I received a set of Oxford Heaterz for my birthday this year. This was a very appropriate gift, since I rode through most of the winter. True, I wasn’t out there every day, but any day where there wasn’t a serious risk of ice on the roads was a bike day. It was a good winter, but sometimes it got a little chilly. Heated grips would have been very useful!
As mine were a present, I paid nothing! However, common retail price for these is around $85 to $90. They come in a few different flavours, including “Sport”, “Touring”, and “Cruiser”. The difference is mainly in the texture on the grip and the diameter of the handlebar for which it’s designed. I chose “Sport”.
Installation
The Heaterz installation was straightforward. On my KLR, I started by removing the tank and seat. Then I took a sharp knife and carefully cut off the old grips. I was especially careful on the throttle side that I didn’t damage the throttle tube. When I disconnected the gas tank, I soaked up the gasoline from the lines with a rag. This rag came in handy for cleaning off the glue from the clutch side grip (though naturally, I’d advise against such reckless behaviour, and I’d warn about the spontaneous combustability of fuel-soaked rags). The throttle side was a bit more tedious, as I carefully shaved off the grip rubber with a sharp knife for the better part of ten minutes.
After cleaning and shaving, the grips dry-fit onto the bar and throttle with a little resistance, but not overly much. I figured out exactly the orientation I wanted for the grips, pulled them off, slathered on some superglue, and slid them back on. The glue lubricated the grip a bit, so it was easier to do it for real (which is nice, because you only get one shot at it). I was worried about this part before doing it, but I found it easy to do. Now on to the electrical!
Powering it all up was pretty straight-forward: I simply had to find a spot to fit all the wiring and controllers, zip-tie everything down, and attach the leads directly to the battery. I mostly tucked the wires into existing bundles. I did have a little trouble getting the nut under the positive battery terminal to thread onto the bolt with the lead in the way, but in the end it worked out. I chose to mount the control panel immediately beside the signalling/headlight module on the clutch side. I had to take a pair of tin snips to shorten the mounting flange, but after a little snipping it fit right onto the mirror bolt without any difficulty.
The Oxford kit is definitely set up for ease-of-installation, and it does indeed install easilly. In the near future, however, I will move the power off the battery and onto a fused terminal block. The default installation has the grips running directly off main battery power, which means that if you forget to turn it off when you shut off the bike, you may end up with a dead battery. I’d much prefer to have it running off a relay-powered terminal block that switches on the ignition or perhaps a dash-mounted switch (or both). I like the idea of being able to manually kill power to accessories running off that block (the heated grips, and probably some accessory 12v sockets) for water crossings or other situations. I’m considering running a line out of the ignition to a dash-mounted switch, then to a relay. That would only allow power to the accessories while the ignition is on and the switch is on. Buuut that’s for another day…
Operation
Man, do I ever wish I had purchased and installed these heated grips the very first day I had my bike. The comfort difference is astounding. The grips on their own are quite comfortable for riding — nevermind the heating part. And the heating is awesome! The lowest setting is a pleasant mild warmth, while the highest setting is a good solid heat! In practice, I find that I use the lowest setting most of the the time when it’s merely “cool”, but the higher settings come out when it’s cold. The only time I’ve used the highest setting was in a very cold driving rain, and the heat made a huge difference. The controls are easy to use, though the lights are a bit difficult to see clearly during daylight.
The good news:
The Oxford Heaterz kit is fairly simple to install. The instructions are clear, and there was very little confusion or frustration involved with the whole project. The controls are easy to use, and the heat varies usefully between a slight gentle warmth and a good punch of heat at the top end.
The bad news:
The control lighting is difficult to see in daylight, which could lead to forgetting to turn it off when you shut off the bike. This leads to my second minor complaint: I don’t like having the electrical running directly off the battery. Ideally it should be switched off the ignition. However, this would certainly add a fair bit of complexity to the installation, as these kits are designed to be universal for just about any motorcycle on the market. Realistically, this wouldn’t be too feasible, and leaving it up to the purchaser to worry about things like running it off a switch is a reasonable compromise.
Final words
Highly recommended! The tiny drawbacks are extremely minor compared to the bonuses. I find myself switching on the low-power setting almost as a matter of habit. They’re just so cozy.
Adventure By Riding 