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This past winter I decided to start commuting a little bit on the bike last winter (somwhere around February ‘05). Needless to say I was ill-prepared. The first ride was quite cold. So I ordered a wind breaker to stop the wind from passing into my clothing and winter gloves. That helped a little, but my hands were still cold and I didn’t really like the feel of winter gloves because it killed the dexterity in my fingers. Next step was BMW brush-gaurds (this is for my Caponord). That worked well, but my hands were still cold by the end of my commute. Enter the Dual Star Heated Grips.

I went this route because they were cheap…$30 cheap… versus the others that are around $100. Here is their product description:

Mylar tape-style dual stage heating element (4″ x 2 3/4″) wraps around and adheres permanently to the handlebar beneath handgrips to provide toasty comfort at high or low temperature settings. Extra long 32″ insulated wires are then routed along existing cables/looms. These tricky little items allow you to use the handgrip of your choice! 12-volt system draws only 36 watts.

• High quality 3-way toggle switch and connectors included
• We use only 3M (VHB) Very High Bond adhesive
• Design specific element wattage for each side
• Hi-Low resistor has been eliminated! Yes!
• Does not require a battery in the system
• Compatible with our excellent Grip Glue
• Extra long 32″ insulated wires!

The instructions were pretty easy to understand for the basic installation. There is a high and low setting and the kit comes with a standard metal on-off-on toggle switch. The throttle side has a smaller (in output) element since the plastic throttle sleeve is an excellent insulator. This means that the clutch side has about twice the density of element ribbon. This is necessary to balance the heat output since more goes into the metal of the handlebar or clip-on.

I was a little apprehensive as to the effectiveness and/or adhesive of the mylar sheet. NOTE: The Aprilia throttle housing has ribs to further secure the grip. These took a little while to chip off, but was absolutely required to get a smooth surface to attach the heating element sufficiently. It worked fine and adhered very well. This is great, but be sure to get it right the first time! The wire length was long enough for my bike and likely all standard bikes. A little care is needed so that enough slack is left to take any tension off the wires where they meet the heating element. I routed the wires through an existing harness since I’m a little anal.

I installed the system by using a fused circuit from the fuse box. From there I went with a separate relay fired off the headlight. This rids the dumbass syndrome that I suffer from on those ‘got to get to work early’ days and forgetting to turn the switch off and killing the battery. I installed some thin 1.5 inch OD nylon washers between the bar end and the bar to provide a further insulating barrier to keep in maximum heat. The final mod was to use an on-off-on rocker toggle switch. Its much smaller, blends with the dash better and cost about $2.

The grips heat up within a couple of miles/minutes depending on which setting (high or low). If you want finer tuning of the temperature, they offer a dial called the Heat-Troller. The two settings allow me to use my regular street gloves in temps down to the 30’s. I like this much more because they give me the tight fit around my fingers to do stuff with like itch my nose, adjust the visor, etc. I usually start with the high setting until my hands are hot then click down to the low setting. The two temps in reality are much like the OE BMW settings: low = hot and high = scalding.

For about $40 (including the cost of the relay) I now have warm hands. The installation took a couple of hours because I wanted to take my time and make some changes to improve over a simple hot connection. Its been less than a year, but the heaters have given me no troubles. There are other brands, but I went with the least expense. Overall, I am very happy with these and recommend them to anyone who can do basic wiring.