WIll my bike/battery handle heated grips ?

[Jamie S]

Hi, Just wondering if my battery and charging system will cope with heated grips, its a 1999 suzuki ts50 , the battery is a CB4LB 12v 4AH I don't know how many watts the genny chucks out unfortunately, if any one knows how to find this out please let me know.
I have oxford muffs fitted but finding that my hands get really cold on the way to work, funnily enough ive only really noticed over the last week or so.
Also what make/model are regarded as good heated grips ?
Regards, Jamie.

[Jeansy001]

Oxford heated grips are pretty good value and work nicely,a 12 v battery should handle them just fine as long as you dont run them with the engine off.
____________________
CBR 400RR,cant get much more fun than that on the road

[Blue_SV650S]

After some googling, looks like oxford hotgrips draw 3.6A

If you remember from school, W=AV

So W=12*3.6=43.2

i.e. the grips will be 43.2w

An indicator bulb is 21w .... basically its about the same draw as having one sides indicators burning all the time.

The headlight bulb is 35w ... the tail light is 5w ... so ...

Bearing in mind the generator is only supposed to supply enough for power the lights etc, you are pushing your luck a bit .... pretty much doubling the 'normal' drain with lights on.

That said, if you turn the lights off, you will be fine!!


It is also worth considering that the reg-rec normally has to chuck away a fair amount of unwanted juice, so chances are all you will be doing is giving the regulator an easier life!!

I couldn't find the power output of the TS50X genny in the haynes, so have a google and we can make a more informed decision ...
____________________
The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[Jamie S]

Cheers blue, ill give my local suzuki dealership a ring tomorrow and see if they can shed any light on the output of the genny , like wise my Haynes manual does not state the output.
Many thanks for your help, Jamie.

[Jamie S]

Phoned my local suzuki dealership , they said they "couldn't find the information I was after" , now either they didn't actually know, or they couldn't be arsed finding out.
Looks like its a no go either way.
Regards, Jamie.

[Jamie S]

I found These motrax grips claim to draw only 1.5amps ?? so I make that using your calculation to be 18 watts ?
My headlight bulb is a 35w, replacing the standard 25 watt one and it hasn't affected wiring/charging/ect, so If i used my old bulb would that extra 10 watts mean I could run the grips?
Ok , so there is not as many settings as the oxford ones, but at only 1.5amps will they be shit ?
Considering I already use muffs though, then I won't be needing all that much heat to take the chill off I wouldn't of thought.
Jamie.

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Motrax-Griptronics-Hot-Motorcycle-Heated-Grips-NEW_W0QQitemZ370268793432QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Motorcycle_Parts?hash=item5635bd6a58&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[ben350]

I had some of those on a Runner 50 (well tuned 70 ) and they worked ok, next time I'll go with some Oxfords on mt DTR-SM as I thought that quality was a bit naff for long term use
____________________
Ducati 996 Biposto
Suzuki Goose 350
DT125R Supermoto (Project)

[Blue_SV650S]

[Jamie S]

Thanks guys, just one more thing
My bike originally should have:


*A 5 watt side light >>>>>> removed as dipped is wired to be on all the time

*A 21/5 watt side and stop >>>> will Replace with LED, one on ebay claims 0.8 watt draw

*25 watt incandescent headlight >> currently use a 35 watt halogen one one

*4 x 5watt instrument light bulbs, 2 of which are removed as I don't need to see the rev counter


*Indicators 4 x 24 watt incandescent


so in total if I change to led , leave sidelight bulb removed, ect
Then thats 24 watts of power less than it should be using, so will it be ok to use the better, brighter 35 watt headlight bulb and them motrax grips?

[Blue_SV650S]

Yes, I'd give it a try, if the battery keeps going flat or the grips aren't heating much, then drop to the lower wattage headlamp!!
____________________
The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[evoboy]

Im running the motrax grips.

They take a bit to heat up, but work well enough to make my hands feel like they are on fire!

[Kickstart]

Hi

To be honest I would doubt the bike will manage it. Also I would wonder if the headlight is on a totally different circuit to the battery and everything else. Does the headlight only light up when the engine is running? If so likely then a smaller / larger capacity headlight bulb won't make any difference to the power available.

1.5 amps sounds very low power for some heated grips.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Jamie S]

[Jamie S]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Probably best to check this with someone who is better at electrics first.

However the heated grips basically use a length of resistive wire. You could make some yourself using some resistive wire (Maplins sell it).

OK not going to look as good as the made sets but I am sure you have a few spare sets of grips, etc, to have a play with until you get it right. And it should be a lot cheaper than buying a made up set and also means you can change the amount of wire to trade off a bit of temperature for a bit less power used.

Suspect the newer Oxford ones would play up as they automatically turn off if the battery power drops too low. Suspect they would decide the battery was flat whenever you stopped at lights, etc.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[evoboy]

Might cause problems on a 2stroker, as Keith says.

Mine are on a zx6.

This will be the 2nd winter ive used them. Not really sure how there can be a difference in quality apart from how quick they heat up, how hot they get and the quality of the grips?

[Kickstart]

Hi

Difference in quality is how quickly they fall to bits. Also with how easy they are to use. The HG set we have on Charlottes Bandit have small buttons that are a pain to press wearing gloves, and which need you to hold them down for a while to turn them on.

Set on the ZZR are the moment are wired up with a switch and resistor. When the regulator / rectifier blew it took out the control unit for the heated grips.

Think the proper control units work by turning the power on an off to the grips, and change the temperature by varying the lengths of time they are on and off for (pulse width modulation).

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[evoboy]

Ah right.

Control box on the motrax grips is just a 'flick' switch, on or off which can be used even with bulky winter gloves.

The grips are kinda worn, but they were on the bike when i got it, so who knows how long they were on there!

[Jamie S]

Ended up going for these daytona grips
as they claim to draw only14 watts ??! , also they have a high heat function, which I will use when I am warming the bike up with the lights off , and then switch them to on once they are warm, I will be starting to use the DT125 in december any way, so the charging system on that should be more than up to it I assume, if they don't work too well on the ts then it's no big problem, ill allways find a bike to use them on one day.
Thanks for your help guys.

[Martay]

I may look at getting a set too. Ive got a 9AH battery so should be ok. Let us know how well they work when you set them up
____________________
Eat well, poo hard
Drives: Cavalier 2.0 16v
Rides: Slightly ratted Honda City Express

[Blue_SV650S]

[hmmmnz]

i cant find any specs on the generator itself,
but looking at the wiring diagram it seems to be a poly phase generator, so should handle a set of heated grips,
but i would as you say replace everything you can (with exception to the headlight) to leds,
especially the pilot (small daytime light) and the tail and brake lights,
just changing those to leds will save you enough power to run the heated grips with no worries at all


edit: looking at the dr50 which runs the same engine.... but different generator (single phase) the dr has a 32w/12v genny
25/25w headlight 5w pilot light
____________________
the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[justputput]

Some kind of consideration:
at your 30 mph speed one must supply near 20 Wt. Generator is a car heating system fan
____________________
Just thinking to carry out a CBT)))

[hmmmnz]

[justputput]