Heated grips for first Gen MK2

[Pasta Burner]

I’ve heard about ISO grips from @luvmy40 but Kuryakin says they don’t fit an 87, heated or not.  I found Avon grips that @MiCarl said are nicer than the ISO.  Most reviews say the heat of Avon is inconsistent and insufficient at best. Any advice on a quality heated upgrade?

[Pasta Burner]

These just showed up.  I think they’ll look nice and the heat is just a bonus if they work.  For $65 it’s worth a shot.

[saddlebum]

They do look nice.

[Pasta Burner]

I worked on installing them last night, but hit a wall when closing up the switch housing and decided it was time to call it quits for the night.  First off the switch housing horseshoe opening for the top of the housing is a different diameter than the bottom so I had to grind it open to fit the new throttle.  Once I had it all dry fit on the bench I went to install on the bike and still needed some tweaking.  The biggest problem is getting the throttle cables into cam.
 

 What’s the trick to loosening the throttle cables?

[Marcarl]

7 hours ago, Pasta Burner said:

I worked on installing them last night, but hit a wall when closing up the switch housing and decided it was time to call it quits for the night.  First off the switch housing horseshoe opening for the top of the housing is a different diameter than the bottom so I had to grind it open to fit the new throttle.  Once I had it all dry fit on the bench I went to install on the bike and still needed some tweaking.  The biggest problem is getting the throttle cables into cam.
 

 What’s the trick to loosening the throttle cables?

There is an adjusting 'knob' right where the cables go into the grip. (Thumb wheel with a locking wheel) Loosen that off should give enough room to install. When setting back to running mode you'll need about 1/8" play. Check that the throttle returns easy to idle. Too tight and it will hang up, too loose and you'll find that the grip needs to turn too far. I usually snug it up until it hangs up and then loosen it some.

[Pasta Burner]

1 hour ago, Marcarl said:

There is an adjusting 'knob' right where the cables go into the grip. (Thumb wheel with a locking wheel) Loosen that off should give enough room to install. When setting back to running mode you'll need about 1/8" play. Check that the throttle returns easy to idle. Too tight and it will hang up, too loose and you'll find that the grip needs to turn too far. I usually snug it up until it hangs up and then loosen it some.

I think there is just something messed up on my bike.  Exactly what you describe is what I’ve been reading everywhere but loosening it actually tightens the cable.  It’s sticking now anyway a little but I’m trying to button it up to maybe break in the new grips before I do more tweaking.

 

that said…how does the clutch side grip come off?  I’m assuming it’s glued to the handlebar whereas the replacement have set screws.  I’m trying to not damage the grips I have in case I want to go back.

[Pasta Burner]

Throttle grip installed just so y’all can see what it looks like.  Haven’t decided which side I’m going to mount the control yet.

[Marcarl]

Left side comes off by blowing air between the grip and the bar,,,,,, usually works anyhow.

When you adjust the throttle cables you need to shorten the jacket, so the outer part of the cable, which means that the thumb adjuster will screw onto the cable jacket, this then lengthens the amount of slack the cable has available.

[Pasta Burner]

What a pain it was getting that clutch grip off.  Ended up pulling the handlebar off the bike and just worked brake clean (best solvent I had on hand) between the grip and bar working it in with a dental pick.  Finally got it free.  Air was a no go due to the glue being so strong.  Time for a drink and some football.

[Pasta Burner]

So update on this install.  I tweaked grinding out the throttle side housing a little more and had to cut a notch in the clutch side housing for the wiring.  After hours of bench testing before I buttoned it up I thought I had it figured out because the grips Just weren’t heating.  Turns out I was wrong in thinking the mfg had bad directions.  After even more troubleshooting I confirmed there must be a fault in the resistor module as it was the only thing getting hot and only getting .2VDC to the grip side elements.  Contacted Avon and so far they’ve been a pleasure to work with.  I get the feeling they are a smaller family business.  Paid $35 for a replacement module which will be refunded when I turn in the defective one.  I think after talking to the engineer he wants to confirm it’s faulty and why and to trend analysis on faults.  Should be here Thursday in time for this weekends ride.

[Pasta Burner]

Finally finished🤞 After receiving the replacement module and installing per the directions the same thing happened.  I did a little more testing on my end figuring I’ll just make my own module if needed I discovered mating black to red from the module to the grips provided the correct wiring.  (The new module also puts out almost double the voltage which is something the engineer mentioned when I spoke with him last week.  Something about an updated one which I suppose addresses the lack of heat issue I mentioned in my initial post.). Test ride yet to come, but in the garage they feel nice.