Hot Grips heated hand grips

Heated hand grips are the best thing since the invention of the twisting throttle. They're the single best modification I've made to my motorcycle. I run the heat often. I still carry silk glove liners with me everywhere, but I've never had the urge to use them. I haven't even had the urge to use my winter gloves, not even on rides when I'm running my electric vest.

There are a couple of aftermarket grip heaters out there. One common choice is Kimpex. I went with Hotgrips. They rock. These heated hand grips completely replace your motorcycle grips. Some heated grip products add a layer inside or outside of your existing grips. These have the wires built in. This makes them both more effective and more solid, I believe.

I also went with the variable heat controller, which I recommend with only a minor reservation. You'll often want just a touch of heat, not the full-on blast. My reservation: the variable controller is backwards. You twist it counterclockwise to turn up the heat, and clockwise to turn it off. The convention for rotary controllers is the opposite, so I'm forever getting it wrong. I wonder if you could replace the controller? It must be just a giant variable resistor. I would also prefer something with a positive off switch that completely broke the circuit.

I did the installation myself, with my husband's help. The only part I had trouble with was with splicing wires together in a waterproof way. You'll need a dremel tool as well as a soldering iron. These two pages were a big help with installation:
http://www.bluepoof.com/motorcycles/howto/svs_heated_grips/
http://pages.tca.net/sfriday/SV650S/hotgrips.htm

I put my controller knob on the dash. It's very convenient in that spot. Your motorcycle may vary, of course.

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