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oxford heated grips + helibars...any issues? what model of grip to get?


bud

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I'm planning to install heated grips on my bike this winter...but I'm a little confused as to which model I need to get.  I see that Oxford makes a 'touring' grip as well as a 'sport' grip.  Is there any difference in size at all or is it just a different pattern on the grip?    I've got a 5th gen and am using Helibars.     Also, I was planning to wire them through my Fuzeblock on a switched circuit instead of wiring directly to the battery - I assume others have done this as well without an issues?     

 

One last stupid question.... the helibars put the grips up really close to the front fairing when making a tight turn with the bars all the way up at their locked position... does the wiring cord coming off the grips smack into the fairing when using helibars?   I assume its a tight fit...just curious what to expect before I order the grips and start installing them.

 

thanks for the help!  

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I have a '97 with Helibars and Oxford sport grip heaters. No issues what so ever in 2 years of ownership. You are correct the pattern is different. No issues with the wiring you can position them not to interfere with fairing.  I have mine wired direct to battery. The auto off feature works like a charm. They get very hot at 100% usually run mine at 30-50%. Best bang for the buck I've made. One of the easiest too.  

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I have Oxford hot grips on all 3 of my bikes, so that must be a pretty good endorsement from me. Two of them are wired through relays, the last one is wired direct to the battery and as burnes45 states, the auto-off function seems to work fine. IIRC the grips have a moulded-in arrow which you are advised to set pointing straight down to get the alignment correct, and they do have more than enough cable to allow you to use them with any bars. 

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Oxfords on gen 4, 5, and 6, all with Heli's. I found them very tight to the bar, so a bit tough to do the dry fit/remove/final install. 5th with Heli's were tight enough i skipped the glue...

 

Feel is personal, but the "Sport" pattern has better grip feel, with the "Tour" pattern being smoother..... imho...

 

YRMV..

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Both my VF and RC51 have the "sports" version from Oxford.

39F this morning at 7AM so set the controller to "3" for a balmy commute :-)

 

The clip-ons have a little "play"; the "stops" allow for a little adjustment. Then bolt them up of course :-)

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I have had heated grips on a couple previous bikes, they were nice.  Some suggest putting an extra throttle tube on the left side to insulate the bar from the heating element, I have not done this myself but instead glued on a section of heat shrink tubing to the bar to add some insulation with less worry about the tube coming off the bar, also somewhat cheaper unless you have a scrap throttle tube on hand.  I am sure there is a safe way to mount a throttle tube to a left bar, I just never put my mind to it.

 

BTW I am working on a bar conversion and might have a couple bar options up for sale pretty soon, VF1000F clip-ons (similar to VFR800 helibars) and SV650 helibars.

 

-Joel.

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9 hours ago, JoelF said:

  Some suggest putting an extra throttle tube on the left side to insulate the bar from the heating element

 

the Oxfords have different size grips that are very "Snug" on the Heli-Bars. Definitively no room for a throttle tube, or even heat shrink on the left side.. That is common when using stick on undergrip elements.

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I've got Oxford Heaterz on my Africa Twin.  They work fairly well, but I find the controller obnoxiously large.  On my VFR (5th gen, stock clip-ons, I think) I have Koso Apollo grips, which have a button on the left grip to control the heat levels.  I haven't ridden on cold days on the VFR, yet, but it seems to me they work better than the Oxford grips.  The left one was particularly difficult to get on.  I do have a tendency to hit the button accidentally, but that's a trade-off I'm willing to make to not have more junk in the cockpit.  

 

They ostensibly have two models: one in 120mm and the other in 130mm.  But only the 130mm ones are available in the US.  They're a little longer than ideal for my bike, but have worked fine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went for a ride today for a few hours, and it was pretty chilly (40s to low-50s).  The Koso Apollo grips worked great, and the heat seems to feel more even side-to-side than the Oxfords.  I also noticed that the left grip can be turned on the bar, now: perhaps a fitting approach would be to put the left bar in the freezer and run the grip until it's hot?  Or maybe just not fit them when it's above 85? 😁

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  • 2 weeks later...

thanks again for all the info!   I ordered the Oxford touring grips and installed them this weekend. Already had a powerlet plug and voltmeter lines running from the front of the bike back to my fuzeblock, so the oxford power line just followed the same path.  No need to trim the grips for length or add any filler tape/heatshrink on the helibars...though I must've not used enough superglue initially because the left grip started slipping on the first ride out.... removed the grip and gooped on a lot more glue the second time around (definitely make sure to put towels under the grips to keep any glue drips off your fairing).  Not sure why I didn't install these things years ago... might not need to ever use winter gloves again. 

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  • 5 months later...
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1 hour ago, VfrV4red00Rua said:

Which oxford heated grips fit best on the stock clipons? sport or touring, thanks

I just put on a set of the Oxford touring grips. I don’t think it’s a question of better fit but more of grip and comfort. Since I use my bike for commuting and touring, I went with the touring grips. They seem to have a slightly larger circumference than my normal sport grips I use, not sure if that’s due to them being touring grips or due to the heating elements. I think the grip pattern on the sport model have a little more “aggressive” grip pattern.

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  • 2 months later...

Sorry to bring this thread back so late...but I have a 5th gen and am getting helibars and Oxford heated sport grips. No anticipated problems there. But I am also wanting to put on a Kaoko throttle lock. Has anyone used a throttle lock like this with the Oxford heated grips?

 

Thanks!

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Since that is a friction type lock I would make very certain that it doesn't bind in the off position when the grips are at full heat.

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