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As my only form of transportation I ride the Kat year round. I could not find a great solution to not freezing my hands off. I tried multiple gloves and I currently use a pair of rubber mechanics gloves to keep the heat in and a thick winter glove on top. I had looked at some heated grips/gloves, but did not want to spend that much to get the right ones.
It got me thinking..... I cut open a heating pad (the kind for sore body parts or warmth) It had shorted out and was no longer working. I said it was worth a try to see if I could use it for heating my grips. At one point I installed a cigaret lighter outlet and a charger for my I pod or usb. (Also home made
) I removed these from the power connection on the bike and replaced them with + and - for the heated wires. I then took the internal coil heating wire that runs inside of the heating pad and wrapped it around the handlebar grips. Then used electrical tape to hold it in place.
After I wired it to the bike it did not have enough power to get hot enough to warm my hands through my gloves so I had to improvise. I wired the quick-disconnect from the pad with two solid copper wires and soldered them with flat disconnect clips. Now I upped the voltage with a 18v Ryobi battery. Using a zip tie I wrapped it around the head of the battery and then slipped the flat connect between the zip-tie and the metal pickup on the battery.
I then found a nice place to secure it to the bike.
*Note* I had the fairings off when taking the pictures so that section where the battery is wont work with the fairings on obviously. With the fairings on I found the perfect place for it.... If you put it in upside down on the left hand side between the frame and fairing. To the left of the fork there is a gap. It mounts perfectly and rests on the frame does not even need to be secured.
Then I hooked it up and felt the burn. I get about 22 hours of heat coming from the grips. The space of the wire coiled on the grips is necessary because it will get far too hot if placed too tight. Works well for me and next time I find a broken pad I want to try the same thing but make some heated gloves instead!
It got me thinking..... I cut open a heating pad (the kind for sore body parts or warmth) It had shorted out and was no longer working. I said it was worth a try to see if I could use it for heating my grips. At one point I installed a cigaret lighter outlet and a charger for my I pod or usb. (Also home made
) I removed these from the power connection on the bike and replaced them with + and - for the heated wires. I then took the internal coil heating wire that runs inside of the heating pad and wrapped it around the handlebar grips. Then used electrical tape to hold it in place. After I wired it to the bike it did not have enough power to get hot enough to warm my hands through my gloves so I had to improvise. I wired the quick-disconnect from the pad with two solid copper wires and soldered them with flat disconnect clips. Now I upped the voltage with a 18v Ryobi battery. Using a zip tie I wrapped it around the head of the battery and then slipped the flat connect between the zip-tie and the metal pickup on the battery.
I then found a nice place to secure it to the bike.
*Note* I had the fairings off when taking the pictures so that section where the battery is wont work with the fairings on obviously. With the fairings on I found the perfect place for it.... If you put it in upside down on the left hand side between the frame and fairing. To the left of the fork there is a gap. It mounts perfectly and rests on the frame does not even need to be secured.
Then I hooked it up and felt the burn. I get about 22 hours of heat coming from the grips. The space of the wire coiled on the grips is necessary because it will get far too hot if placed too tight. Works well for me and next time I find a broken pad I want to try the same thing but make some heated gloves instead!
I've seen a homemade socket before... all aluminum foil and tape, no fuse and always live
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