Heated Grips

[RyC]

I took delivery of my NC last week Tuesday

Very happy with my purchase thus far. What an awesome bike!!!

I wanted the Honda heated grips as an add on. Now the dealer says it could take up to 8 weeks to get these (no stock in South Africa) and they want to install Oxford or Puig grips. I am a little peeved and told them I paid premium price for the better product. They offered to refund me the difference but I am still not sure...

Do I bite the bullet and go with the aftermarket grips?

 

[Mike Cash]

Aren't the Honda grips just on/off only? I have Kijima grips which cost less, but give me five different power levels.

All the things have to do is get warm; it isn't as though one warmth is going to be a higher quality warmth than another. What's "premium" about it?

 

[Chris]

The Honda grips give you three heat settings and are a neat installation. They're very effective and they do look like they were made for the bike.

They're also very expensive.

 

[RyC]

Description for the Honda ones:

"Heated Grips
Slim heated grips with integrated control. 3-step variable heating levels. Integrated circuit to protect the battery from draining. Smart heat allocation that focuses on the area of the hand most sensitive to cold.
"

As far as I know the Oxford grips do not switch off when the bike is switched off? That is one of my concerns. Also the Oxford ones I have look a bit worn after a year....

 

[RyC]

The Honda grips give you three heat settings and are a neat installation. They're very effective and they do look like they were made for the bike.

They're also very expensive.

Agreed, at this stage I would rather pay the price now than down the line (replacing after market, etc.)

I also had some battery issues with my current Oxford grips. Was stuck due to the battery going flat

From what I understand the Honda ones switch off when the bike switches off....

 

[Chris]

The Honda grips are wired through a specific accessory wiring harness made by Honda for accessories - and a separate relay. The harness and relay plug into pre-prepared connections on the bike.

When you switch off the bike the power to the grips is cut too.

The dedicated wiring harness with no wire cutting for fitment was one consideration in my choice too. I've seen too many problems caused by using dodgy connectors and cutting & splicing wiring harnesses. This installation should last better than most aftermarket units. The same accessory harness can also feed other accessories - I use it for a 12V socket and my nav unit.

 

[RyC]

The Honda grips are wired through a specific accessory wiring harness made by Honda for accessories - and a separate relay. The harness and relay plug into pre-prepared connections on the bike.

When you switch off the bike the power to the grips is cut too.

The dedicated wiring harness with no wire cutting for fitment was one consideration in my choice too. I've seen too many problems caused by using dodgy connectors and cutting & splicing wiring harnesses. This installation should last better than most aftermarket units. The same accessory harness can also feed other accessories - I use it for a 12V socket and my nav unit.

How is the look and quality?

 

[dduelin]

Any product can be installed shoddy and any product can be installed properly - both Honda accessories and aftermarket. I have nearly 150,000 miles use of aftermarket 2 level heated grips by Symtec and they have worked flawlessly. I suppose additional levels would be functional but just low and high have met my needs. Grips should be installed on switched power so they are off when the bike is turned off. Your Oxford grips were wired to unswitched power which was a mistake.

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-mods/735-symtech-heated-grips.html

Wiring the fuse block for switched and unswitched power:

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-mods/733-accessory-fuse-block-add.html

 

[Chris]

Very good - you hardly notice them being anything but standard grips. The switch is nice and discrete and there's a power indicator to show when they're working - it flashes to confirm which heat setting you want. The power cable for the right hand grip emerges at the bottom front of the left hand extremity of the grip but is then tied back quite neatly so it doesn't get in the way. I installed the sat nav myself - I found the right connectors on the internet to be able to just plug it into the accessory harness. The hardest job by far is refitting the side panels - the screws and bolts are all slightly different and you need to record which goes where for reassembly, plus there are various tabs and clips that you have to get back in the right position to get the fit right. It took me about 10 minutes to remove the panels, another 10 to fit the connector, route the wiring and install the Nav unit, then at least an hour of trial and error to get the panels back fitting right with the right screw in the right place.

 

[happy]

It is almost always better to go with Original equipment, but then that does not mean 'aftermarket' ones are bad quality.
The Honda grips do look better and discrete. The aftermarket ones have a big control unit which you may find unsightly.
If you can wait, then wait for the Honda ones.

 

[dduelin]

It is almost always better to go with Original equipment, but then that does not mean 'aftermarket' ones are bad quality.
The Honda grips do look better and discrete. The aftermarket ones have a big control unit which you may find unsightly.
If you can wait, then wait for the Honda ones.

Joe, I am unfamiliar with a big control unit needed on aftermarket grips. I've installed a couple pairs and if I did not tell you the grips were heated you couldn't tell by looking at the bike. Everything is hidden or tucked out of sight like OEM.

 

[MZ5]

I really like the Honda heated grips. I expect that I would also really like quality, well-installed aftermarket heated grips. My guess is that if you don't like or aren't that good at electrical or detail-y mechanical work, you're better off with Honda heated grips if you're going to install them yourself. If you're paying a shop to do the install, I somehow suspect the price for quality aftermarket parts and a quality install will come out fairly close to the price of factory parts. Maybe not, but I'm thinking probably fairly close. Now, if your mechanic is good at the work and charges you straight time rather than book hours, maybe aftermarket would still be noticeably less money. I'm not sure.

 

[draco_1967]

I have Oxford grips. I was able to put new bars, risers, a fuse block, and the heated grips for less than the Honda grips. Sure, it doesn't look "factory", but I don't care. The thing that would bother me is what happens a few years down the road when the factory grips wear out? Shell out another $250?

I think that if I had a much larger budget for farkles, I would have gone with the OEM grips because they DO look cleaner.

 

[what next]

If you can wait , get the Honda ones . Very clean neat install.

 

[Cagedodger]

If you're handy or know someone who is that's easily and amicably bribed, go with an aftermarket solution. Shops will bill $70-$150 an hour. A case of beer is $30.

My solution wasn't much cheaper than the Honda heated grips, but it's definitely custom and it looks better than factory. I went with Symtech grip heaters under ProGrip 714 grips with a Warm and Safe fairing mounted Heat-Troller to adjust the heat (it uses a lot less juice and doesn't have waste like a rheostat type control). I did this because I've used the same setup on three bikes in a row now. I adore the ProGrip 714's.

 

[newride]

got the honda heated grips installed on mine and like them. clean look and nice three heat settings. it blinks, I believe three times for high then when you chance to 2nd setting it blinks twice then of course once when put on low setting. it then stays lite and with a little red iocn on the grip but it does not distract you while riding. and yes, it does turn off when you turn the bike off thus you have to hold for a few seconds to power it back up again, a feature I like. gets very warm if one does not have gloves on though thinking would be warm enough on high setting if you had heavy gloves on. worked fine with light gloves.

 

[RyC]

Thanks for the input

Decided to go with the Honda grips.

Now for the wait.....

 

[ray]

The lowest level 1 heat is still too hot for bare hands. My main purpose is for use during rainy days, when I don't like to wear gloves. Thinking to put resistors to reduce the heat.

 

[Hot Wing]

Can someone post a photo of the Honda heated grips control switch? I want to know what stock looks like.

I have used Symtec in bar heaters. They are excellent. Super clean look when installed. The controller looks factory and attaches to the clutch or brake perch clamp. Im not sure how the NC's handle bar counter weights are mounted and if they would interfere with the in bar heat element placement. The in bar heaters would be my first choice, if I could keep the counter weights. No external wires around the controls is a bonus. You need to drill two holes in the bars to run the wires. One hole for the wires behind the switch. The second hole to run the power to the switch. The second hole would be hidden at the center of the bar, under the bar clamp. At least that's what i did in the other bike.

This form seems to lack photos. I feel obligated to post a couple here. Behold, the Symtec in bar Heat Demon control switch, mounted on my other bike. I turned them on so you could see the switch set on high heat, all four led's lit, one in the bright day setting and the other night dim setting.

Day

Night

 

[Vescol]

From what I understand the Honda ones switch off when the bike switches off....

Correct, i can highly recommend them.