[briderdt]

I’m currently installing heated grips on my SV. I got the Oxford Heaterz from Lockitt.com (fast delivery, and great attention to detail on the orders).

So last night I put the grips themselves on (still have to wire them up, but with temps in the high 40’s this week I’m not in a huge hurry). Had to Dremel the throttle tube so the grip fit on there, which is normal. Then used the 2-part bonding agent to bond the grip to the throttle tube. After I did that, I started the bike up (hasn’t been started in over a week, and my wife was doing the same with her C50), and no problems.

This morning I get the bike out to ride to work, start it right up… Then try to rev it a little after I got the rest of my gear on (helmet and gloves). Nothing. The throttle wouldn’t move…

PANIC!!!

I pushed on it a little harder. Nothing. OH CR@P! Did I bond the throttle closed?

I give it a HARD twist, and I hear a pop, then it moves freely. Fortunately it was only a tiny bit that got in there.

Wow. Talk about panic. With the first “nice” weather in almost a month, I thought I was going to be relegated to the cage…

[Munch]

That would have truly sucked!

[Rab]

I’ve got the “Hot Hands” from the same web site.

They’re fabric hand (grip) heaters that just wrap around the existing grips with velcro type material and can be easily removed in the Summer.

They work well for me and I’m now into my second winter season with them. Just be careful to put the colder area (where they fasten) in the area uncovered by your hand or fingers.

Heated Grips are good, but I also recently bought some First Gear Carbon heated gloves and find that for the really cold days, both grips (inner hand) and gloves (outer hand) are required to keep my hands warm.

If you wired the grips directly to the battery (not via the ignition switch), be sure to always check that you’ve switched them off when leaving the bike. I inadvertantly left mine on one day and came out to a flat battery.

[briderdt]

…but this morning’s 8.5 mile commute at 30 degrees was just fine with ski gloves and the Cycra Stealth air deflectors. I’m amazed the difference those things make. Adding the heat to the grips may just be too much.

[Rab]

‘ Glad to hear that’s working for you and I’ll admit that electrically heated gloves do add one more pre-ride task to the routine (plugging yourself in and out!).

I hear those wind deflectors work pretty well and I looked at those as well as Hippo Hands before going the wired route. I discounted the former as the ones I looked at were very expensive for a couple of bits of plastic (of course, heated gloves don’t come cheap either!). The Hippo Hands seemed too restrictive to me; possibly even dangerous.

The main advantage of heated gloves (apart from the heat) is that they are thinner than (e.g.) ski gloves, which gives you better feel of the controls. Also, ski gloves may not offer the same level of protection that purpose built motorcycle gloves do.

Call me a wuss, but I now view heated grips and/or gloves as essential for the year round commuter (I have a 70 mile round-trip commute) as they’re one of those things that once you’ve experienced them, you wouldn’t want to be without them. They’re a real comfort on a cold and/or rainy day.

[Author]

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