Heated grips?

Maestro, SEI-V
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RobinSF1
Posts: 35
Joined: 29 Jun 2020 06:05
Location: Merthyr Tydfil Wales

Heated grips?

Post by RobinSF1 »

I had a 50 mile ride today and my fingers were pretty cold by the time I got home. I could buy winter gloves or over mitts, but I have been spoiled with the OEM heated grips on my BMW and am toying with the idea of fitting heated grips to my SEI-V.

Has anyone else fitted heated grips, if so any recommendations?

This would be best (necessitate?) converting all lights to LED (aware of the UK headlight rules/beam) to allow the alternator to keep the battery charged.

By my calculations max LED lighting load, i.e. braking with indicators and lights on would be less than 25W.
I don't have a starter and rarely use the horn.
Don't ride in urban traffic

So 40-50W handgrips theoretically should not be a problem and heaviest load with lighting would be approximately half the alternator peak.

I haven't measured the charge at different engine speeds, but would expect this would fly.
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Ming
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Joined: 01 Aug 2014 16:32
Location: France
Location: Central France

Re: Heated grips?

Post by Ming »

I don't know how much power they need, but I have had Oxford heated grips on a Yamaha YBR 250 for years. They are very effective when used. If you squeeze the biggest capacity battery you can into the battery box, maybe that would provide enough charge for lights and grips, with a recharge overnight?
A pair of thin silk or thermal undergloves are good, too.
RobinSF1
Posts: 35
Joined: 29 Jun 2020 06:05
Location: Merthyr Tydfil Wales

Re: Heated grips?

Post by RobinSF1 »

Thanks Ming. Yesterday I rode over the Cambrian mountains to a classic bike meet, rather colder and 65 miles each way causing white fingers. Collective wisdom/experience was that Oxford and probably other heated grips only operate when the bike is charging sufficiently, so a big battery won't help an underpowered alternator. It was considered that old Brit bike 120W alternators were barely adequate on a run. Heated gloves were used by some, rechargeable batteries and 4+ hours per charge with the benefit of being useable on all bikes and for other cold weather activities. Others pointed out that for leisure use rather than sole transport, and by definition not riding when really cold, just get a good pair of winter gloves + inner gloves.

Off to look into these at my local bike emporium.
'It must be a .....'
Posts: 365
Joined: 12 Sep 2010 12:25

Re: Heated grips?

Post by 'It must be a .....' »

Hand guards make a big difference and they are also made for road bikes these days
Really, proper warm gloves are needed
Mitts rather than gloves are best for all year riding; in the past I've used skiing mitts over thin wool gloves
A serious outdoor shop should have various options of quality inner/outer etreme weather gloves/mitts
Rechargable heated gloves are also an option

It all depends on your aesthetics of keeping warm, hopefully you'll find a solution that suits your colder weather Morini riding

Let us know how you get on, Ian
julianharty
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Location: High Wycombe
Location: High Wycombe Area (Bucks)

Re: Heated grips?

Post by julianharty »

Heated gloves are also an option, especially if you've several motorbikes available to ride. Some even have battery packs which means you can per-charge them before your ride and then not worry about depleting your motorbike battery. I have a set of Gerbing XRL gloves with the optional 2Ah battery packs https://gerbing.co.uk/collections/motor ... ted-gloves They're much more expensive than heated grips, probably between £250 and £300 depending on the battery capacity and where you buy them from (I bought mine from SportsBikeShop). The battery pack doesn't seem to last as long as claimed so I'd suggest buying the largest capacity battery packs if you're going to ride for more than an hour or so in properly cold weather (for the UK that is).

I also agree with Ian that handguards can help by deflecting some of the wind pressure and therefore reduce the chill factor.

Alternatively if you'd prefer heated grips then Oxford sell some branded for commuter bikes which use less power than their sports/big bike range - I've used the commuter set on at least one of my small bikes and found they helped even if they don't provide as much heat as the more powerful ones (which I also have and use on several bikes).
MickeyMoto
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Joined: 22 Nov 2008 17:41
Location: Even further oop North

Re: Heated grips?

Post by MickeyMoto »

Robin, not sure a 140W alternator is sufficient, to be honest. I had a K75 beemer and on the hottest setting the charge lamp would glow.



Julian, try a Tesla battery, you may get 200 miles, but not in the winter! You'll feel smug and have a fuzzy glow, knowing you are saving the planet by wrecking it, and carrying the 750kg battery may present problems, too!
huub
Posts: 194
Joined: 24 Jul 2006 15:11

Re: Heated grips?

Post by huub »

i tried heated grips on a 500 morini , the generator could not keep up.
may be nowadays using led lighting it might , but i doubt it.
RobinSF1
Posts: 35
Joined: 29 Jun 2020 06:05
Location: Merthyr Tydfil Wales

Re: Heated grips?

Post by RobinSF1 »

Thanks for all the input. Since veering away from handgrips due to alternator limitations, I have also asked around in other groups where I am a member. Worth sharing the best bits of feedback.

Heated gloves: Avoid cheap ones, the clutch fingers typically fail after a few months use.

Gerbing had the best recommendations, including replacement on lifetime guarantee after 6 years, £100+. Batteries are extra and expensive £100+ for 2 or 3A, but connection to bike battery is standard.

RST two good personal recommendations, £200ish with batteries as standard, spare batteries (to extend duration) £50ish, no option to connection to bike.

Both Gerbing and RST last about 4 hours on lowest heat when running on 1amp rechargeable batteries.

Handguards - reduce chill factor, which at 5C and 60mph is -3C, plenty available online, but fitting is not clear and bigger ones may be problematic with bar end mirror.

Better gloves: winter gloves, inner gloves, over mits

Single use handwarmers to pop inside your glove, available from outdoor shops £1ish, keep in your jacket in case you do get cold on a ride, For occasional use, I can't imagine using 100 pairs in the rest of my riding days and half the price of electric gloves.

I'm going to ride down to M&P, about an hour away wearing thermal gloves under snowboarding mits to see how warm they are and to check their stuff out for fit. Nothing suitable locally and the snowboarding mits offer very limited impact/abrasion protection, not a long term solution and most gloves I try are too small so prefer to try first.

Hope this helps anyone else considering how to keep warmer hands.
MickeyMoto
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Joined: 22 Nov 2008 17:41
Location: Even further oop North

Re: Heated grips?

Post by MickeyMoto »

You forgot one option.

Leave bike in garage until Spring! :)
3potjohn
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Joined: 02 Jun 2007 13:58
Location: Devon

Re: Heated grips?

Post by 3potjohn »

Or be in Spain. 25 degrees in the shade, which sounds a bit like a Third World album from back in the day.
Reckon battery powered heated gloves sound best if expensive and can be worn to winter events. Luckily I only get the odd cold day in Devon compared to -17 degrees in around 1981 in Swindon. And that’s two bad things.
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