Oxford Hot Grips ..my experience

[Gilo-FZ6]

After losing out on a PcIII on ebay yesterday (tried to be smart and snipe but left it too late - sold for £76 ) I decided to partake in some retail therapy today and bought some heated grips.

while searching on here and generally googling to find a good mounting point i couldnt help reading lots of many negative reports ..the main problem being the control unit. Most agree that the Oxford product is still one of the best out there but they just cant get it right!

To cut a long story short mine is now fitted..and guess what? the negative button (temp down) doesnt work.

Anyone else hat problems with this product and thier customer service??

 

[Jonno271]

Just removed the second set from my bike. Both sets lasted approximately 4 months before they failed. In both cases the pcb inside the control box (first the one on the handlebars, then the other one) corroded and the grips failed on full hot...

This unfortunately resulted in a flat battery (even though they claim to have a low voltage cut-off), 67 miles from home, the first time. Second time round I put them on an ignition relay so they wouldn't/couldn't run without the engine running...

Spoke to Oxford customer services who, in their defence, agreed to change the faulty part, but my argument was that I was in my second set already and wanted a refund. They refused and also commented that maybe they're not up to heavy winter rain and are more likely aimed at the rider who wants to keep their hands warm on a fine winters day So what's the point?...

Well I commute on the Fazer regardless of weather. I'm sure I read you do the same Gilo. If so be sure to seal those boxes up good. Initially I had a small plastic bag around the controller on the bars but it looked rubbish and took it off against my better judgement...

I hope you don't have the same problems but beware if the blue light on the controller starts flashing, something's up. Most likely low volts but could be worse! Heated gloves for me next winter!...

P.S. Gilo, I know you and you know me haha! I'm your brother in law's mate!

 

[Kazza]

Hubby has them on the XJR1300 - over a year - no problems at all. Ridden last winter, one of the wettest in Perth. All ok.

We don't leave the bikes out in the rain though. It's parked in an undercroft all day and in our garage at night. Maybe that's the problem - having them sit out in the rain. Just a thought.

 

[KingY]

Could not agree more, i have also had 2 sets and both have broke just before winter each time!!! cold hands both times lol, i also ride whatever the weather and i will admit my bike has seen some heavy rain and also sat in it while parked at work. Affriad i wont ever buy them again, i also spoke to customer services and they just said "we dont know" something about the voltage is not correct for my bike???? ah well, will just suffer from now on! Bars do look cleaner without the controler tho

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

P.S. Gilo, I know you and you know me haha!

Hows tricks..Its been a while..what you doing with a FZ6.

 

[SANGER_A2]

Heated gloves for me next winter!...

Heated Gloves FTW!!! :thumbup: They rock! I have Exo2 stormshield gloves and they look and work brilliantly. They don't get burning hot like the grips can, but they don't need to. They draw less power and put the heat where it needs to be - in between your hands and the cold wind blasting onto them! I've had two different sets of heated grips on two different bikes (Oxford and Roxter) and although the grips lasted (especially the old-style Oxford ones with the massive control dial), they basically just heated up the underside of your hand and the bars and the outside got freezing cold from the wind. The gloves keep the outside of my hands warm all the time.

And no, I don't work for EXO! Just had a revelation when I bought them. They're also very cheap for what you get considering a decent set of gloves may cost twice as much. Had 0 problems with the waterproofing too, unlike my last winter gloves that disintegrated.

Firstgear also do some nice looking Carbon ones and Gerbing do some less nice looking ones that probably work even better.

 

[Jonno271]

Kazza: Sounds like your hubby has been lucky with his grips. My bike sits under a shelter at work and in a heated garage at night so only sees rain whilst on the move. However I commute 1 1/2hrs each way so that can be a lot of rain!...

SANGER: It's the EXO2's I've been eyeing up. I've got their heated insoles in my boots, lovely! Like you say they don't get hot they just keep my feet nice, even when it was -13 degrees!...

Gilo: Yeah it's been ages since I've seen anyone apart from the Spanish one! Saw Dr. Dick on the TDM the other day on the A48 tho. Andreas text me last night actually, coming home for the rugby, should be good.

I bought the FZ6 to commute, I'm still based over at Lyneham but living in Cardiff now so 134miles every day! It's a lot cheaper on the bike and don't have to pay for the bridge

 

[Cloggy]

Gilo sorry to hear about your problems with the grips

This is my second winter using oxford hotgrips, I think they are great, but I've never had problems with them. I have to add I use them together with a good winter glove (held freezer gloves).
You can see where I had the controller mounted in this thread: http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/26498-new-oxford-hotgrips-installed.html (I had them fitted at the dealer). Now I ride in most weathers and my bike is outside nearly all of the time (sometimes under a cover).
I can imagine that heated gloves work better for keeping your finger tips warm without the rest of your hand sweating, but I love the fact I can hop on my bike and if I think its too cold and just turn on the grips :thumbup:

My only complaint is that the automatic switch off only works when the battery is pretty low, and that has once caused me to have a flat battery (I had to push start it).

Jonno do you work for the RAF (being based at Lyneham)?

Gilo I hope they sort out your switch really soon, good luck.

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

Yeah this voltage sensing switch is a problem from what ive read, Ill just have to remember to switch it off manually..the bike is also plugged in to the battery tender when not in use (another oxford product ironically).

im sure their customer service will come through for me

Im more worried about the set i bought for my father in laws bike for xmas..you see a discruntled employee of a large motorcycle parts and clothing company wanted some extra xmas spending money so sold me a set for £30 (in the hand)..and of course with no recipt :spank:

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

Well just got the email back ..not bad considering they probably only opened about 30 mins ago

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email.

Usually when we hear of problems with temperature control, it is due to a connection problem at the round connector. You should open up the connector and check for pin damage and possibly try some electrical contact cleaner if the pins look remotely dirty. Re-assemble and push fully together and if it works ok, then tape up to ensure no damp gets inside.

If you are still experiencing problems after this, then you need to contact the place where you purchased them for a replacement switch, they will require proof of purchase.

Thank you,

Customer Services

 

[Cloggy]

Yeah this voltage sensing switch is a problem from what ive read, Ill just have to remember to switch it off manually..the bike is also plugged in to the battery tender when not in use (another oxford product ironically).

im sure their customer service will come through for me

Im more worried about the set i bought for my father in laws bike for xmas..you see a discruntled employee of a large motorcycle parts and clothing company wanted some extra xmas spending money so sold me a set for £30 (in the hand)..and of course with no reciept :spank:

I really hope your father in law has no problems with his hotgrips, like me, problem is Oxford now knows your serial number of the controller, which makes it difficult to use your reciept to get your father in laws set fixed (not that I would do such a terrible thing ).

 

[Jonno271]

Cloggy: Yeah I'm in the RAF, I'm an Airframes & Engines Techy on the C130's. I too opted for grips over gloves so I could just hop on and go. I didn't like the idea of being connected to the bike with wires. But, alas, experience has taught me that the weather in this country is too much for the Oxford gear to handle so it's heated gloves next winter!

One other thing to be aware of Gilo. As I said before my first set failed when the PCB in the controller corroded. I noticed when riding that the grips would turn on and off and change heat settings. This got worse with engine vibration at certain revs. I used to religiously turn them off after riding but still they killed my battery. Turns out that the slightest movement to the bike caused them to turn on, so I can only deduct that the wind rocked the bike, turned the grips on and flattened the battery! Thats why I fitted a relay on the second set.

 

[Cloggy]

Cloggy: Yeah I'm in the RAF, I'm an Airframes & Engines Techy on the C130's. I too opted for grips over gloves so I could just hop on and go. I didn't like the idea of being connected to the bike with wires. But, alas, experience has taught me that the weather in this country is too much for the Oxford gear to handle so it's heated gloves next winter!

......

I was a AD (air defence) tech (radars and radio) 15 years ago before moving to Holland. I never served at Lyneham but they used to supply the Hercules that took us to the hebrides every year for range testing (I worked on Rapier for a while) :thumbup:.
Generally winters are colder over here and I've always found the grips to work great. I can ride all day on the motorway in sub zero temperatures if I use my grips.
Sanger A2 has very positive experiences with the gloves, he even made his own controller for his gloves :thumbup:

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

Good news is my father in laws control unit works .. I just plugged it into my harness, and the shop I got mine from have ordered me a replacement unit.. Happy days

john .. Tell me more about this relay.. Is it run off the batt or is it spliced into the wiring..eg the lights

 

[Jonno271]

Good news is my father in laws control unit works .. I just plugged it into my harness, and the shop I got mine from have ordered me a replacement unit.. Happy days

john .. Tell me more about this relay.. Is it run off the batt or is it spliced into the wiring..eg the lights

Yeah I did the dual dipped headlight mod so took a feed off that to swith the relay. The grips could only operate then once the lights were on, i.e.- engine started. Only problem with it is - beacuse the dipped beam cuts out when you select high beam, the grips would turn off. They'd come back on as soon as you went back to dipped. This didn't cause any problems though cos I dont use the high beam. After the headlight mod, high beam made no difference anyway! It would be easy enough to wire the relay into another accessory circuit, I just used the lights cos I was in there already...

It means a bit of extra wiring but worth it if it saves your battery. Have you done the headlight mod? If so did you use a harness or wire it up yourself?

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

I havent done it yet..i might see if bikerdude still does his custom harnesses..i might just wire the grips in to the horn or something

 

[SANGER_A2]

My grips on my last bike killed a battery by running it totally down. Everything on my bike now runs off a switched relay. There are details on how I did it on my site link below along with a diagram showing how it works along with photos of the relay and later on with how I made my controller (too much hassle really). All you need for gloves is an on/off switch. If you have heated grips, you need to be able to change the temperature as they can get REALLY hot, gloves just get warm really. Boneman has a nice diagram on his site as well showing how he wired his relay. Just google Boneman FZ6.

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

Yours and Boneman's writeups are very usefull..im gonna take a trip down to maplin in the morning. I might also get the bits to make a BD style loom for the light..in for a penny and all that