Well, looks like I am the first to get these installed...worked on it off and on yesterday afternoon and today. Sorry, no pictures...Diva is visiting her daughter in Tampa, so did not have a photographer to document the event. I'll try and hit the high points...this is for 06/07 bikes that already have the heated grips...earlier/different models would be virtually the same process. Since we have internal wiring, IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO DRILL ANY HOLES IN THE BARS!! All wires from the new controller will fit into the existing holes for the switch harnesses.
On the Batwings, remove outer fairing, radio, CB, XM, etc to gain access to the middle part of the handlebars...you will need the space to pull the wires. Remove clutch and brake reservoir/levers and let them dangle by the lines. Take the screws out of the switch covers on both sides and let them dangle as well. I installed the Heat Demon switch on the right side, as I already have the Legend Air switch on the left. It will work both ways...the instructions assume you are putting it on the left, taking the place of the clutch assembly clamp. DO NOT forget to put a spacer between the brake lever and the brake switch on the right side before removing (a piece of cardboard box works well, about 1" square). If you have non functioning HD heated grips on the bike, unplug the connections where the wiring comes out of the hole in the middle of the bars, on top of the bar risers. If you've ever thought about changing bars, now would be a good time to do so, as this would be much easier on the bench than mounted on the bike. I just clipped the connectors off the stock grips to use for the new heater connections. Yank, pull, cuss the old grips off the bike, after releasing throttle cable tension, and removing cables from old grips.
The little flat plastic fish tape they provide actually works quite well for fishing the wires...just wet it with a bit of Windex prior to inserting...this will provide a bit of lubricant to help it slide past all the other wires in the bars. Push fish tape in whichever end you're putting the controller on, and out the other end...fairly easy. Pull the yellow and white wires on one of the heating elements through to the other side, leaving spare hanging out the end. Insert this element inside the end of the bar, then pull the slack out from the other end. The elements fit tightly...put the gap on bottom so all the heat will travel upwards through the metal. After they are inserted, the gap is small...maybe 1/4", if that.
Insert fish tape from the controller end until you can pull it out of the middle hole in the bars, on top of the risers. Pull red and black power wires into bars...excess wire inside the fairing, leaving about 4 or 5 inches hanging out the controller end. Insert controller wires into existing switch harness holes, and push out the end of the bar. I put a piece of shrink wrap on the controller wires in case of chaffing. You should now have Yellow, White, Black, Red, and all the controller wires hanging out the controller side of the bars. Make all connections on the controller, and elements...I used the little connectors provided. They actually worked quite well, and I'm not a big fan of those type things, but these are different than I've used before, containing dialectic grease that squeezes out when you've got them right.
On my bike, I then wired up the old power supply for the HD heated grips to the Red and Black wires (they are shrink wrapped). If you look at the wiring diagram, the triangular shaped Deutch connector has Black, Red, O/W wires...you only need the Black and Red...they are fed from the 5 amp fuse on the main fuse block. Others will need to find a different switched connection to power everything up. It's a good idea at this point to wire everything up and test operation of the controller and heating elements. I used jumpers to do this. This power supply is hot when the ignition switch is in the on position, or to the Accy position, so if you play your radio while it's cold weather and you're washing/servicing your scoot, and you've had the heaters on, don't forget to turn them off!! They pull 3 Amps, so the 5 Amp fuse should be just right.
After everything checks out, make your final connections up, then insert the heating element for the controller side of the bars into the end of the bar, folding up all the wires on the inside of the element, then just stick it all in. This concerned me a bit, but the inside of the element does not get hot enough to damage the wiring (let's hope).
Put everything back together, adjust controlls to suit you, ensure the throttle cables are functioning fully, adjust as needed. You might lube the cables while you've got this all apart, and grease the steering neck too. Sew it all back up and you're done.
Not a hard job, just aggravating, so grab a couple of brewskies, smoke 'em if you got 'em, and take your time.
The heaters work really well!!! I think they get a bit hotter than the HD grips did, even when they were new. There are four settings on the controller, amber, amber, red, red, then off. If the LED's are too bright to suit you, hold the switch down for 3 seconds and the next time you switch them on, they will be much dimmer....probably nice for night operation.
I'm really going to enjoy these, and hope they are the last heaters I have to fool with on the bike. Pretty simple parts, but effective. Time will tell on the durability, but if they last, these will be nice for all bikes, not just the baggers.
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Topic: Heat Demons (Read 42658 times)