Chrome.
Win 10 with IE, Edge, and Chrome.

I did notice that they are posted thru his google acct if that makes any difference. I even tried the direct google links, no dice.

Just sharing what I see( ie don't see......lol)
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on April 14, 2016, 07:53:24 AM
Can you guys see this photo?

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CwCmH5p9fGWkCPzvXD8IfreYwFgNJFZ3e3z-ylW5hotWd074MtMwfCl9Utn1O3561csP1RIbMODcYCu2j9tpnvFXZGFj-O74-7icCT-w4xW3eWZzdwyrsWPwrMSW6EKMM3yyRnV9Up__-8pHb4XnAQldTiHoNi0tqGws3nanfCQSomQwu0A_xu66A7cI0-f9Nn_1QESwVChkZ76rF275Dqutn8OVE9moJizUX754zvLfm5qAzYOY0opUX8xbc4ZDB8r4xJMLl_hQjCrBKyAV8aXo3IHwq8dVSYDzPima9pf6W0BfzLBo--VsLX3dvhj0u9e_VD3lA5cUSdJzOptDFvDGfZtDAnQJVbrWR84VchENqDSH4EJSi0Pwrhf_BXj5oH1ktezq_vx-BKRzMgqvEbJ-VAq0hGBk8rtDr2mVy2nO0LZjqi_8IQLpjm4Xl5eNI7TnKswxhthRYOaFPdMAtDwGHFsws5U-jDVQPxKU8efbkdjF9-NcVX_hOILf64Z2WmJcoKGp35RvnOit_KQZN1DWuV8l5NrBJL-gZNpVQo6zFILmSvLwGm1p1Hx8f_ZI1nmn3g=w1184-h666-no)

I've switched to Google Photos to (try) to use with sharing on forums versus Facebook, which worked but it seems like after a few weeks the links would change or something
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Elipten on April 14, 2016, 08:19:19 AM
Yes see it on iphone


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Laitch on April 14, 2016, 08:50:04 AM
I see it on my desktop Mac.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: The Mighty Gryphon on April 14, 2016, 09:19:11 AM
Can see it on my Vista Laptop.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: johnny on April 14, 2016, 09:31:11 AM
i can see it on my tandy2000... gonna copy to a floppy...
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on April 14, 2016, 09:47:46 AM
Thanks. It seems with Google Photos I need to move pix to shared album and then I can use the pic's location to post on the forum. I'll fix the photos in this in a short bit
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: TimTyler on April 14, 2016, 10:14:33 AM
Why not just upload the images to motobrick.com?
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on April 14, 2016, 10:16:34 AM
Why not just upload the images to motobrick.com?

That'll be my next move if this doesn't work.

At any rate there should now be a total of 5 photos in this thread, with the 5th being the same as the 4th. Are they showing up?
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Laitch on April 14, 2016, 11:32:41 AM
At any rate there should now be a total of 5 photos in this thread, with the 5th being the same as the 4th. Are they showing up?
Yes.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Scott_ on April 14, 2016, 11:04:36 PM
I can see them all now.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Martin on April 15, 2016, 12:52:51 AM
 :2thumbup:
Martin.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on April 15, 2016, 06:25:54 AM
can you go full lock on the steering...

can you easily adjust it with  tank bag on there...

I had my tank bag on yesterday and the controller is still easy to see and reach.

I actually figured out that I can position the bag far back enough to avoid interfering with full lock of the bars too
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on April 17, 2016, 04:26:34 PM
The Loctite 5 minute epoxy failed on the left grip when I went to pick it off the sidestand yesterday. Is grip glue special stuff or should my epoxy hold fine? I scuffed up the bar and cleaned it with brake cleaner so I'm not sure why it isn't holding that well. I let it sit overnight too.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: Motorhobo on April 26, 2016, 06:08:55 PM
Not sure I'm comfy with the concept of that honking cable tailing off the grip like that...I like heated grip wiring best where I can't see it.
Title: Re: Replacing heated grips
Post by: F14CRAZY on April 26, 2016, 08:18:13 PM
Not sure I'm comfy with the concept of that honking cable tailing off the grip like that...I like heated grip wiring best where I can't see it.

yeah that's my only complaint about them