[Dubster]

OK with the cooler weather already here and old man winter just around the corner I pulled the trigger and purchased and installed a set of Oxford heated grips on the mighty TW.

I took her out for a couple hundred kilometre run today and tested them and my heated vest out.

The TW with headlight on will run either the vest OR the grips but not together.With both vest and grips on the volt meter I also installed drops well below 12.7 and will discharge the battery.

I installed a switch so I could turn off the low beam.With the low beam off I can run both the vest and grips and the volt meter reads 14.1 volts.

I also installed a small removable wind screen and am now ready for some comfortable cold weather riding.

I sure will miss commuting to work on a regular basis though.With the price of gas at $1.50 a litre the 80 plus miles per gallon from the TW compared to the 18 mpg my truck gets will be sorely missed.

On the bright side the mighty TW is slowly paying for itself.

 

[small's]

When i get back from this road trip im definitely getting some heated grips. We left Indy saturday at around 35 degree and my hands were pretty dang cold even with the tusk mittens over the handguards. The mittens kept me from having to stop and warm them up. Last two days it has been low 40's and pissin rain on the blue ridge pkwy=freezing damp cold + wet. My buddy let me borrow a heated vest so i wired up a powerlet and man it is nice to have the heat. No problems with the vest and headlight on together plus i have a switch for the low beam so im glad to hear you have no problems running both with the healight off.

 

[stephenmarklay]

I may do this as well. Maybe it would be smart to got to lower power headlight like HID etc.

 

[Dubster]

I had a chance to do a little more testing yesterday.It was only 4 degree Celcious so I geared up and went for a several hour ride.I have since installed a small tachometer so I can keep an eye on the RPM.Man oh man the little beast winds up at the higher speeds!!!



With the light on low,the Oxford grips on the second heat level and the vest on full(which is the only setting for it) the voltmeter reads around 13.7 as long as the rpm is at or above 5000 but as soon as I switch the grips to the third level the voltmeter drops below 12.7.

When I was in city traffic and had to stop at red lights I simply cut the power to the hand grips until I started moving again.

All in all I stayed pretty comfortable although I have Power Madd hanguards with the optional removable larger deflectors installed for the cold weather so they obviously helped a great deal in keeping my hands warm.



Like I said in my previous post with the headlight off the voltmeter holds 14.1 so there is probably room to run more electrics with the light off... something I prefer not to do in traffic.



Funny thing about yesterdays ride I didn't see one other bike in my travels

and had more people(both people in cars and pedestrians alike) look at me and break into huge smiles and waves.I can only imagine what some of them were thinking.

 

[damasovi]

Dubster!

HI !! I like your advise you just wrote, and thank you for posting in my thread. Do you have a tread of your bike build? or can you post a pic of your dashboard? Since you mention you have a voltmeter, and some other stuff I would like to see how you mounted all up.

Thank you very much.

Damasovi

 

[Tong&Groove]

Is the TW stock with 7/8 or 1inch bars?

Thanks.

 

[littletommy]

7/8ths.

 

[Tong&Groove]

7/8ths.

That's what I thought but it doesn't hurt to ask! Thanks!!!

 

[Dubster]

UPDATE:

I just finished replacing the headlight as well as the rear signal light bulbs and the brake/license plate light with LED bulbs. For some reason the front signal/running lights would not flash with the new led bulbs so I still have the stock incandescent bulbs installed.
The good news is with the headlight on high beam, the Oxford heated grips on high and my heated vest on high the voltmeter holds at 13-13.2 at 5000 rpm plus the new headlight is BRIGHT.
So anyone out there wanting to run heated gear the switch to LED bulbs is the way to go!! There might even be enough watts left to run a couple extra led lights up front...my next upgrade.
Now as soon as it stops snowing here and the roads clear I will be able to hit the roads and stay comfortable and not have to worry about discharging the battery.

 

[Michael Bryce Winnick]

Everyone is entitled to build the bike they want. I am not inclined to use the heated grips because they really eat the juice. My bike is all LED's. The Hot Hands are low draw. With the LED modification, you can keep warm and not play hell with your charging system. I put them on today. $70.00 and 10 minutes. Integrates well with the rest of the bike. Just an idea.

 

[phreadd]

UPDATE:

I just finished replacing the headlight as well as the rear signal light bulbs and the brake/license plate light with LED bulbs. For some reason the front signal/running lights would not flash with the new led bulbs so I still have the stock incandescent bulbs installed.
The good news is with the headlight on high beam, the Oxford heated grips on high and my heated vest on high the voltmeter holds at 13-13.2 at 5000 rpm plus the new headlight is BRIGHT.
So anyone out there wanting to run heated gear the switch to LED bulbs is the way to go!! There might even be enough watts left to run a couple extra led lights up front...my next upgrade.
Now as soon as it stops snowing here and the roads clear I will be able to hit the roads and stay comfortable and not have to worry about discharging the battery.

Which LED kit(s) did you go with ?
I've yet to install my heated grips exactly because of the small wattage overhead on the TW.

 

[Dubster]

phreadd I order my led bulbs online from Aliexpress. Good quality stuff for a fraction of the price of other online vendors. Only drawback is it takes roughly 30-45 days to ship.
I had to order a 2 bulb kit for the headlight but I used one in my DR650. Incredibly bright!! and only draws 40watts on high beam. Another online vendor sells the same bulb for $75.00US for one plus shipping and claims it is the best replacement out there. I like the fact that they don't require a fan for cooling like most of the others. They installed easily in both bikes without any modification to the rubber dust seal on the headlight.
[url]http://www.aliexpress.com/item/4800LM-40W-CREE-XHP-50-Chips-H4-LED-Headlight-Lamp-Daul-Beam-Auto-H13-LED-Car/32466037215.html

[/URL]

I used these bulbs for the signal,brake and running lights:http:

Wholesale Product Snapshot Product name is 2pcs 1156 BA15S P21W 16 led 5630 5730 smd Car Tail Bulb Brake Lights auto Reverse Lamp Daytime Running Light red white yellow 2X
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/7208942724.html?orderId=71898896539884


You will also need an led signal flasher. I used this from Amazon.ca. It has a built in piezo buzzer that, at least for me, is a good reminder for those times when I forget to cancel the signals.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/r.html?C=1...GFYA9G7W8A&ref_=pe_386430_30332290_TE_3p_dp_1

for whatever reason the front led signals would not flash on the TW so I reinstalled the oem incandescents. No biggie for me because the watts saved by the other led's was more than enough to enable me to run the heated grips and vest on high at the same time without discharging the battery.
Go ahead and install your grips. I have a voltmeter on my bike and the TW will run the grips (Oxford Sports) as long as that's it and your RPM's are up.

Just what part of Eastern Canada are you in? I'm in NS just east of Dartmouth.

 

[phreadd]

Thanks for the detailed reply, Dubster ! Really appreciate it.

It's pretty much a given that I'll be ordering the same gear as you did. I'm somewhat fascinated by the "heat dissipating straps" on the LED H4 bulb as opposed to the use of a fan. It's a simpler solution, but I could see how it wouldn't work as well in very hot weather. I have a feeling that the second one will find a great home in my 919 headlight.


Great to meet a local TW200 owner ! I'm actually Sackville, NS. Haven't put mine on the road yet this year due to a work schedule that had me indoors anytime the weather was good. Then again, once the heated grips are on there, that might change.

 

[Dubster]

Glad to help a fellow "Bluenoser"!! I read some good reviews on the LED H4's. I may pull the trigger and order a set for my V-Strom soon. Good to see you can put the second one to good use. That 919 must be a blast to ride!! Who knows maybe myself and my brother-in-law, who also has a TW200 ,will meet up with you sometime and get out for a ride.

 

[phreadd]

That would be fantastic ! I'll have to take you up on that.

I got the TW200 last year after a few years worth of lusting (and reading on this forum) and it has brought me nothing but smiles. However, it would be great to have a look at the trails and tracks in the area since I don't know any of them.