HowTo Change Rubber Grip on Heated Grips of R1200GS

[VEGASGSA]

Did mine tonight..took 20 minutes..used a standard pair of Oury grips..the left stretches over easily, used rubbing alcohol...I did trim down the little plastic "bumps" on the outer ends of the tubes..

Other than being careful with the heating elements..I don't really see what the big deal is??

[LaurelPerryOnLand]

Originally Posted by VEGASGSA

Did mine tonight..took 20 minutes..used a standard pair of Oury grips..the left stretches over easily, used rubbing alcohol...I did trim down the little plastic "bumps" on the outer ends of the tubes..

Other than being careful with the heating elements..I don't really see what the big deal is??

Let's see some pics of the completed project with the Oury grips.

[VEGASGSA]

[VEGASGSA]

Small update..slightly un-seen consequence.

The inner flange of the new grips..and I would venture to say most aftermarket grips, is, no where near as stiff as the inner flange of the OEM grips. I ride with my thumbs fairly hard against the inner..so the grip flange "gives" towards the controls area and rubs it..no big deal at all..except it slows the throttle action significantly..for me, it may make the OURY's a deal breaker..

I'm thinking possibly ATV style grips would be an improvement since they don't have the inner flange like a motorcycle grip.

If you don't hug the inside of the grip like I do, you may never notice this.

[Infidel]

Originally Posted by VEGASGSA

Small update..slightly un-seen consequence.

The inner flange of the new grips..and I would venture to say most aftermarket grips, is, no where near as stiff as the inner flange of the OEM grips. I ride with my thumbs fairly hard against the inner..so the grip flange "gives" towards the controls area and rubs it..no big deal at all..except it slows the throttle action significantly..for me, it may make the OURY's a deal breaker..

I'm thinking possibly ATV style grips would be an improvement since they don't have the inner flange like a motorcycle grip.

If you don't hug the inside of the grip like I do, you may never notice this.

My grips were a little shorter than the stock ones- so there's a slight 1/8 gap between the flange and the controls. I was wondering if the gap was going to be an issue- but so far, no.

[jdub]

Regarding VEGASGSA's comments about the inner flange, it's been a while but I'm pretty sure some aftermarket grips I've bought in the past came with a thin plastic ring the same diameter as the flange just to avoid this situation. You just put the ring between the rotating throttle grip flange and the fixed control piece and there was no friction/sticking effect.

Maybe you could just locally make such a ring for your Oury's? (Which I think look really nice).

[Emoto]

Originally Posted by jdub

Regarding VEGASGSA's comments about the inner flange, it's been a while but I'm pretty sure some aftermarket grips I've bought in the past came with a thin plastic ring the same diameter as the flange just to avoid this situation. You just put the ring between the rotating throttle grip flange and the fixed control piece and there was no friction/sticking effect.

Maybe you could just locally make such a ring for your Oury's? (Which I think look really nice).

I remember rings like that from my days working at bike shops and installing grips. I bet you could take a plastic coffee can lid and cut a nice one.

[VEGASGSA]

Question for those that have done it...figuring it would be a good thing to know.I was looking at aftermarket grip heaters the other day at the local dirt bike shop...

They all have three wires..(Symtec)..the BMW only runs two..if you are soldering them in, which two wires?? Or do you have to search out 2 wire ones..? What about the resistor most seem to use? Can you just leave that out if wiring into factory wires?

Sorry, I'm weak in electrical..if you wanna tear the motor down, no problem..

[Infidel]

I'll be tackling that this weekend since my throttle heater quit working after the swap. Apparently I nicked the element. I picked up a set of elements from MCSS and noticed the 3 wires. I have a strong electronics background, just haven't had time to ohm it out yet.... will post solution soon.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[tommyvdv]

Originally Posted by VEGASGSA

Question for those that have done it...figuring it would be a good thing to know.I was looking at aftermarket grip heaters the other day at the local dirt bike shop...

They all have three wires..(Symtec)..the BMW only runs two..if you are soldering them in, which two wires?? Or do you have to search out 2 wire ones..? What about the resistor most seem to use? Can you just leave that out if wiring into factory wires?

Sorry, I'm weak in electrical..if you wanna tear the motor down, no problem..

i installed these http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/pro...view%2BRequest

two wires. only hassle was connecting the wire. but in hindsight I should've used smaller crimps. will redo it one of these days

[VEGASGSA]

Originally Posted by tommyvdv

i installed these http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/pro...view%2BRequest

two wires. only hassle was connecting the wire. but in hindsight I should've used smaller crimps. will redo it one of these days

Do you have to use the resistor? Or, is this "in" the BMW wiring already? (in one form or another)

[tommyvdv]

Originally Posted by VEGASGSA

Do you have to use the resistor? Or, is this "in" the BMW wiring already? (in one form or another)

the wire feeding the heating is connected inside the controls. if you take off the back panel (facing front of bike) you'll see two sockets. the smallest one is the heating. ignore them if you don't need em. take off your grip gently and you'll see two wires coming out of the controls onto the handle. this is connected to a nichrome wire (resistor wire) that spirals around your handle. cheapest option is getting some nichrome wire and replacing it.

or just connect the heating elements to the out coming wire with some crimps.

the wire coming out is short though. so make sure you get it in one go.

I didn't and had to open up the control unit to fiddle with the wiring so that my throttle wouldn't lock up :)

to answer your question: no, you don't need any resistors. no room for them anyway

[Infidel]

Originally Posted by VEGASGSA

Do you have to use the resistor? Or, is this "in" the BMW wiring already? (in one form or another)

The element IS the resistor. I ended being able to repair the stock element, so replacing it with the "3 wire" one I purchased was not required. Since the power supplied to the element is controlled by the control switch ( 0 or 00 ) that is where any resistance to lower the voltage would be placed. I would suggest soldering the brown wire ( + lead ) to the wire that i connected to the "high" setting on the replacement element. Test it before you put the grip on. If it's acting flaky, connect both wires from the new element to the positive lead (brown, I think). Then test again.

[tommyvdv]

Originally Posted by Infidel

The whole assembly is removable and then you can just replace the wire. no?

The wire is cast into a rubbery footing upon exiting the housing for the cable. Probably to avoid rubbing the cable to death by opening and closing the throttle. this housing is a snug fit, probably also to keep the water out.

My wire has had it. So if anyone had broken heaters lying around as garbage it would be great if said person could pull the wire and mail it over :)


picture curtousy of someone that put it on the internet

[BMW JEEP]

I just aquired a very nice 05 1200GS and was a bit apprehensive about trying to replace the original rubber portion of the OEM heated rubber grips, which are worn smooth and feel too thin to me.

Thanks to all for sharing and showing the various options, experiences and pocedures.

Safe travels and Happy Holidays to all.
Curt