Winter is approaching and I cannot make up my mind what to get ....

Yamaha heated grips are (very) expensive but obviously fit perfectly and are plug and play with the standard wiring loom.

It seems almost any 3rd party grips get mixed reviews and there is always the issue of the best and neatest way to wire them in.

Heated Gloves probably provide better all round heat, but I am not sure I can live with the fuss of connecting cables every time I get on and off the bike.

... and heated gloves often have a large cuff. I find that water gets in with gloves outside my jacket sleeves in heavy rain.

Any thoughts/recommendations?

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Having used many different brands of heated grips over many years, I always thought they were the answer. However, I saw the light a couple of years ago and got myself some Gerbings G-12 heated gloves. Expensive, but I would never choose heated grips again!

Much quicker warm-up as the heat doesn't have to fight its way through grip rubber and the glove material to get to your hands. Being more efficient, they are more contolable and use less power. Biggest bonus for me is I can use them on different bikes, and... I even wear them in the winter in my old rag-top series Land Rover with its non-existent heater!

BTW - The G-12 is soft enough and small enough round the cuff to get underneath all of my textile jackets, they won't go under the leathers though. The plugs and wires aren't really an issue when you get used to it and have worked out the best way to route everything

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.....................or alternatively you can get some cheap Symtec heated grips and use Tucano overmitts. Thery look crap but boy are they effective. No more wet hands and you can use thin gloves all year around. I always take my Tucanos with me if I think it's gonna rain and putting them on takes a few minutes. Pack last thing on the bike as they are quite light and they deflect the wind and rain off your hands. I prefer this set up as you have much easier feel of all the buttons and switches.

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I've used the Exo2 gloves, and they are just brilliant - there are no elements as the fabric is the conductor, they don't get hot but just a few degrees above body temp.

On the down side, wires.... and they are rather stiff, and you are right about the cuff and water ingress in heavy rain and slow moving traffic.

I found them too warm so I sold them.

There are some heated inner gloves, but you are still going to have wires. Kies have batter pack options which might make a difference ?

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Exactly what I did.
Try this-

My post from another thread:

So I bought some heated grips (well, tis the season) from www.windingroads.co.uk

Thought I'd let you know how I got on with fitting them.

This is what comes in the package:


As you can see, they aren't heated grips, but heat pads (kinda like underfloor heating)
This means you can keep your existing grips which is what I wanted to do.

They draw a maximum of 3A, my bike has about 9A to spare so this is fine (check your user manual)
However, I didn't want to forget to turn them off and come back to my bike to find a flat battery.
So i needed to find a way to make sure they only came on when the key is in the ignition

First thing then - A fused relay.

A relay allows a circuit to be switched on when it receives current from another circuit.
What I've done is to use the rear tail-light as the switch (only comes on when the key is in the ignition)

This is how it works:




When current flows through the 'Switch Live' (i.e. when the tail light is on) the coil draws the plunger towards it through electromagnetism, thus closing the circuit and allowing current from the battery to flow to the grips.

Here you can see the 3A fuse inline and the relay being fitted:



Bits I needed:
Fuseholder
3A Minifuse
14A 12VDC Relay
17A cable (one red, 1 black) 5m each
Various crimp terminals (rings, bullets and sheathing)
Heatshrink

I got all my bits from CPC, but you can get them from Halfords, Maplin, or any car parts store.

Next, tap into the tail light circuit to provide that 'Switched Live'

I snipped the positive wire of the tail light, and added another cable to go to the relay.
Where I snipped, I added a bullet connector each end, reconnected and heatshrinked it.



The blue crimps are for easy reconnection, the heatshrink prevents any cables from coming loose at a later date.

Final stages here are to connect the battery live and battery ground terminals to the relay(I used ring terminals directly onto the battery)

And here it is in place:



Looks like it was part of the original wiring, doesn't it? Good, it's supposed to!
(Clue, it's held on with a cable tie)

So the next step is to create a small loom to run to the handlebars, the positive comes from the relay, the negative runs straight back to the battery.

So I took my two 17A cables, measured the length and then heatshrinked them together.


Very boring job but neat and tidy.

This ran under my seat, under my tank until it met the original forward wiring loom where i cable tied it to that and ran it to where I wanted the switch on my handlebars.
Make sure you still have correct movement in your handlebars!

Ready for the grips!

There are 3 items you will need now:



WD40 - To remove the grips... lift the edge of the grip, give it a good soaking inside and give it a wiggle. Most should come off easily enough.

Switch cleaner - Or any IPA-based solvent (No, not Indian Pale Ale... IsoPropylAlcohol!) After your grips are off, give the bars a thorough clean, dry and then do it again to be sure! No sticky bits!


We'll come back to that last can in a minute.


The heat pads go on easily enough, they have a sticky backing but I made sure by wrapping them in electrical tape to hold them in place.

You'll want to place them about 1/2" from any controls. The throttle is a little trickier, as you need to make sure the cable can move as you twist the throttle.

Here's one fitted:



They don't fit all the way round the bar, so I placed the gap where the palm of my hand would be.
We want heat on our fingertips at the front!

I placed it so the cable can travel with the throttle and also is well away from controls in that area.

Once it's stuck down it's ready to use that last can:


Hairspray??? - Yes, hairspray. I found this is the best way to get the grips back on again after. Once you've fitted the heat pads on, give them a liberal soaking of hairspray and the grips should just glide back on. Eventually, the hairspray will set solid, like glue. Sorted!



Now, we need to fit the switch and complete the wiring.

The switch can be mounted into a fairing or panel (requires a 19mm hole), or you can do what I've done here and just mounted it on my handlebars for easy access.



The bracket for mounting is included in the kit.


As you can see, the switch has a Hi and Lo setting.
Both of these need to run to each grip.
Also, from each grip there is an earth/ground which needs to run back to your battery

Here is a final wiring diagram:




The last thing to do is to tidy up all the wiring, cable ties are your friends here!
I also put heatshrink over all the connectors so they can't short circuit in the rain.




Job done, finished, put the kettle on.

(Oh yeah, I also bought Tucano Urbano Muffs and I now wear summer gloves all year round!)


Stay toasty,

Weave.

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Bike: 2013 XT660Z, TKC70 tyres

Mods:
Barkbusters, Scottoiler, DIY Tail Mod, DNA Stage 3, Power Commander V & O2 Eliminator, Exan X-Black Stainless exhaust, Tool tube, Ohlins linear front fork springs, Nitron rear shock, JT front and Supersprox rear sprockets, D.I.D. VX 520 chain, Adventure Spec bashplate, DIY USB Outlet, DIY chain guide, Kev's Throttle mod

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That's the way to go. I also have the Keiss heated jacket, with arms. It has a five way controller and is just lurvely!.
With the heated grips, Tucano muffs and my heated jacket I can be comfortable no-matter what the weather throws at me, especially as I have totally waterproof Klim jacket and pants and the best Sidi Adventure boots which are also waterproof. Bring on the winter camping!

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