V85TT Heated Grips

[Billy_B]

Ny 2023 V85 OEM grips work well fwiw
inditx

I've read the guzzi grips don't get nearly as hot as the Oxfords? Any idea on that? Maybe they 'fixed' it for the later models by sending more current?

[inditx]

Not sure but I’ve never had Oxford grips, sorry.
inditx

[Stretch]

I've never tried Moto Guzzi heated grips, but the Oxfords I have on my KLR650 are terrific.

                                                                       -Stretch

[smdl]

In my experience, across multiple Guzzis, the factory heated grips are weak.  I've now put Oxfords on two V85s (about to do a third), and I feel that they put out substantially more heat.  They're tricky to install, though, as the ID of the hard plastic inner tube is too small to fit over the throttle tube, and must be opened up with a reamer to the correct size.  Not difficult once you know how. 

Some people choose to try to sand down the throttle tube, but I'd strongly recommend working on the inside of the Oxford grip instead.  Much less costly in the event of an error!

Cheers,
Shaun

[Vagrant]

I use a round file on the leading edge of the Oxford. Coat the inside with dish soap, then start the bike and put the grips on the highest heat for 4-5 minutes to expand the grip and slide on fast.

[smdl]

I use a round file on the leading edge of the Oxford. Coat the inside with dish soap, then start the bike and put the grips on the highest heat for 4-5 minutes to expand the grip and slide on fast.

I've heard (from a friend) that it's not a good idea to forget that the grips are on high and walk away for about 10 min.  🙄  Apparently, from what I understand 🙄, this could result on an overheated, melted mess. 

Seriously, this will quite probably work fine, but I still struggled to get the grip on.  So, I tried the reamer to open the ID up just a bit (as suggested by someone else), and it worked well.  The grip was still tight going on, but not stupid-tight.  With grip glue applied, it slid on with force and stayed solid for many thousands of miles.

As always, there are in excess of single method of de-furring a feline.

Cheers,
Shaun

[Billy_B]

I looked into buying a reamer - prices are all over the place. I'm waiting on the Oxford grips to arrive so I can't measure them yet. Anyways, I assume the cheap reamers work fine for this, do I need a 1 1/16" - 1 3/16" like this: https://www.amazon.com/HHIP-2006-0086-16-1-3-Adjustable-Reamer/dp/B0742NWHMM

I suppose I could go ahead and remove the stock grips and measure the throttle tube too...

Thanks

[smdl]

I looked into buying a reamer - prices are all over the place. I'm waiting on the Oxford grips to arrive so I can't measure them yet. Anyways, I assume the cheap reamers work fine for this, do I need a 1 1/16" - 1 3/16" like this: https://www.amazon.com/HHIP-2006-0086-16-1-3-Adjustable-Reamer/dp/B0742NWHMM

I suppose I could go ahead and remove the stock grips and measure the throttle tube too...

Thanks

Yes, that looks like the reamer that I have.  Cheap, but effective.

Cheers,
Shaun

[lcjohnny]

Just posting to keep this thread high as this is a brilliant idea.
Very effective heated grips on "2" i doubt i will ever uses "3"

2022 model v85tt has same heater wiring as the 2019 so instructions below all worked well.

I just rounded off the outside leading edge of the throttle tube and the inside leading edge of the hard plastic tube inside the oxford.
As i forced it on there was a crack  from the Oxford - but they still work and there is no visible damage. The Oxford instructions mention a special "tube to cope with un-even twist grips" so i think the hard plastic tube inside the throttle grip is perforated to split and it doesn't seem to have damaged the wiring or the grip

[GMC28]

happy new year -

Just installed the oxfords, and went smoother with the great info from this thread. But a question:

Does the bike need to be running for the grips to get hot?  I have the hot grip symbol lighting up, but after a minute or so still no heat on the grips.

I have tank off, so not going to run till I re-install.  Hoping it just needs to see gen power/voltage (relay?) to actually power the grips, otherwise I have som other issue.
Molex install was slick, and the little reamer to shave 0.5mm from the throttle side all worked brilliant. 
Or maybe reverse polarity.  I can check that i guess when i finish typing.  i was lazy and just mirrored the orientation from earlier posted pics (red to blue wires), but i can ring that out…

cheers

[GMC28]

well, my own answer:  yes, the bike needs to be running for the grips to work.  in case that comes up for someone else.

yes, i can be lazy, but the reason here was that my other hot grips on other bikes will work on battery power only (which presents certain issues of course), so I assumed/hoped these would, because I preferred to leave the tank off in case i needed to re-access the wiring.  but they didn’t work so went ahead and reinstalled tank, fired her up (with new exhaust and other mods…), and voila, hot grips.   There, my excuses, but all good now!

cheers

[smdl]

Glad to hear that the grips are working.

The primary focus is usually on the fact that the Oxford grips put out more heat than the factory items, which they do, but I think that other attributes are more important.  The softer rubber, coupled with the flexible grip design, improves comfort and vibration damping, with the welcome side-effect of providing increased friction with hands/gloves.  This reduces the strain caused by the stiff throttle spring.   That's a win-win-win, in my book!

Cheers,
Shaun

[Moparnut72]

How did you wire them. I wired mine directly to the battery, this way they will shut themselves off after a few minutes after the bike is shut off. I think if voltage drops below something like 13 volts they know the bike is no longer running and they will drain the battery. Maybe with the bike not running they won't even come on. If wired into the harness, I don't know. Probably the same kind of thing.
kk

[smdl]

How did you wire them. I wired mine directly to the battery, this way they will shut themselves off after a few minutes after the bike is shut off. I think if voltage drops below something like 13 volts they know the bike is no longer running and they will drain the battery. Maybe with the bike not running they won't even come on. If wired into the harness, I don't know. Probably the same kind of thing.
kk

If wired directly into the factory harness, the original switch works perfectly, and the grips will shut off when the bike is turned off.   The indicator on the dash also works normally.  Just install the recommended Molex connectors on the Oxford grips, and the bike can be left completely stock.  See Alpo's posts on page 1 for a tutorial.

Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Shaun

[GMC28]

I wired to the factory molex connectors… slick. 
Factory switch and dash indication all works normal, as everyone who has these will know.  But when key switched on, and bike not started, switch will turn on the grips as indicated on dash, but no actual heat to grips till bike is running.  at least on mine… and i’d assume our bikes will all be the same if wired to the factory connectors. 
Haven’t bothered to try what happens when bike is switched off but key/battery is still on.

[smdl]

I wired to the factory molex connectors… slick. 
Factory switch and dash indication all works normal, as everyone who has these will know.  But when key switched on, and bike not started, switch will turn on the grips as indicated on dash, but no actual heat to grips till bike is running.  at least on mine… and i’d assume our bikes will all be the same if wired to the factory connectors. 
Haven’t bothered to try what happens when bike is switched off but key/battery is still on.

That is by design, as I understand it.  I've actually heard (but not confirmed) that power to the grips is shut off when the engine revs are below a certain number.  However, it seems to me that it would make more sense for the ECU to monitor charging voltage, and only allow the grips to work when it exceeds 12V.  Regardless, I appreciate the fact that they have a mechanism in place to prevent  unintended battery discharge when the grips are on.

Cheers,
Shaun

[sunGuzzi]

2000 RPM.