Heated Grip - Black

I live in the Arctic. Even though I've only tested this out in August, that means testing it out in temperatures in the upper 30s. (F) I'm going to try and leave a thorough review since the product description and instructions are lacking.ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS/HINTS AT BOTTOM OF REVIEW!These grips are well constructed molded (synth) rubber with the heating elements protected inside the grips. These grips are quite comfortable, as the rubber is significantly thicker and therefore more shock/vibration absorbing than stock grips. My only concern here would be that if you have small hands, and already have difficulty with the thumb throttle and handlebar, this grip will probably make things worse.This unit does not heat up quickly, but rather supplies a steady heat that builds up in the handle. On high (with temps in the 30s) it is very warm, almost too hot on bare skin, in a couple minutes. With well insulated gloves, the heat will come through to your hands and become very warm, though it will take a minute or two longer to work through the gloves. Fortunately the push button operation is easy to use, even with gloves, so you can easily change to "low" if they become too warm.The kit comes with a variety of mounting hardware, so that the switch can be mounted on the handlebar, on a mirror post, or mounted to a body panel on your ATV. It also comes with a built-in fuse, so you are more free with how you connect it. Overall this kit is better suited to longer rides than short minute or two jaunts, but either way it is great value for the price, especially considering that similar kits often cost $20 more. Even without the heat, I prefer the comfort of these grips to my stock Polaris grips.INSTRUCTIONSPackaging and instructions for this set are minimal. Before purchase, be sure you're comfortable with messing with your vehicles' electrical system and removing body panels. It's not at all complex, but it isn't something you plug into a cigarette lighter socket either. The supplied wiring harness and various mounting options for the switch means routing the wires is straight-forward process. And as a bonus, this leaves your cigarette lighter (or other accessory power source) free to use.I recommend having a wire stripper handy, and a fuse tap for your ATV's fuse size would make things easier but isn't necessary. Any tools required to remove your ATV's body panels, and at least a basic socket set are must-haves. Some zip ties would be handy too. (Polaris vehicles require a star bit for your screwdriver.)This wiring harness with this kit is well done, and there is a good length of wire between components allowing it to be more flexible. You'll have to use some wire management techniques if you don't want the cables drooping everywhere though. Most extra wire can be easily hidden/stowed in the handlebar headlamp assembly without trouble. One concern is that the section of harness that goes to a battery connection probably won't be long enough if you want to connect directly to a battery or fuse box in the rear of your machine. Most machines I have seen have at least their fuse box in the front, so this shouldn't be an issue. Check the location of your preferred connection point just to be sure. You can add wire to extend the length without much trouble if you are so inclined.When mounting the grips, try not to twist or bend them excessively to avoid damaging the heating components. Heat seems to be weakest on the side where the wire protrudes, as there seems to be a small gap in the heating element there. I recommend having the wire emerging from the grip pointed downward or forward, depending on your layout.Electrical connections are straight forward. There is a partially striped wire that needs to be connected to power, and a "O" connector to be mounted to a ground. Start by stripping some extra wire from the powered wire to make connecting easier. I recommend attaching this to the powered side of an accessory fuse slot, or any other fuse that is powered when the machine is on. (this prevents current from going through two fuses, but also keeps the handlebar grips from being left on when the machine is off) A fuse tap is handy here, but you can use bare wire if you are careful. (wrap the bare wire around the fuse leg and re-insert it gently.)Once this step is completed, you can find a good spot to place the ground wire. The O connector is large enough for most standard ATV bolts, and locations near the fuse box will typically be well-grounded. make a connection with the o connector by holding or taping it to a test location, and turn on power to your machine to test and make sure that location is adequately grounded. If it works you can loosen that bolt and attach the connector permanently. Note that aluminum doesn't work as a ground, so avoid attaching to a radiator assembly or aluminum frame.Put everything back together and you're good to go. Your heated grips shouldn't remain on draining your battery when the machine is turned off, but should work just fine when your ATV's accessory power is turned on. (key turned to 'on' position)

This is my second set of these. The first set lasted about 10 years. I can't complain. They have two settings, low and high. High is hot. I usually go down to low after a few minutes. There easy to install as well.

Hot!!!! Someone said they don't get hot. Just about cooked my hands on high. Someone said they draw current when off so you'd better wire itthrough a relay. I wired right to the battery, hot and ground. They are loose on the handle bars. I tried super glue gel but the heat got to the glue. I think if you wire through a relay you'd better be sure it will put out enough current. That maybe why someone had a problem not being hot enough. Someone said the wire harness didn't match his ATV. Ground is ground and hot is hot there's no problem. I do leave a trickle charger on my ATV so there might be some very tiny current drain while off but I can not detect any. And I wont be using these on high heat anymore.On my ATVs (I have three) frame ground is not as good as going to the battery. I learned that the hard way. I would tell a friend to buy these. The heated grips on my Polaris snowmobile work about the same as these. You could not ask for more.

I needed to replace my OEM heated grips which had gotten something on them which caused the rubber to deteriorate. I like the thickness of the grip for cushioning. The grips were loose when I put them on and I had to use epoxy. They heat up very slowly, unlike the OEM grips. These grips also put out about half as much heat as the OEM grips. I ride all four seasons, with winter temps sometimes in the teens, and my hands start to get cold at the beginning of a ride before I start to feel the heat from the grips, which takes 15-20 minutes, and I have solid handguards blocking the wind. I would not buy these again.Dec. 2016 update. After having these grips for 3 years I am going to have to replace them. Cosmetically they look fine, but their heat output has dropped to almost nothing, even on Hi. On the Hi setting they barely put out any heat, certainly not enough to keep my hands warm.

Don't connect them directly to the battery as the instructions say unless you want a dead battery, go through a relay.They fit a little loose and I don't like the end caps. The mounting for the controller could be better.

THe grips just slid on the 7/8 bars. We installed on our 95 arctic cat EXT snowmobile. The grips fit awesome. We did have to shave some of the rubber off of the right grip though. Right where the gas is there is a huge buldge on both grips. You can see it in the pic. We just took the razor and shaved it down. Now works amazing.

They seemed to work fine when I first got them but once I installed them on my machine and tried to use them they wouldn't work. Not sure if it was my wiring job or the product so I am leaving this at 3 stars until I can resolve the issue. It seems to be a back connection problem.

I read a review saying the grips were hard plastic - so that's what I was expecting. I was happy to see that they were more like a tough rubber. Which is best for cold weather to prevent cracking. Easy to install. They don't get quite as hot as the original Polaris grips but they keep your hands warm enough.