Heated Grips Problem

[rubberhedgeho...]

Hi all

I am interested in your opinions (a dangerous thing, I know....) regarding this issue.
I bought my bike and am the second owner. The original owner had the manufacturors heated grips fitted at purchase at a registered affiliated dealer etc.
This dealer is the same one where I purchased the bike from, and they have since closed.

I had a bit of a scary experience when using the grips on a cold day last week. When they are switched on they seem to hold on the throttle position and make it slightly 'sticky'. This means that as I release the throttle to change gear the revs climb up as I clutch in and then drop again when I engage the next gear,
To me, this is a dangerous situation and I've not ridden it since last week when I first saw the problem.

Now, is it just me, or do I have the right to get the manufacturor to either stand by their product (the heated grips) or the workmanship of their dealers (the guys who fitted them in the first place) and therefore I shouldn't have to pay myself for new grips and fitting them? They told me last week that I'd have to get them replaced at cost and the dealer told me that I'd have to pay for fitting (which is a stance I can understand and I'd defintiely claim it back from the manufacturor).

Or maybe I'm crazy and they'd rather lose their business to other manufacturors! I've not mentioned the type/make of bike because if they continue to be problematic I'm wondering if the media would be interested to hear about it.

Your thoughts please

[woo]

sounds to me like the glue is failing and if thats the case all that is needed is the grip taken off and the old glue cleaned off and put new glue on then put the grip back on and leave to dry.

any decent bike shop should be able to do this in less than 30mins

you could yourself check how to actually fit heated grips on youtube then do it yourself its how i learnt.

as for the glue the renthal glue is very good and is on ebay for like £4.99
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[Baisemontchou]

pix?

I've got (and had!) several bikes with heated grips, they're either a switch attached to the grip or a separate rotary switch. I can't see how the switch itself could make the grip sticky. Maybe the heat is expanding the rubber of the grips somehow? Even that seems unlikely as heated grips usually have a solid inner tube.

Have you googled it? Maybe others are having the same problem with the brand or manufacturer.
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Current Carz: Jeep Liberty, Kia Sorrento Diesel
Current Bikz: '06 Honda Shadow 750 Custom, '02 Sachs Roadster 650, '10 Yamaha R125, '12 Derbi GPR 50, '04 Yamaha TZR 50.

[P.]

Could be the actual grip itself is tight against the bar end or near the switch gear.

Moving it and putting a little grease in there might help matters. I know my Thundercat bar end used to grip the throttle tight when it was fitted with heated grips.

[rubberhedgeho...]

I think maybe there's some confusion.

The switch isn't making the grips sticky, it's when the grips heat up that the throttle doesn't return to the stop with the same speed as when the grips aren't switched on.

I believe the problem is that when the grip heats up some component is swelling and catching on something inside the grip.

I took it to a dealer last week and they took a look at it and said that it won't be an easy fix and will require a new grip!

Now, call me old fashioned, but I believe that the manufacturor has to step up to the plate on this one

[woo]

firstly DONT EVER GO TO THAT DEALER EVER AGAIN!

It really could be something simple as either the glue failing and getting between the bar end and the grip or the switch gear, i say this as when i first fitted my heated grips i was FAIL and got glue between the bar end and the grip which caused the throttle to respond similar to yours.

if this is the case its a real easy fix so you can either learn how to do it yourself or go back to that dealer whos a con.

changing grips on a motorbike is quick and easy especially if you know what your doing as the dealer would, if you were local to me id have a look and fix try and fix it for you

youtube is your friend
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[chris-red]

[P.]

Heated rubber expands, it also melts the glue if its shit glue.

When heated the ends can move slightly further out and "grip" on the switch gear or bar ends.

[rubberhedgeho...]

Well, the way I see it is that this problem has been around since installation.
It wasn't an issue over the summer when I would switch them on when riding on a cool evening with summer gloves so I believe it's now a problem because the handlebar is shrinking when left in the garage and the temperature drops below freezing overnight.

The glue used should be of top standard since it was fitted by an official dealer in the first place!
I don't want to be messing with the grips yet at this point because I KNOW the manufacturor will claim that I messed them up if there are signs that I've done any work to them myself.
I have fitted heated grips to my old bike so I know how to do it.

What makes it worse is that there is a 2 year warranty on any accessories and I don't know if this extends to the part itself or to the original purchaser. This leaves me in a state because the dealer is closed now and there's no proper way for me to get the data about how the bike was ordered since the manufacturor probably won't want to release this.....

I'm going to get everything in writing from the dealers and the manufacturor and put it all together and see what comes out in the wash.

[Walloper]

[P.]

You seem to have high expectations of dealers

[rubberhedgeho...]

Walloper - that's a great reply and I'll definitely do it.
Once I know that the manufacturer is leaving me high and dry then I'll fix it myself. I don't want them blaming me for 'fixing' it and then breaking because I'm not a proper dealer.

Also, am I really expecting too much from a dealer?
You go in to an Apple shop with a tiny problem and they (normally) bend over backwards to help you out with anything. I think they do this even more so now because of the threat of the Android phones on the market.

There are a few manufacturers making this class of motorbike, I don't see how this will be good news to the marketing people if their QC start getting a bad rep.

[StormCrow]

How old is the bike?

Unless it rolled out of the showroom with it's shiny new grips a month ago, I don't see the issue really.

Even less so that it's a manufacturer's problem - if anything, they may have been fitted poorly, but to blame the manufacturers for the monkey fitting the product (even at a dealership) is a little odd.

Man up - get the tools out and fix it - it won't be anything complex. Whip the bar end off, take the grip off (remove the switch gear on the handlebar) and find out what the problem is.

The expanding grip/throttle tube theory sounds very likely - the actual throttle tube is plastic and so will swell ever so slightly with heat, but you won't know what’s going on until you have a look.

At the end of the day, it's a second hand bike with a history that is unknown. Stuff breaks - just needs fixing. At least it's an easy fix, you don't have to replace anything and no expense spent

[Walloper]

[rubberhedgeho...]

That's exactly my point - the manufacturer has to stand by their product in a market where there is definitely choice on where to get things from and people being more able to do their own maintenance.

I've spoken to a new dealer since the original have closed, and they're being quite helpful and are supposed to be chasing the bike maker.

I'll get it all in writing and see what happens.

Obviously if they're being d*cks about it then a name and shame will appear

[rubberhedgeho...]

Lo and behold!

They're in breach of their warranty cover - how awesome is that!
I quote:
'The warranty does not cover the cost of removal and replacement of parts and accessories, unless supplied as original equipment, or recommended by [the company name goes here]'.

Now, these are the recommended heated grips, fitted by a dealer.

Busted

Let's see how they respond to that one