Heated Hand Grips

[ron49th]

I plan on installing heated hand grips on my 2018 TriGlide - standard HD Black Rubber 56100034. Inquired at my local HD and was told it would be 4 to 4.5 hrs labour!! I have a Shop Manual, any advice/tips would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ron

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I would search for the bar swap threads, basically what you'll be doing, some have great pics and a lot if great tips.

As a side tip, If your considering a bar swap, this would be a good time to do it.

[ultrafxr]

I plan on installing heated hand grips on my 2018 TriGlide - standard HD Black Rubber 56100034. Inquired at my local HD and was told it would be 4 to 4.5 hrs labour!! I have a Shop Manual, any advice/tips would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ron

Ron that is absolutely ridiculous! If you let them do it make sure you bring along a big jar of Vasiline. Seriously it just is not that difficult. I just last week swapped out my bars on my 2018 TG for the WildOne 579 Bagger Low and installed heated grips while at it. Not nearly as difficult as it was on the pre-Rushmore bikes.

If you are not swapping bars you don't have to pull them. The power plug is already present under the fairing on the left side and the right side plug is incorporated in the wire bundle with the TGS (twist grip sensor / throttle by wire). So basically all you have to do is fish the wire for the left side through the hole in the middle of the bars then hook up the wire to power and to the right side plug. Pop on the right handgrip and plug the internal connector inside it into the end of the TGS.

There are several videos available. Here is a free one that includes complete bar swap but will help:



Here is a free one just on heated grips:



And Law Abiding Biker has videos you have to pay for on both bar swaps and heated grip install.

https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/buyvideos/

Good luck if you decide to tackle this and if I can be of help let me know.

Jerry

[ron49th]

Ron that is absolutely ridiculous! If you let them do it make sure you bring along a big jar of Vasiline. Seriously it just is not that difficult. I just last week swapped out my bars on my 2018 TG for the WildOne 579 Bagger Low and installed heated grips while at it. Not nearly as difficult as it was on the pre-Rushmore bikes.

If you are not swapping bars you don't have to pull them. The power plug is already present under the fairing on the left side and the right side plug is incorporated in the wire bundle with the TGS (twist grip sensor / throttle by wire). So basically all you have to do is fish the wire for the left side through the hole in the middle of the bars then hook up the wire to power and to the right side plug. Pop on the right handgrip and plug the internal connector inside it into the end of the TGS.

There are several videos available. Here is a free one that includes complete bar swap but will help:



Here is a free one just on heated grips:



And Law Abiding Biker has videos you have to pay for on both bar swaps and heated grip install.

https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/buyvideos/

Good luck if you decide to tackle this and if I can be of help let me know.

Jerry

Thanks Jerry - now that I have seen the videos I will be doing it my self. As for changing the handle bars I would like to put some miles on first before deciding - what sort of a difference do you see/expect to see with the bar change?

[ultrafxr]

Thanks Jerry - now that I have seen the videos I will be doing it my self. As for changing the handle bars I would like to put some miles on first before deciding - what sort of a difference do you see/expect to see with the bar change?

Ron, not suggesting you make a handlebar change at all but to answer your question . . . I had WildOne 575s on my last two CVO Ultras and really like them. They won't fit the Rushmore fairing so WildOne redesigned them into the 579s for the Rushmore bikes. A bit of pull back and a few inches wider than stock. And they are 1 1/4" diameter vs 1" stock and you run the wiring internally so they just look great.

I found my riding position required me to have my arms out almost straight in order to reach the stock bars. Now with the new bars I have just a slight amount of bend at my elbows and that helps quite a bit for comfort. And being a bit wider they give more leverage when pushing and pulling to negotiate a turn. I'm sure there are many other great options out there but since I was familiar with WildOne I decided to go with their bars.

[ultrafxr]

..

[FuzzyWuzHe]

To help with your decision on the bar swap, most people see more leverage when they "muscle" through turns if they go a little wider. When you go from two wheels to three, most people notice the effort to steer through twisties is way more and report shoulder and arm soreness until they get used to it (it's amazing what the human body can get used to).

A member here, Fearless, did a nice write up about the pros of his install. There where others, but, his comes to mind right away.

As stated above, I'm not advocating the bar swap, just trying to steer you to info that might help you decide.

[ron49th]

Ron, not suggesting you make a handlebar change at all but to answer your question . . . I had WildOne 575s on my last two CVO Ultras and really like them. They won't fit the Rushmore fairing so WildOne redesigned them into the 579s for the Rushmore bikes. A bit of pull back and a few inches wider than stock. And they are 1 1/4" diameter vs 1" stock and you run the wiring internally so they just look great.

I found my riding position required me to have my arms out almost straight in order to reach the stock bars. Now with the new bars I have just a slight amount of bend at my elbows and that helps quite a bit for comfort. And being a bit wider they give more leverage when pushing and pulling to negotiate a turn. I'm sure there are many other great options out there but since I was familiar with WildOne I decided to go with their bars.

Hi Jerry - I am sure after riding this trike a few thousand K [starting this week I hope weather is getting better here in BC] I will be in the market for a set a bars that would provide more comfort and better leverage. I changed the bars on My Road King and it really made a difference in handling especially at low speeds - stopped the wallowing. I know that will not be a problem on the trike but I can see a little more pull back and increased leverage would be a real plus. Will keep your note on Wildone bars - any problems with stock clutch/brake/wiring connections?

Ron

[ron49th]

To help with your decision on the bar swap, most people see more leverage when they "muscle" through turns if they go a little wider. When you go from two wheels to three, most people notice the effort to steer through twisties is way more and report shoulder and arm soreness until they get used to it (it's amazing what the human body can get used to).

A member here, Fearless, did a nice write up about the pros of his install. There where others, but, his comes to mind right away.

As stated above, I'm not advocating the bar swap, just trying to steer you to info that might help you decide.

Thanks FuzzyWuzHe - your reply [and others] are most helpful and appreciated - after installing my heated grips I hopefully will have the experience to change bars should I feel it necessary in the future.

Hope to begin my 'student trips' next week.

Ron

[ultrafxr]

Hi Jerry - I am sure after riding this trike a few thousand K [starting this week I hope weather is getting better here in BC] I will be in the market for a set a bars that would provide more comfort and better leverage. I changed the bars on My Road King and it really made a difference in handling especially at low speeds - stopped the wallowing. I know that will not be a problem on the trike but I can see a little more pull back and increased leverage would be a real plus. Will keep your note on Wildone bars - any problems with stock clutch/brake/wiring connections?

Ron

The TGS (twist grip sensor) wiring is plenty long - no problem. The switch wiring does need to be extended. I bought the H-D 10" Switch Wire Extensions, p/n 69200034. The plugs on the switch wires were long enough to reach through the center section of the new handlebars and then I just plugged the extensions in to them. The heated grip wires on the left side were also long enough. I thought it would be a close fit to connect to the bikes wiring harness plugs but after tilting the inner fairing back up it was no problem. Not a lot of slack but plenty long enough to reach. And I was able to pull all the wires through the bars with the plugs attached. Those little JAE plugs are great. On the pre-Rushmore bikes the plugs were huge and you had to de-pin all the wiring - and there was a bunch of it! These new CanBus systems are a huge improvement.

The clutch and brake hydraulic lines required me to tug on them a bit to get some slack. They will reach on the WO579 bars. Anything wider or with more pullback or height would most likely require new lines.

Hope this helps.

[David792]

For those that have installed the heated grips; I see that the pain rubber heated grips are now $109.95. Seems to me that last summer they were only $159. Could I be wrong about that? It was a cold ride up in the mountains this morning and I have moved heated grips up to No. 1 on my to do list.

Price increases are motivational to quit procrastinating.

[bagger51]

Just adding my two cents here. I have heated grips and heated gloves (both from HD). The heated grips are are nice and can help if your ride suddenly gets a little chilly. However, when I know I will be riding in cold weather the heated gloves are my choice. I have never had cold hands with the heated gloves. The heated grips will keep your palms warm, but not the back of your hands. Heated grips with a decent pair of riding gloves will work pretty good as long as you are not riding in real cold weather (above 40?). I also have a heated jacket liner that allows me to plug the gloves into the sleeves. I rode in 25 degree weather with the heated gloves and my hands were fine. I guess what I am saying is that for the money (grips plus install) if I had to do over I would spend the money on something else besides the heated grips. They are nice to have, but you will still need something else for really cold weather. Good luck.

[paws]

For those that have installed the heated grips; I see that the pain rubber heated grips are now $109.95. Seems to me that last summer they were only $159. Could I be wrong about that? It was a cold ride up in the mountains this morning and I have moved heated grips up to No. 1 on my to do list.

Price increases are motivational to quit procrastinating.

Maybe the price fluctuates with the seasonal temperature?

Cheaper in the summer when nobody needs them and they can’t sell them.... more expensive in the winter when someone suddenly decides they have to have them...