hi all, Recently bought a 2012 Multi which sadly hasn't got the Ducati heated grips fitted. Although I like the idea of fitting the Ducati ones so everything's nice and neat and they can be controlled via the ignition button they are pretty expensive at £230 plus fitting. So...I'm considering buying some traditional ones to fit myself (Oxford probably)...is this a mistake? Has anyone else gone down the cheapskate route and regretted it??
I've a pair of oe ones I'm due to fit soon so can't comment on performance but you should be able to find them for just under 200 if you look around - still not cheap mind you:-(
Admittedly having them working off the starter button is good but equally ducati grips have been known to fail and for £200 it's not a cheap way to find out. These come highly rated and could easily be made hidden away unlike the Oxford ones with a big box on the bars. You get either a button or a switch, plus you fit any pair of grips you like such as Pro grips etc Heat Demon from Symtec Heated Grip Kit > Heat Demon from Symtec
I would go for Oxford, the only Oxford product thats worth its money in my experience... I have the factory ones on the Multistrada and they're good but as said, known to fail and really expensive to replace. If I was fitting Oxford grips i would use one of the accessory sockets to triger a relay to power them. Although the sockets are rated at 10a and could do it easily the relay method would mean they still had full capacity to power other bits and bobs.
As much as I have the oe ones and like the integration, the button isn't exactly an easy reach. I always end up using my left hand and reaching across
The Ducati kit does integrate nicely, as it should, and although they have been known to fail they do carry a 2 year warranty. I personally don't like the 'clunkiness' of the Oxford. The grips don't look the best and the control box just looks out of date and is a pain in the arse to fit and look the part. It always looks likes a cheap after market add on. Where the Ducati grips have been too expensive, I've fitted the Datatool grips. They work well and you just wire them direct to battery. The controls are built into the left hand grip and they sense voltage so when the bike is switched off, so do they. No chance of flattening the battery...
