heated gloves?

[chr|s sedition]

I'm toying with the idea of getting a pair of these. could anyone who's got a pair give me a quick product review and idea of price ranges?

thanks in advance!
-chr|s sedition

[benVFR]

They are probably alright but I think most here will agree the heated grips are the way to go.

Many heated gloves require a heated jacket to plug into. I have a heated jacket that supports the gloves, but I still chose to get the grip kit instead.

- Less $$
- Works with all your gloves
- Doesn't require you to be wearing the heated jacket, etc..
- Always on the bike when you need them.
- Separate heat control from your other heated gear, etc..

Here is the kit I got:

Dual Star heated grips

Ben

[SWEET_Z]

Ben, did you keep your stock grips with those?

[PatSV650]

I'm gonna get some!!!

Looks like they go under your grips, so, use whatever grips you want, I geuss

[elaineo]

Hey Ben - that heated grips kit looks really cool! I think I'll get a set!!

Few quick questions though - how thick are those grip heaters? Any chance they could cause the throttle to stick?

Also, do they have any sort of thermostat, or do they just keep heating up until your grips melt?
And do they wire straight to the battery terminals?

And do they become like, a permanent part of the bike? Cuz i think i would want to remove them in the summer, or something.

Thanks...

[oreo_n2]

i put the same set on my bike.
they install permanently, you wont be taking them on and off.

the heating elements are very thin, i got some new Pro Grips to go on with my new heaters. just cause i could, the stock grips could have easily gone back on.

i got a dual stage switch, so they have high and low heat settings. there are rheostat kits available (thermostat) to control the heat level.

the go on over your throttle tube, so clearance of the throttle is not an issue. But there is a wire that comes off the element on the throttle tube, careful placement of that wire will prevent throttle sticking.

i have had no probs so far, just used em on low and they are great. not too hot, not too cold.

i wired em with a switch, off a switched 12v (ign wire) lead so they cant be on unless the key is on, they dont draw much for current. i put a fusible link in there just in case too.

[benVFR]

I have a 2-stage switch. Kind of wish I had put in a rheostat like brent mentioned.

My right hand seems to get hotter than my left. My right hand was getting uncomfortably hot today actually, while my left is always just about right or a little cool. I think it partly just cause I keep a very loose grip on the left bar, and partly because I didn't postion the heating elements exactly right. I stuck the heating elements on the inner portion of the bar, but I usually ride with my left hand out fairly wide due to the way the clutch feels.

Here are some pics.. I never posted them here. (Just put the kit on like 2 weeks ago though.)

I didn't use the switch that came with the kit. Because of where I put the switch, there wasn't room inside the panel for the underside of the switch, so I got one that fit differently.

At least they are pretty invisible.

[benVFR]

[benVFR]

[SWEET_Z]

I've heard somewhere else about the two grips not heating equally. It had something to do with the plastic throttle parts heating on one side. On the clutch-side grip the element is directly on the bar so the heat dissapates into the metal bar and not out to the grip. I would consider putting some kind of insulation under the clutch-side heating element. Not sure what material would work though, maybe just a thin piece of rubber.

[oreo_n2]

a light wrap of electrical tape or athletic tape is supposed to work pretty well.

[elaineo]

thanks for the info... i like your setup ben, it looks pretty discrete and unobtrusive.

[SWEET_Z]

He just tells everyone its nitrous and bets them they can't find the bottle.

[benVFR]

Discreet would make it hard to operate it while riding.

I am probably going to trim down the size of the toggle switch when I get a chance as it does look way too big.

The reason I stuck in that panel was I had already taken the dremel tool to that panel once before, I didn't want to cut any other panels.

I wish it was on the left side, but as it is, it is easy to operate while riding. The grips can get uncomfortably hot if you ride into a town and slow down, so I end up flipping the switch more often than I would have expected.

Ben

[RandyO]

I replaced the gawky switch that came with my HotGrip kit with this one from radio shack

SPDT center off 10amp mini switch