Heated Grip Kit

[ulysses]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any success/horror stories about putting heated grips on their KLRs. I'm not enthusiastic about paying $90 an hour to have someone else put them on if it's a relatively easy thing to do yourself. Any suggestions or comments? Can it be done by yourself or is it worth the $150 to have the shop do it for you.
thanks

 

[Island Hopper]

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I installed a $29 Kimpex kit when I had my KLR and would change a few things if I had to do it again: Instead of tapping into the starter switch wire I would hook it to the battery with a relay connected to the unused European city light wires which are behind the fairing for the trigger. I would do away with the resister and just set up as an off-on rather than hi-off-low. Make sure you give plenty of slack on the throttle grip wire routing so there is no binding when you twist to full throttle. It's a good idea to wrap the clutch end of the bar with insulating tape or shrink wrap before installing the elements and grips to stop the metal from stealing some of the heat. Safety wiring the grips on also is a good idea for an extra measure of security. One thing you will find is that the old grips will most likely have to be cut off so have some grip glue and a spare set of grips on hand {shorter off-road type}. Also an exzacto type razor knife is handy for trimming the ribs off the throttle tube. Hope this helps.

David....

 

[Pee Wee]

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I think the average Joe ... Can do this job....but half way through it, I was WILLING to pay someone $100 to do it. Plus if a shop fucks it up they can Redo it....you fuck it up and you get to redo it........costing you even more $$$$$$

 

[Pirate]

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It's not a difficult job. You will want to pull the fairing so that you have easy access to the wires for tapping into. I found that the throttle grip on my KLR had been glued from the factory, so first I cut off as much as possible with abox knife,( remember, never cut towards your thumb, always cut towards your chum ) and then sanded what was left. This took me around 45 mins. When you install the new grips remember that the throttle grip has a larger internal diameter than the clutch grip. In other words grips are made left and right. Getting them on can be a fight and if you don't like the sound of safety wiring them on, some people use a little hair spray which acts as a lubricant and then when it dries it has the effect of glue. Don't forget as David said, leave enough slack in the wiring on the throttle grip for twisting. I bought some black electrical conduit, ribbed with a slit from Lordco for a few cents and ran the wiring through it so chaffing wasn't a worry. I mounted the Hi Low switch on the forward face of the instrument cluster in line with the temp guage and I had to make/find a small L shaped bracket for this.I doubt whether there's much anyone could screw up on this job.

Good luck..............P I R A T E........

 

[ulysses]

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Thanks for all the advice, I'll give it a go.