Broken heated grip again

[trapper]

It would be interesting to find out from the guys who have had the problem if the grips were on when it broke, or was it caused by use over time and if that is the case about how many hours do you think they were on before they failed? It won’t help Triumph get it fixed but it might help those of us who haven’t had the problem YET understand if there is any amount of usage that might be safe. It present I would only turn them on if my fingers were about to fall off. The other thing is if GM is getting hammered for the cars shutting off in the middle of the road Triumph could have the same problem without a fix and recall.

 

[ScottishR3T]

Mine were off when they failed and hadn't been on at all that day.

I had used mine quite a bit over three years, they were well used and often on fairly high settings. That's what they're designed for though!

 

[mcather]

This is interesting about the key fob and keyless ignition:
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/how-to/2014-indian-chieftain-doin-time-1

 

[MIG]

The first time the grips broke, I was on a 2200 mile trip to Montana and I was 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas on my way home when the grip failed. Over the entire trip I had the grips on for about 17 hours. When the second grip failed, the heat had never been turned on accept to verify they worked following the install.

 

[Joesmoe]

Thanks to this forum, I had the dealership (Triumph Manassas, in northern Virginia) order Avon heated grips prior to delivery of the bike.

http://avongrips.com/shop/products/MT-Custom-Contour-Anodized-Heated-Grips.html

When I signed for the bike, they had done an amazing job of installing the grips -- something I could not have done.

To have a "professional" look, they took the wires for the grips and controller, and drilled into the handle bar itself, hidden from view, and ran the wires through there to the center exit.

Not having used them, I cannot comment on how well they work, nor of their longevity. I'm hopeful that they're better engineered and made compared to the OEM set.

And, for what it's worth, the optional "Long Haul Touring seat" which I purchased because it has the driver position back rest, is made by SHAD.

 

[cr0ft]

I do ride with heated gloves in winter but will also acknowledge that when the temp gets down to single digits F at 80+ MPH, they don't do the job very well for very long.

This surprises me, my Gerbings on full whack seem like they'd roast my hands just nicely at almost any conceivable temp, but I admit I've never given them quite that level of acid test.

I am thinking of getting some hand guards for the grips like you see on dirt bikes. They will break the direct wind and along with the heated gloves may be all I need. And if I break the hand guards, I probably have more to worry about that costing over to the side of the road...

 

[Joesmoe]

I really like the idea of the hand guards, and went with Moose Paws instead when I couldn't find the right hand guards back when.

The issue with these (and same for the Hippo Hands), is anything enclosed is going to restrict movement to a greater or lesser degree, and there were a few times when my pucker factor was elevated after having taken one hand out and needing to get back in there in a hurry. The mental nag was enough that I removed them, and went the much more expensive route of installing heated grips and wiring for heated gloves. The choices we make. <sigh>

If you find them, please let us know. If fact, I would like to put them on all my bikes.

Alas, and to make things hard on myself, I like to add farkles, such as the McCruise, the control head for which is mounted so one need not remove one's hand from the grip, yet still be able to access the clutch lever, turn signal, etc.

 

[Scorp]

Think I will place my hands with gloves near the engine when stopping in traffic for now.

 

[cr0ft]

The Barkbuster Blizzards should not really impede getting the hands back on the controls in any way but still cut the majority of the wind chill. Plus they're removable in moments since they just use the bar-end weight as their mounting screw.

 

[ScottishR3T]

My new grips have arrived.

Should be a happy occasion, but no. I shall rewind the story a little.

After my heated grip broke as previously stated on the thread I got all the gubbins removed for the Triumph set up. Went inside, cleaned up and had dinner and made my first mistake at this point.

I poured a homebrew beer to have with dinner. I then went on to make a second mistake, I poured another and fired up the laptop to look for new heated grips. The excitement of it all clearly got the better of me as I went on to make a third, fourth, fifth and possibly a sixth mistake. I can't quite recall.

After much browsing and deliberating I settled on a pair of Show Chrome heated grips. In my slightly hazy homebrew induced state I ordered, paid and thought that's a job well done sir. The grips were thereafter dispatched from USA to little old Scotland.

The grips that arrived are great, EXACTLY as described.

SUITABLE FOR 7/8TH BARS

Gutted as well because they look the business and get really hot.

I have now ordered a set of Avon grips from a UK importer. The Show Chrome are going to go on ebay uk. If anyone is looking for a 7/8th set in the UK let me know and they'll go for a reasonable price.

Lesson to be learned here folks, don't drink and shop(especially potent homebrew)