Just joined the forum, hello!
I recently purchased Oxford Sports Heated Grips (I chose these because they had the "intelligent" auto-cut off, that interestingly turns the grips off when the battery voltage drops below 11V or it detects little noise for 2 hours (I think) on the battery circuit: when the engine is running the alternator and reg/rec will generate a small but noticeable amount of noise on the circuit). I also liked them because they had a better looking controller than the R&G ones. I hope these instructions will be applicable to other models of grips too though. I will try and be as detailed as possible for people with little experience, although it's not a very tricky job!
I found CalmBiker's video on YouTube that describes how he fits his grips, although his bike is an XJ6F (full fairing, probably more equivalent to the International FZ6R model, and mine is an XJ6N).
Instructions
1. First check you have everything you need. My kit came with: left hand grip with wiring, right hand grip with wiring, control unit, steel mount bracket, Oxford instructions, the battery wiring (with the 2 "ring terminals" on it, on top of the sticker in the picture), a small bag of fixings (I had more than I needed), some cable ties, a sticky foam pad and some super glue (and an Oxford sticker).
2. Remove the bar ends. Use an Allen key to undo the bar ends. Mine took a little force, so I used the wrench from the tool kit (under my seat) to help me turn them. Keep these safe.
3. Place a towel or something on your fuel tank. I did this because I was prying at the old grips with a screwdriver and worried I might scratch the tank in the process. The towel also is useful later when applying the new grips because we will use Superglue which gets everywhere...
4. Remove the old grips. I found sliding a long wide flat-bladed screwdriver in and spraying generous amounts of WD40 helped. You can wiggle the screwdriver around a bit and try turning the grips but be careful not to puncture through them (unless you are throwing the old grips out). I recommend starting with the clutch side first, then the throttle side. Be careful when removing the throttle side grip to pry between the plastic throttle tube and the rubber grip (not the metal bar...). Now you should see this:
5. Clean the residue off where the grips used to be. I found some dried up glue from the original grip fitting here, Scotch-Brite and WD40 helped. Be sure to check both sides are smooth all the way round so your new grips stick well. I found this technique worked well:
6. Test-fit the new heated grips. I'm not sure if it was necessary, but I fitted mine at such an angle so that if the throttle was wide open (i.e. pulled all the way back) I could fully apply the brake lever all the way, yet still be able to apply the horn button if the throttle was closed (i.e. all the way forward).
Like this:
Reattach the bar ends. If you find the heated grips are slightly too long (and the bar ends won't screw in all the way) the Oxford grips can easily be modified (they actually advertise this, and the grips have a groove around 5mm from the (outboard) end which you can cut) giving you ~5mm shorter grips. I found I had to cut mine down, so I used a Dremel tool and a sanding wheel, like this:
The final ends looked like this:
Now reattach the new heated grips, attach the bar ends and ensure everything fits correctly, the bar ends screw in all the way, and the throttle turns smoothly.
7. (If you are as much of a perfectionist as I am) Mark with a pencil a line across the grip itself onto the black plastic switchgear, so when you slide the grip on with glue you know it will be at the correct angle.
8. (Making sure the towel is covering your fuel tank/plastics) For each handlebar, apply superglue to all around the bar (or the plastic throttle tube). Have the grip ready, and slide it on firmly until the pencil marks line up (so you know it's at the correct angle). I found that on the throttle side I pushed the grip as far as possible onto the bar, but on the clutch side I pushed it so there was around a 3mm gap to the black plastic switchgear (to be symmetrical: there is a small gap between the throttle tube and the switchgear on the other side, so this way I have a small gap on either side... if that makes sense!). Turn the handlebars all the way in each direction, checking the throttle can open at any position, checking everything works.
NOTE: When sliding the grips on after you've put the glue on the bar, do it quickly and firmly- DO NOT hang around! If you feel the grip starting to stick give it a firm push! If it's too late just wait for the glue to dry then repeat steps 4 onwards...
9. Give the superglue some time to dry, then make sure the throttle turns smoothly, the bar ends reattach all the way and everything else is correct.
10. Stick the foam onto the back of the small black plastic controller unit, then use the provided screws to mount the unit onto the shiny steel bracket. If you have a faired bike (like an FZ6R) you could consider not using the steel bracket and directly mounting the control unit to the black plastic cockpit fairing, for example.
11. Now mount the controller/bracket assembly you just made onto the bike. I found using the lower-left black hexagonal bolt on the clutch side mirror bottom part worked best. However, be careful as undoing this bolt means your mirror can slide around, so be sure to reposition the mirror back to normal. Undo the black hex bolt with a spanner, then add the new, longer bolt (I found a bolt in the Oxford kit fitted) with a spacer (I use one from the kit) between the mirror clamp and the control bracket. I don't think the spacer is entirely necessary but without it my bracket would have been under some stress due to the curve of the mirror clamp. Like this:
12. Now we have fitted the grips and control unit, we must route the wiring to the battery. Remove the two plastic "wings" (using an Allen key) at the front of the bike, there are 3 Allen bolts to remove per side. If you have a faired XJ6 or FZ6R I guess you will have to remove the side fairings.
13. Undo the 2 shiny Allen bolts at the very front of the fuel tank, and lift the fuel tank up (gently!), then use a plank of wood or something to prop it up. Be sure it won't fall and hurt you. Be careful not to accidentally break any of the connections to the fuel tank! A small amount of fuel may come out of the bottom of the bike at this point (through the fuel tank breather under the bike), this is okay.
Now you should see this:
13. Route the control unit cable and the clutch side grip cable through, between the top of the triple-tree clamp (the black metal part that holds the ignition key barrel) and the plastic dashboard mounting, beside the other cables. Route the throttle grip cable also in the opposite place beside the cables on the right side of the ignition key.
12. Nicely route the 3 cables down, following the existing wiring inbetween the left fork tube (shiny part) and the black metal frame. to below the hole in the left hand side (clutch side) frame, near the front of the frame. There are a bunch of wires here already, including the throttle cable, be careful. You will see the control unit cable has 3 white plastic terminals: two female and one male (no points for figuring out why they are called "female" and "male"...
). Connect the male terminals of the right and left grips into the female terminals of the control unit.
13. I found I had to "double back" the cabling right behind the round "hole" in the frame (it was too long), but just find a way to tidily support the cable bundle. Use cable ties to gently attach the cabling to the existing wiring loom here, but make sure that you can still operate the throttle while moving the handlebars left and right all the way with plenty of slack. Move the heated grip cabling so no cables are being pinched or stressed when you move the handlebars, and loosely cable tie everything in position. Keep checking everything!
14. Take the battery cable (with the two ring terminals at the end) and start to route it from the battery to the front of the frame, where the control unit cable bundle you just attached was. Remember the white plastic terminal will be at the front, so feed this through the bike. I found feeding it on the left (clutch) side of the bike, under the fuel tank but on the right of the metal tube frame worked best. Try to route it beside the existing wiring if you can. There is a bulkhead under the fuel tank you must feed the wire under, this is quite fiddly. It is also fiddly feeding the wire through the round hole at the front of the frame, but do this. Then connect the terminal on the battery cable to the one loose terminal from the control unit.
15. Double check your wiring, and cable tie everything in place (gently). Be sure the heated grip wire doesn't go beside any sharp edges where it might rub and damage itself. Cable tying the heated grip wire to existing wiring is possible. Remember to cut the ends off the cable ties once you have tested everything is okay.
16. Now screw the two ring terminals on the battery cable to the battery: unscrew the screws on the + (red) and - (black) metal terminals on your battery, put the ring terminal on the screw and then screw the screw back in! I found there was about 10cm excess cabling length here (including the small black plastic fuse unit on the battery cable). Just bundle it gently and tuck it out of the way beside the battery.
17. Now check the grips work! Reattach the fuel tank (remove the plank, lower the fuel tank gently taking great care not to crush wires or hoses, and screw the fuel tank bolts back in). Run the bike (so you don't drain your battery, although the grips should turn off automatically anyway...), and use the control unit to adjust the heat settings! If it doesn't work check that the battery cable is connected properly to the battery terminals (and screwed in correctly), and all of your white plastic terminals are firmly "clicked" into one another.
18. Reattach the plastic side "wings" (or fairings if you have a faired bike).
19. Reattach the seat and make sure it isn't squashing the fuse unit (the black plastic unit on the battery cable) or any cables.
20. You are done! Let me know how you get on or if you have suggestions... I would love it if you let me know if you found this useful!
I recently purchased Oxford Sports Heated Grips (I chose these because they had the "intelligent" auto-cut off, that interestingly turns the grips off when the battery voltage drops below 11V or it detects little noise for 2 hours (I think) on the battery circuit: when the engine is running the alternator and reg/rec will generate a small but noticeable amount of noise on the circuit). I also liked them because they had a better looking controller than the R&G ones. I hope these instructions will be applicable to other models of grips too though. I will try and be as detailed as possible for people with little experience, although it's not a very tricky job!
I found CalmBiker's video on YouTube that describes how he fits his grips, although his bike is an XJ6F (full fairing, probably more equivalent to the International FZ6R model, and mine is an XJ6N).
Instructions
1. First check you have everything you need. My kit came with: left hand grip with wiring, right hand grip with wiring, control unit, steel mount bracket, Oxford instructions, the battery wiring (with the 2 "ring terminals" on it, on top of the sticker in the picture), a small bag of fixings (I had more than I needed), some cable ties, a sticky foam pad and some super glue (and an Oxford sticker).
2. Remove the bar ends. Use an Allen key to undo the bar ends. Mine took a little force, so I used the wrench from the tool kit (under my seat) to help me turn them. Keep these safe.
3. Place a towel or something on your fuel tank. I did this because I was prying at the old grips with a screwdriver and worried I might scratch the tank in the process. The towel also is useful later when applying the new grips because we will use Superglue which gets everywhere...
4. Remove the old grips. I found sliding a long wide flat-bladed screwdriver in and spraying generous amounts of WD40 helped. You can wiggle the screwdriver around a bit and try turning the grips but be careful not to puncture through them (unless you are throwing the old grips out). I recommend starting with the clutch side first, then the throttle side. Be careful when removing the throttle side grip to pry between the plastic throttle tube and the rubber grip (not the metal bar...). Now you should see this:
5. Clean the residue off where the grips used to be. I found some dried up glue from the original grip fitting here, Scotch-Brite and WD40 helped. Be sure to check both sides are smooth all the way round so your new grips stick well. I found this technique worked well:
6. Test-fit the new heated grips. I'm not sure if it was necessary, but I fitted mine at such an angle so that if the throttle was wide open (i.e. pulled all the way back) I could fully apply the brake lever all the way, yet still be able to apply the horn button if the throttle was closed (i.e. all the way forward).
Like this:
Reattach the bar ends. If you find the heated grips are slightly too long (and the bar ends won't screw in all the way) the Oxford grips can easily be modified (they actually advertise this, and the grips have a groove around 5mm from the (outboard) end which you can cut) giving you ~5mm shorter grips. I found I had to cut mine down, so I used a Dremel tool and a sanding wheel, like this:
The final ends looked like this:
Now reattach the new heated grips, attach the bar ends and ensure everything fits correctly, the bar ends screw in all the way, and the throttle turns smoothly.
7. (If you are as much of a perfectionist as I am) Mark with a pencil a line across the grip itself onto the black plastic switchgear, so when you slide the grip on with glue you know it will be at the correct angle.
8. (Making sure the towel is covering your fuel tank/plastics) For each handlebar, apply superglue to all around the bar (or the plastic throttle tube). Have the grip ready, and slide it on firmly until the pencil marks line up (so you know it's at the correct angle). I found that on the throttle side I pushed the grip as far as possible onto the bar, but on the clutch side I pushed it so there was around a 3mm gap to the black plastic switchgear (to be symmetrical: there is a small gap between the throttle tube and the switchgear on the other side, so this way I have a small gap on either side... if that makes sense!). Turn the handlebars all the way in each direction, checking the throttle can open at any position, checking everything works.
NOTE: When sliding the grips on after you've put the glue on the bar, do it quickly and firmly- DO NOT hang around! If you feel the grip starting to stick give it a firm push! If it's too late just wait for the glue to dry then repeat steps 4 onwards...
9. Give the superglue some time to dry, then make sure the throttle turns smoothly, the bar ends reattach all the way and everything else is correct.
10. Stick the foam onto the back of the small black plastic controller unit, then use the provided screws to mount the unit onto the shiny steel bracket. If you have a faired bike (like an FZ6R) you could consider not using the steel bracket and directly mounting the control unit to the black plastic cockpit fairing, for example.
11. Now mount the controller/bracket assembly you just made onto the bike. I found using the lower-left black hexagonal bolt on the clutch side mirror bottom part worked best. However, be careful as undoing this bolt means your mirror can slide around, so be sure to reposition the mirror back to normal. Undo the black hex bolt with a spanner, then add the new, longer bolt (I found a bolt in the Oxford kit fitted) with a spacer (I use one from the kit) between the mirror clamp and the control bracket. I don't think the spacer is entirely necessary but without it my bracket would have been under some stress due to the curve of the mirror clamp. Like this:
12. Now we have fitted the grips and control unit, we must route the wiring to the battery. Remove the two plastic "wings" (using an Allen key) at the front of the bike, there are 3 Allen bolts to remove per side. If you have a faired XJ6 or FZ6R I guess you will have to remove the side fairings.
13. Undo the 2 shiny Allen bolts at the very front of the fuel tank, and lift the fuel tank up (gently!), then use a plank of wood or something to prop it up. Be sure it won't fall and hurt you. Be careful not to accidentally break any of the connections to the fuel tank! A small amount of fuel may come out of the bottom of the bike at this point (through the fuel tank breather under the bike), this is okay.
Now you should see this:
13. Route the control unit cable and the clutch side grip cable through, between the top of the triple-tree clamp (the black metal part that holds the ignition key barrel) and the plastic dashboard mounting, beside the other cables. Route the throttle grip cable also in the opposite place beside the cables on the right side of the ignition key.
12. Nicely route the 3 cables down, following the existing wiring inbetween the left fork tube (shiny part) and the black metal frame. to below the hole in the left hand side (clutch side) frame, near the front of the frame. There are a bunch of wires here already, including the throttle cable, be careful. You will see the control unit cable has 3 white plastic terminals: two female and one male (no points for figuring out why they are called "female" and "male"...
). Connect the male terminals of the right and left grips into the female terminals of the control unit. 13. I found I had to "double back" the cabling right behind the round "hole" in the frame (it was too long), but just find a way to tidily support the cable bundle. Use cable ties to gently attach the cabling to the existing wiring loom here, but make sure that you can still operate the throttle while moving the handlebars left and right all the way with plenty of slack. Move the heated grip cabling so no cables are being pinched or stressed when you move the handlebars, and loosely cable tie everything in position. Keep checking everything!
14. Take the battery cable (with the two ring terminals at the end) and start to route it from the battery to the front of the frame, where the control unit cable bundle you just attached was. Remember the white plastic terminal will be at the front, so feed this through the bike. I found feeding it on the left (clutch) side of the bike, under the fuel tank but on the right of the metal tube frame worked best. Try to route it beside the existing wiring if you can. There is a bulkhead under the fuel tank you must feed the wire under, this is quite fiddly. It is also fiddly feeding the wire through the round hole at the front of the frame, but do this. Then connect the terminal on the battery cable to the one loose terminal from the control unit.
15. Double check your wiring, and cable tie everything in place (gently). Be sure the heated grip wire doesn't go beside any sharp edges where it might rub and damage itself. Cable tying the heated grip wire to existing wiring is possible. Remember to cut the ends off the cable ties once you have tested everything is okay.
16. Now screw the two ring terminals on the battery cable to the battery: unscrew the screws on the + (red) and - (black) metal terminals on your battery, put the ring terminal on the screw and then screw the screw back in! I found there was about 10cm excess cabling length here (including the small black plastic fuse unit on the battery cable). Just bundle it gently and tuck it out of the way beside the battery.
17. Now check the grips work! Reattach the fuel tank (remove the plank, lower the fuel tank gently taking great care not to crush wires or hoses, and screw the fuel tank bolts back in). Run the bike (so you don't drain your battery, although the grips should turn off automatically anyway...), and use the control unit to adjust the heat settings! If it doesn't work check that the battery cable is connected properly to the battery terminals (and screwed in correctly), and all of your white plastic terminals are firmly "clicked" into one another.
18. Reattach the plastic side "wings" (or fairings if you have a faired bike).
19. Reattach the seat and make sure it isn't squashing the fuse unit (the black plastic unit on the battery cable) or any cables.
20. You are done!
Let me know how you get on or if you have suggestions... I would love it if you let me know if you found this useful!
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