Anyone mounted up a set of HOT HANDS?

[jlewis50]

I have a Gen 1 1200 bandit.
Anyone mounted up a set of HOT HANDS? I mounted up a set today and couldn't find a suitable switched electrical source. I did not want to mess with the wiring harness or tap a existing hot wire.  I ran a fused lead to the battery but fear I will forget to turn off the switch or someone may turn it on when no one is around.
I did notice a unused source behind the head light but am not sure if it is thick enough gauged wire
Any success stores out there?

Joe

[B12NScott]

What you should do is use your new power source to power up a 12Volt relay.  Connect up that unused source as a switched power for the relay.  So they can only be turned on when the bike is on.   I use it in a similar fashion for a set of driving lights.  

[ldbandit76]

Anyone mounted up a set of HOT HANDS? I mounted up a set today and couldn't find a suitable switched electrical source. I did not want to mess with the wiring harness or tap a existing hot wire.  

I have a set of Hot Grips (on a 1G 1200) running off the horn circuit.  No kidding.  I tapped into the hot (switched) line for the horn, then ran a wire back to ground at the battery (actually, I have a big ground bus at the front of the bike, but same thing, really).  No troubles.  

If you don't want to tap an existing hot wire, how, exactly, do you plan on getting power to your Hot Hands?  If your new wiring is entirely independant of the bike's wiring, then you will need to be very sure to shut everything off when you park.   I suppose you might be able to make some sort of jumper that would fit between existing terminals on a switched line...

B12NScott has the best possible idea: use an existing switched line (like the horn) to throw a relay, then use that relay to close a dedicated circuit that runs back to the battery.  I didn't do that because the Hot Grips only draw 35 watts; I figured the stock wiring would be enough for that much current.   I use independant wiring and relays for my headlight, dirving lights, and electric clothes, which all draw between 50 and 100 W.  

Note when I say "tapped" I mean "stripped, crimped, and soldered in a connection."  I don't use wire taps.  All connections are wrapped in either heat-shrink tubing or self-vulcanizing tape.  

Dave

[jlewis50]

I currently have the grips run straight to the battery with a fused link. My concern is leaving the grips on and having a dead battery.
I did find a hot unused outlet behind the head light.
I plan on tapping  and soldering this source to power the grips.

Joe

[jlewis50]

Well this weekend I finished the install on my Hot Hands. I ended up attaching the hot hands to the unused circuit behind the headlight on my 2000 1200. The wire was appears to be one gauge smaller than the Hot hands wire but it should be fine. I ran a fusable link from the source to the hot lead on the Hot Hands swithch.
The circuit is switchable and I don't have to worry about forgetting to turn off the switch. Rode the bike today in 35 degree weather and they worked nice. I think I need to install a set of the wind guards like the Vstroms use though. I plan on riding my bike to Daytona in a couple of weeks. It is a 5 hour ride. rains every years and was cold last year.
I didn't epoxy the grips to the bars yet though. They have very little play in them at this point.
Joe

[Bazza]

What you should do is use your new power source to power up a 12Volt relay.  Connect up that unused source as a switched power for the relay.  So they can only be turned on when the bike is on.   I use it in a similar fashion for a set of driving lights.  

I am just in the process of installing heated grips on mine and will go the same route as B-12scott, I will wire a relay to the unused front running light socket under the fairing. This is the best possible way to do it.

[Kickstart]

Hi

I have normally wired them up with a relay under the seat, taking power directly from the battery and triggering the relay from the rear brake light switch. The rear brake light switch has the advantage that it is easy to break into and often a small seperate section of wire that can be replaced with an OE part without fiddling with the rest of the loom.

All the best

Keith