Ducati MultiStrada 1200

To change the subject slightly - anyone running non Duck heated grips? Isit ok to just run a live to the 12v battery supply? I was interested in the OE ones - 'till i got a quote of £400 for them...

I've got Symtex grip heaters and they work great. I have to confess that I installed everything but didn't connect them to the power supply, I asked my Duc mechanic to when it was in for tires. I wanted it hooked to a switched power supply so I wouldn't have to worry about remembering to turn the switch off, and didn't trust myself on that. Total for the purchase of the heaters and having the mechanic connect them was $75 and you can use whatever grips you want over them. I prefer ProGrip 714s.

It's those Vespa people isn't it

Would that be these'uns? Where did you put your toggle switch?

http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?store_code=CST&screen=PROD&product_code=16025

That's them, Symtec, not Symtex as I previously wrote. I put the switch on the vertical part of the black panel, below and to the rear of the fuse cover. It's easy to use there and hardly noticeable. I suggest putting some shrink tubing over the left side of the handlebar, then the heater on top of that, so the aluminum bar doesn't act like a heat sink. It's not an issue on the throttle grip side.

Just won a Daytona set of heated grips on fleabay for £30. That'll do nicely.

I wonder if you can take something like the Oxford Heaterz (or any others for that matter) and wire them into the same point as the OEM grips??? I know you can do that with other bike brands (Guzzi comes to mind, possibly Triumph as well) and that way you can use the built-in controller. Just a thought.....

-SM

Why not? They're all just baby toasters; the resistance and draw can't be much different. But usual caveats apply.

I would say that if your research shows you can do it, it would be the very best way since it would use Ducati's intended grounding scheme. A lot of grip kits come with instructions to steal power from a switched circuit like the tail light, and that makes sense, but that still doesn't tell you where to go for your ground. If you grab ground at the easiest place (say the fork or frame) you could be looking at a different path that could lead to electrolytic corrosion, and that is maybe a thing to be aware of in these installations. Otherwise installing heated grips is a piece of cake.

Well done. How about connecting them to the accessory plug wiring. It's switched and rated for heated clothing.

Here's a short clip of my first ride with the TKC's. I didn't have time to do any major editing so it's basically just raw footage spliced together. It best to watch it muted so you don't have to listen to me laugh like a dork the whole time. My mic started to have some issues toward the end of the ride so the audio cuts out or is completely absent from some of the clips.

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y2cmHAA8cVQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

You can tell at the beginning I'm not really trusting the tires very much, and as a result I quickly fall to the back of the pack. About 1/2 way through I started to get the feel for them and begin catching up again.

How many miles did you put on them and do you have any knobs left ?

Good stuff. Looks like on the dirt the lighter bikes pulled ahead but once on the open road the big bikes pulled away.....at 110mph+ if I read your speedo right....

Just a word of caution.....the TKC's you were running are only Q rated, so sustained 100mph+ is probably unwise.....

-SM

Most of what I do on that bike is probably unwise.....

I've got about 250 miles on them now. Still a good 1/2" of knobs left. If you keep to the dirt I'm sure they'll last a while.

Boy do I know about THAT!



-SM

In the past I would put MT-60's on my 650 Motards ( with 17's) in an attempt to make them dirt worthy. I believe I got 1,200 to 1,400 miles out them and that was with about 52 HP. I hate to think how quickly 150 HP could peel the knobs off the carcasses. :eek1

Now I could see why riders from Florida are always happy to ride in California - anything more than 90 degree corners is good :) . Thanks for posting the video.

we are indeed fortunate....

How did the tires feel at speed?

I'd also like to know how many miles you end up getting out of them.

Like others have said, thanks for posting.

Good tip. Might just have a look at that.