A "What heated grips?" thread with a slight differ

[stinkwheel]

I need to get some for my girlfriend.

They are to fit on a CB500S so power shouldn't be an issue.

She has pretty small hands. Making the grips too wide would mean she can't hang onto them.

She also has Raynauds syndrome where the circulation to her fingers gets cut off in response to cold. And i don't just mean she gets cold fingers. They go totally white, then blue andf cause a lot of pain when warming up again. This presents some potential problems.

1)She needs them to stay pretty damned warm to avoid triggering an attack. So the grips should be as effective as possible. I would say they'd need to be hot, not just warm.

2) If an attack is triggered, she can't feel her fingers (at all). So the grips mustn't be able to get so hot they can burn her, she might not notice it happening.

Suggestions/experiences welcomed.

I'm particularly interested in anyone who's tried the genuine Honda ones and compared them to a generic brand. Were they worth three times as much?
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[Itchy]

Sack grips then, get some heated gloves instead combine with muffs,

You can get maplin AA battery powered ones, gloves x2 = 6 volts

Add in the heated socks and you have another 6 volts and thus something you can wire into the battery directly. The muffs ought to prevent the wind cooling it instantly.
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[Kickstart]

Hi

All the heated grips I have tried have been larger than stock grips. Oxford ones, some HG ones and some other set are fairly close to stock sizes, some cheapys I got from Busters were massive.

I know it isn't what you asked but heated gloves might be easier (although to be honest I have been known to use heated grips and gloves at the same time).

Another possibility would be to make some yourself. I think you get get sheets of insulating material with heater elements on one side, which you could wrap around the bars and then cover with some normal fairly soft grips (eg, the soft Renthal ones would probably stretch enough to go over fairly easily).

All the best

Keith
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[G]

I like the symtec heated grip kits because they hardly make the grips bigger: https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350286945395

I don't think they'd get hot enough to burn, definitely not in the less-hot mode. They seem to get as hot as any other heated grips.
I sill always recommend using (any kind of) heated grips with muffs, as it seems to make them much more effective at keeping the whole hand warm - ie doing a steady 80mph with soaking wet hands in thin motocross gloves, still warm with the combination of heated grips and (very loose fitting) muffs.

[-Savage-]

I've had two set of Oxford ones, the first set were replacement grips, and had a variable dial on the switch to adjust the temperature, the second set were heated wraps to put around the original grips, and just had an on/off switch.

The replacement grips were only slightly thicker than the standard Honda ones, and the variable temp control meant they could be turned on hot at the start, then turned down to a comfortable level for the entire journey.

the wrap around ones are quite thick, but not ridiculously so, but the simple on/off function means they will get uncomfortably hot, then you have to turn them off for a bit, then turn them on for a bit, then off etc., so I'd look out for ones with a variable temp control firstly.

Wiring them in is easy, but there is a lot of slack wire with both versions so you have to cable tie it out of the way lol.
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[stinkwheel]

[iooi]

[supZ]

[G]

[Itchy]

[Imonster]

Muffs vary massively in effectiveness - so far as warmth goes, if you get a good pair they're hard to beat. I use the Tucano Urbano huge pair, not the neoprene ones, and have been fine for the last two winters. I don't use heated grips, and wear summer gloves all year round.

By contrast, I did about 500 miles over two days with barkbusters and heated grips a couple of weeks ago, and my hands were freezing throughout.
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[johanek]

Hey

Does she use any other heated clothing? When it's cold the body takes heat away from the extremities to make sure the core is warm. So using a heated vest can be effective in reducing heat loss at the extremities.

Since she suffers in the hands and fingers so very much it would be sensible to deal with both the cause and the symptoms

[Polarbear]

I had Honda ones on the Goldwing, These were no thicker than standard grips and very good quality, They weren;t OE on the bike as I had a yank import.

Were they worth 3 times oxfords prices, mmm, not sure I'd hsver paid full price but I got mine off ebay.
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[stinkwheel]

[Charlie]

Dad has Honda grips on one bike and the oxford ones and his other... He much prefers the oxford ones to the stock Honda ones... I could email him if you had any specific questions about the difference of the two.

He also (after getting used to them) loves riding with heated grips and muffs, he says he only wears summer gloves under. I think it might be better to get both and get her used to using muffs.
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[G]

This is oxford muffs around enduro guards (stock KTM ones):
https://gees.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p167869586-4.jpg
Click for bigger pic.

It doesn't cover the controls too much, but I bet you could make it even less restrictive on viewing, either just opening it up (sometimes I do run with them open if I've knocked them and forgotten) or maybe replacing the bit over the controls with some clear plastic.
Despite being a lot more 'open' than others, they still do make a big difference - and mean that you can more reasonably run with lower heat so the inside of your hands don't have to get as hot.

I also rode for over a thousand miles with a motocross glove and liner on the right hand across northern Europe with this setup and it was only at night that I had to bump it up to full power.

[stinkwheel]

We will revisit the subject of muffs at some point in the future once she forgets she doesn't like them.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[G]

My original thought had been to cut them up and stick them on as 'flaps' held on by Velcro coming off the guards. Might offer a bit more use than normal guards, but be a bit less 'intimidating'.
As I found it was fine off-roading with them as above, I never bothered trying something like that myself.

[L-Jam]

I'm not trying to be a twat, as I can understand you are just trying your best, but if your GF's hand problem ( ) is this bad that if triggered she cannot feel her hands, does this not impede her control of the bike? And in cold, icy conditions, are you sure you are okay with your GF going out, potentially getting pwned?

I've also found that heated grips arn't amazing; they keep your palms warm, but not really your fingertips in city riding because your fingertips are constantly on the clutch/brakes.
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[Fbyte]

go for a set of heated gloves. I've oxford heated grips on my old GS and they are crap, they get too hot, and they only heat your palm, not the back of the hand that gets all the wind blast.

Currently I'm using Gerbing's heated gloves (ugly as hell), but they keep your hands warm all the time, and the new models with "microwire" are the best I've tried.
Before that I used some Klan inner gloves, when they do the job, the quality is less than perfect having to solder the wire at least 5 time.

[stinkwheel]

[chris-red]

I have Oxford ones with the digital controller. On 100% this can definately burn your hands, on the 3rd highiest they are perfect. My vote would be those and hand guards combined with muffs.
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[bunglehaze]

Stinkwheel, I just finished up my review of the R&G grips which are a decent compromise between standard and heated grips in terms of diameter. I normally find heated grips way too thick and not nearly comfy enough but these were groovy (still are)

https://www.bikechatter.co.uk/reviews/65-heated-grips/1047-r-g-heated-grips-review.html

leigh
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[Gazdaman]

I fitted Oxford grips to my GS, the grips are hardly bigger than standard, and has 4 heat settings, the hottest setting is pretty damn hot.

I picked up a set for £15 off the bay, and they have built in 'you cock, you left me on' protection. So when it senses voltage has dropped below 11.6v it switches the grips off.

In fact I've had 3 sets of Oxford grips now.

Gaz