Koso Apollo Heated grips from RPM

[Bones]

.... with the heat turned right up and up to temp, they get that hot you can't put a bare hand on the grips.

Tony, you live in QL, that could apply to the entire bike in Summer.

Noel

That's true Noel, last Sunday it was 36deg up in the mountains of the Sunshine Coast hinterland. In all honesty, the grips don't get turned on much at all, haven't done any long rides in winter for a few years now.

[Paul.1478]

I took advantage of the Holiday sale at RPM and picked up another set of the Koso Apollo heated grips.

With cold weather setting in on most of North America and Europe. Casper was the only one left without headed grips. Now all 3 will be a bit more comfortable in temps down into the 40's and 30's.

Installation is easy and straight forward. One thing on the installation that i do a bit different is.... on the throttle tube, I use a utility knife and score the throttle tube both length wise and around the circumference. Also, I have found that the included super glue adhesive does not work very well once you start using the heat. I have had very good performance from Renthal Grip Glue. I know many use hair spray for regular grips. That does not work at all for these heated grips.

Fred
I like them a LOT. they are going to go well with my heated gloves from RPM. I am going to order now.

Thanks !

[Paul.1478]

My luck. out of stock...

[RPM - Robert]

My luck. out of stock...

They are on backorder with the supplier. I have several sets on order and they are scheduled back in stock around 12/21. Once they get them in, the automatically ship to us

[aviationfred]

I took advantage of the Holiday sale at RPM and picked up another set of the Koso Apollo heated grips.

With cold weather setting in on most of North America and Europe. Casper was the only one left without headed grips. Now all 3 will be a bit more comfortable in temps down into the 40's and 30's.

Installation is easy and straight forward. One thing on the installation that i do a bit different is.... on the throttle tube, I use a utility knife and score the throttle tube both length wise and around the circumference. Also, I have found that the included super glue adhesive does not work very well once you start using the heat. I have had very good performance from Renthal Grip Glue. I know many use hair spray for regular grips. That does not work at all for these heated grips.

Fred
I like them a LOT. they are going to go well with my heated gloves from RPM. I am going to order now.

Thanks !

The Fly Racing Ignitor Pro gloves are a game changer for riding in colder weather. I had never considered heated gloves. While at the RPM rally last year, Randy showed me the gloves and he had high praises for them. I would have purchased a pair right then. He was out of stock in my size. I did place the order. The gloves do not have heated palms and the Koso grips do a great job providing heat to the palms of your hands.


Fred

[ZOA NOM]

So let me get this straight... You guys are connecting your heated grips directly to the battery, and relying on the Oxford's circuitry to keep your battery from draining? Can somebody explain why you would need your grips warm without the bike running?

[Pat Conlon]

Rick, yes, the Oxford connects directly to the battery and the power automatically shuts off the grip heaters when the alternator signal stops. You can turn them off manually, but if you forget, they will only run for 1 minute after your alternator stops.

The issue isn't needing to run the grip heaters when the bike is off....no need to do that, your switched circuit takes care of that, as does the Oxford shut off.....rather the issue is the direct wiring and not running any additional amperage thru my 36 year old system.

As Red points out, the same thing can be accomplished with the Apollo's and a relay.

[ZOA NOM]

Ok. That makes sense if there's an alternator sensor. I agree that you don't want that current load going through your ignition switch. The Apollos come with a relay.

[ribbert]

With the sort of riding I do, I've never been one to sacrifice function in favour of form, but there's a limit.

These things (heated) work a treat but at the cost of looking like a pizza delivery guy.



I've tried them out, they really are good but they'll never grace my bike!

Noel

[Waiex191]

I used to have a set of hippo hands, very similar but unheated.  I used them on my GN400 for the brutally cold commuting days.

[ribbert]

I used to have a set of hippo hands, very similar but unheated.  I used them on my GN400 for the brutally cold commuting days.

I think if I was commuting daily in the cold I would very quickly warm to the appearance of them, and just cop the pizza delivery jokes. They are comforting like warming your hands in front of an open fire.

Noel

[Waiex191]

Besides the hippo hands, I put an awful clear fairing on the GN. Plus I'd wear ski pants and a ski mask under my helmet. It was still cold. Now I just take the car. Too old for that foolishness.

[ZOA NOM]

I don't mind the cold at all. I wear a Firstgear one-piece thermal suit over my work attire and pop it into the V40 Givi Top Case when I get there in the morning. The warmer afternoon commute jacket is swapped for it on my way home. I don't mind cold, as long as there's no fog. That shit is a great way to get killed on a bike.

The Firstgear Suit :

[Millietant]

I don't mind the cold - as long as it's  not cold and wet a thing the same time - the road salt that's put down here during winter is a real pain in the #ss when it gets rained on and turn into a corrosion causing spray that gets everywhere.

If it gets extra cold, then I wear my wet suit dungarees under my 2 piece textile suit (with the thermal inner liners in place). That thing keeps me toasty in any temperatures and I always feel like wearing that 5mm thick neoprene suit underneath, will give some extra cushioning should I ever fall off in those conditions.

[ribbert]

.... the road salt that's put down here during winter is a real pain in the #ss when it gets rained on and turn into a corrosion causing spray that gets everywhere.

Dean, one of my niche specialties for a long time has been pre war cars and I have prepared many a vehicle over the years for repatriation to the UK. Built in an era when rust prohibitors were unheard of, examples brought here when new or early in their life could now be 50-100 years old and still rust and corrosion free (they used a lot of alloy). This makes them very coveted cars that attract premium prices in the UK and worth shipping "home".

I sometimes look at photos of bikes and parts for sale in the UK and can't believe the corrosion.

Perhaps it's not fair to mention this, but yesterday I went riding in the country, 30c/86f deg, cloudless blues skies, lush growth everywhere and a light breeze heavily laden with the smell of Spring and Summer - magnificent!

I don't like riding in the peak of Summer and will use the time between Christmas and the end of January to carry out my annual maintenance, which consists of not riding the FJ for 6 weeks. 

Our financial year ends June 30, unlike the US, so there is no pressure anywhere and the whole commercial world just about shuts down over that time and it feels like the entire country is on holidays, not a time to be hitting the roads. Minimum annual leave here is a month, plus accrued public holidays, days in lieu etc padding it out even further, some jobs such as Police and other emergency services getting 6 weeks paid leave and because of our weather over Christmas, everyone goes on holiday, mostly to the coast.

Noel