And bang on cue! Winter has arrived in a flurry of high winds, unseasonal cloud bursts and many metres deep snow on the mountains, attempting to inflict hypothermia onto any remiss biker not fully prepared for the frigid months ahead. Yes, proper gloves help a good deal, hand guards as well, but nothing replaces a heater. Most premium modern motorcycles are OEM equipped with heated grips, but what is a rider to do on a slightly lower spec model or older machine not furnished with such niceties? Well, clicking on DMD’s website to find your local stockist of Oxford Hot Grips would be a flippin’ good start.
We took a quick gander at Oxfords Pro Adventure Hot Grips retailing at R3,495.00
HOTGRIPS PRO are the latest evolution of Oxford’s HOTGRIPS range, a fully integrated heated grip, which comes in 3 brand new grip patterns. On a practical level, these are their first fully silicone grips; this material increases their lifespan by up to 200% without compromising comfort or performance, as well as reducing cable strain and increasing grip levels. Moreover, there is also no separate switchgear to find space for and install, because each grip houses its own internal temperature control unit, operated by a power/temperature button with an LED light on the clutch-side grip. On a more technical level, the intelligent controller will independently measure and control the temperature of each grip using inbuilt thermistors to maintain the desired temperature setting, thus preventing your hand from overheating or not staying warm enough.
The innovative ‘Heat Setting Memory’ function stores previous heat setting and defaults to this at power-up, saving time when in regular use. The Integrated controller allows riders to adjust the temperature without removing their hand from the grip and the new integrated controller means that the HotGrips wiring loom is even easier to install.
As mentioned earlier the Responsive Heat Settings controlled by the built-in thermistor technology auto-regulates temperature and helps with precise temperature control, simply press the button repeatedly and multi-coloured LED lights indicate temperature settings which are red for 45°C, white for 40°C and blue for 35°C. The really lekker thing is that the LED lights automatically dim to reduce distraction when riding at night.
If you end up riding in the wet, which seems likely with the weird weather at the moment the fully waterproof connectors and integrated controller meet IP65 rating to protect your HotGrips from the elements. They are also furnished with a Battery Saving Mode which protects against flat batteries, so if you forget to turn the switch off it will do it for you! – Jaaa…. for all us over fifties out there – Nê? They also offer an additional battery saving mode for lithium batteries, now common on high-performance motorcycles.
Some other lekker features are that they fit all 7/8″ or 22mm handlebars, So Hey! You should be able to fit them to your dirt bike as well if it has its own charging system…. which most do these days. The grips have a hex tread pattern for vibration absorption and durability, the knurling tread pattern creates the largest surface area for maximum grip and control and gripper bars for tough terrain where grip is even more important for control and stability.
Now here is quite an interesting feature, and maybe “Don’t Try This At Home”, the grips are customisable, meaning the grip length of 132mm but can be trimmed to 123, 120 or 117mm if required, with open ends allowing bar end weights to be fitted. Ummm…. Jaa….. Hmmm…. Maybe, we’ll probably bugger it up, but then, sometimes we’re not the brightest crayons in the box – rather let your local dealer do that for you.
