Looking for input or solid advise on adding heated grips to a ultra. The Harley big book reads not for internal wiring bars. Can the install be done in a Sanitary/tidy way? I have added heated grips to all my other bikes in the past and some were very difficult to make a neat install possible.

 

Shouldnt be a prob to make it neat, just run the wires with the existing. If you have oversized bars with wires ran internally, the grips wont work because there is no place to run the wires into the bars, unless you want to drill one yourself. Ive use the heated gloves. They work well and you can use them on any bike. This may be an alternative.

 

Thanks for the information. Heated grips it is. Heated gloves for the bride.

Toywrench
65 days and counting.

 

Good thinking.

 

Went to our local HOG meeting last night- Had an interesting chat on heated grips. Several member all agreed that they do have a short lifespan of actually working. In summary- it seems you buy them, get another set of replacements under warranty- then just give up on any possibility of longevity. Any experience or thoughts?

BRUCE

 

Heated gloves, you dont have to install them on any one bike, can use them on any bike. You can still have some good looking grips, and they work well.

 

It seems H-D is having considerable issues regarding the longevity of their heated grips.
When they first appeared in the catalog, we were having a failure rate of up to 75%!
Most of the heated grip part numbers have since added a letter suffix to the number (eg: 11111-11A).
That usually indicates an upgrade in design and/or change in supplier.

 

Thanks for the reesponse Tripple Z!

BRUCE

 

Wow! Quality and controversy. I would like to keep this thread going for more input. In the past I have always had heated grips. Going on a ride where I live can mean leaving the homestead at 90 deg and arriving at the coast and it's 50 deg. Flipping a switch to restore cirulation to your fingers is smugly satisfying as compared to the on and off glove thing. Please, more input on the HD heated grips (chrome/rubber). Has the quality improved? What is the expected life? Anybody out there with them on your ride? Inquiring minds wish to know.

Toytech
60 days and counting

 

Well, since I posted my last response, the service boys were fitting out a new FLHTC with a lot of goodies.
Included on the list were the infamous heated grips (56512-02A). The tech soon came to me with the left grip in hand, claiming it would only slip on to the bar halfway.

We took a wire and probed the narrow space between the grips I.D. and the encapsulated heating element tube.
The space was partially filled with "goo"! The "goo" is some sort of material that the heating element tube is filled with for heat retension.
Apparently, it leaked out and then hardened.

It's getting to the point where we are very reluctant to sell H-D Heated Grips to anyone.