****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is my second pair of Heaterz grips by Oxford and they are fantastic. Top quality, long lasting. My last set lasted 2 years (which is about 46K miles--I have a long commute). They have five temperature settings and the highest setting gets quite hot. I usually start out at the highest setting to warm the grips up faster, and then I'll back it off as needed once I'm on the road.Easy installation. Each grip is marked (L) for clutch side, and (R) for throttle side. They are also color coded. (yellow for clutch, green for throttle) Install the wiring to the battery first and then mount the controller and make those connections. Then concentrate on the grips.The grips are plug-n-play, so run the wiring up somewhere near your triple clamps/handlebar. When placing the grips, the wire side at the grip faces down. Just make damn sure you have plenty of play on your throttle grip before cementing them on!! Your throttle needs to make a full turn w/o binding or stretching the wire once it's connected. You also need to make sure you can turn the bars fully w/o binding the wiring. The length of the wiring however seems very adequate; but before you install the grips, orient them in place next to the bar and route your wires down to the connector and make sure you've got plenty of play to work with.The only issue I had once installed was the throttle side grip wouldn't warm up sometimes. I was able to trace that to the wire connection. The throttle side wire had a kink at the connector, but straightening out the wiring and a zip tie on the bars kept the connection straight and that solved my problem. Tip: if need be, u can take some electrical tape & a cut popsicle stick and tape the connectors together so the wiring is straight and there are no kinks. So look at the connectors at the ends of each grip wire and if they are overly kinked, keep in mind that u may need to straightens out the kink so u can get juice flowing thru the wire.Cutting the grips: my install required cutting the end cap off the throttle side bec of my bar end weights. You can safely cut the "rounded" end caps off if u need to. But don't go any further than that! There is wiring embedded in the rubber so you don't want to damage or cut those wires (if u do you can toss your grips and you'll have to buy & start all over again). The last position u can safely cut is where the grip pattern begins, which is just at the line where the rounded cap meets the grip pattern. If u have bar end weights or mirrors, u should be able to cut & install the grips just as w/ any other rubber grips. "However," not all installs are the same or perfect fits. Hold the grips up to the bars and visually check clearance. Like I said, u can cut the grip ends off if u need to (but don't go any further up the grip).Tools: You'll need some super glue (although they provide it if u don't have any), and a razor/utility knife (& spare blades), and a flat blade screw driver.Note: these grips have a hard plastic insert. They are not 100% rubber. "So," cutting them off is an issue (next time u have to replace them). It's much easier removing the throttle side bec the throttle slide is already plastic. The clutch side gave me the most trouble. Best practice is with your razor knife, cut a lateral down the center, and keep going over and over the same place. This will only cut the rubber however. Then, you need to focus on cutting the plastic--very difficult. Keep going over the same cut w/ the razor knife and concentrate on the end of the grip. Get that started and then you can gradually work your way up to the top of the grip. Use the screw driver at times to pry the plastic apart. Once you can get the plastic insert to break free, you're home free. Work at splitting the insert as far up the grip as you can and eventually you'll be able to simply slide it off.Hope these tips help. (Oh, when applying fresh glue to the bar & throttle body, don't over do it. And have a rag underneath so you don't get super glue dripping down on your bike)
