Oxford heated grips

[captainscarlet]

This is a description of my installation of a set of Oxford heated grips.
 
I purchased Oxford's Premium model which comes in three different flavours, Adventure, Touring and Sports.  The three models are identical save for the grip pattern and the length of the grips.  Fortunately for us Tracer riders the Adventure version, which are 132 mm long, are the same length as the OEM grips and therefore fit perfectly.  I had considered the OEM heated grips but they're priced at £162 and I am also somewhat put off by the numerous complaints of uneven heat between left and right sides.  A quick google found me a set of Oxfords for only £50 and the decision was made.
 
The kit from Oxford includes the grips, a mounting plate, various fasteners, cables ties, superglue, control panel and cabling plus instructions.  Oxford recommend wiring the grips directly to the battery as the control panel includes an intelligent battery monitor which automatically switches the grips off if the engine isn't running.  However I elected to connect to an ignition switched power supply via one of the accessory connectors available behind the instrument cluster.
 
I started by removing the windscreen and associated bodywork to gain access to the accessory connectors behind the instrument cluster.  This is a straightforward job and you basically can't go wrong.  One word of warning, use a good fitting screwdriver to remove the plastic screws that hold the windscreen on.  If you don't its very easy to round them off as they are made of cheese.  Also the last piece of plastic in front of the instrument cluster is held on by five plastic pop-fittings.  Don't try and lever them out, simply push the small button in the middle and they will release.  Once you get the last panel off you will find a rubber boot protecting the four accessory connecters, one of which (the white one) is for the factory accessory plug.
 

 
There is a black connector, identical in shape to the white one and there are two mt 090 connectors which have blanks on the male side.  The square connectors are connected to Terminal 1 (white) and Terminal 2 (black) in the right most of the two fuse boxes behind the righthand fairing panel (see page 6-32 of the Euro Tracer handbook).  The two mt 090 connectors are connected to Auxiliary 1 and 2 in the fuse box to the left.  I chose to connect to Auxiliary 1 which corresponds to the mt 090 connector with the brown/yellow lead in the image above.  I also changed the 2 amp fuse in the fuse box corresponding to Aux 1 for the 5 amp fuse (the orange fuse in the image below) which was provided in the Oxford kit.
 
 

 
The Oxford kit includes a mounting plate for the control panel.  I modified this so I could fit the control panel next to the lefthand grip assembly.  I bent the bracket back on itself in a vice and removed part of the bracket and rounded it off with a grinder.  I then drilled a 10 mm hole in the bracket so I could mount it using the rear view mirror.  Before fitting I sprayed the mounting plate half matt black.
 
 

 
The mounting plate slotted nicely under the upper bracket for the hand guard assembly and the whole thing is held in place by reinstalling the mirror. Once in position the control panel for the grips can easily be operated using a thumb whilst maintaining a grip on the bars.
 

 
 

 
Next stage was to fit the grips themselves.  They are clearly marked left (L) and right ® so you can't go wrong.  You need to remove the hand guards which is easily done.  You can remove them as a whole unit and leave the inner brackets in place.  Getting the OEM grips off was a piece of cake.  I followed advice from elsewhere on this forum and simply shoved the nozzle of my compressor air pistol under the outside edge of each grip and squeezed the trigger.  The grips were blown straight off.  No need for cutting or messing about with solvents.  It means, if necessary, the OEM grips can be refitted one day. 
 
I test fitted the Oxford grips before gluing them in place.  There is an arrow on the cable housing of each grip which should ideally point downwards. This position doesn't work on the Tracer as it prevents the clutch lever from being pulled all the way in.
 
 

 
I therefore rotated the grips slightly to allow proper operation of the clutch lever.  I used the same position on the throttle side without any fouling or contact with the brake lever.
 
 

 
Once satisfied with the position of the grips it was time to glue them in place.  I used the superglue provided in the kit and put a liberal amount on the handlebars, metal on the clutch side and plastic on the throttle side.  Do not hang about once you've applied the glue.  Slide the grips straight into position.  The glue, particularly on the throttle side, dries very quickly and you will have little or no time to correct the position of the grips if you get it wrong.
 
Next job was to route the cabling.  On the lefthand side this means the grip cable plus the control unit cable; on the righthand side just the grip cable. I routed all the cabling along the existing cable trunking which passes through the handlebar risers in the middle of the bars, making use of existing cable ties and adding additional ties as necessary.  The result is a very factory looking finish in my opinion.  On the throttle side you need to be careful to leave enough free cable before your first cable tie to allow free movement of the throttle.  At this point I decided to remove some more bodywork to make things easier.  I removed the black surround that sits on top of the tank and the righthand side tank cowling and inner fairing panel (as one piece).
 
 

 
I pulled all the wiring together through the main cable holder that is attached to the headstock and routed it back towards a hole in the frame that is located just to the left of and below the chassis number stamp.
 
 
 


You can see the hole in the frame in the picture below.  The wires in the top of the picture are parts of the factory loom disappearing through the hole to other parts of the bike.  The collection of wires (covered in electrical tape) below the hole are the cables from the grips, connected to the cable from the grip control panel.  There is a third connector from the grip control panel (not visible) that will connect to the power feed from Aux 1 (behind the instrument panel).  I basically collected the wires together as shown and pushed them back into the hole in the frame to locate them and then cable tied everything to the existing loom.  The cables are in such a position that there is little movement when turning the handlebars and the forks can turn lock to lock without impinging on the cabling or connectors.
 
 

 
The power cable (as mentioned above) goes back up towards the headstock and behind the instrument cluster and connects to Aux 1.  Here is a picture of the final positioning of the cables with everything in place.
 
 

 
The final shot is of the finished job with the grips on and working with the ignition.  I'm extremely pleased with the way it turned out and so far the grips perform well providing good even heat levels on both sides.
 


Any questions don't hesitate to ask or drop me a PM.
 
CS

[betoney]

Great write-up, Thank you for taking the time to post the procedure with photos.

[zachd]

Nice write up. I installed mine last year and love them. They have saved my hands countless times on those cold mornings. I also mounted my controller in the exact same spot. Can almost reach it without even taking my hand off the grip. One piece of advice, is watch out for the throttle side breaking lose. After about a year of being on there, the provided glue let go on me. The grip rotated all the way around. Was a sketchy ass ride home. I went and purchased some high strength gorilla glue and haven't had the same issue repeat itself since.

[wordsmith]

The writings on it are upside down now but I don't need them and it does not really bother me. 

Would be OK here in Australia, then.

[davroslives]

Hi. All. Just fitted mine after a cold 3hr trip to Weymouth. Awesome kit and 1/3 price of the OEM grips! Tried to fit mine to the bike electronics but only got half an amp flowing. Guess you cant fit the Oxfords to the bike controller. 
One thing to note though. Following the Oxford circuit diagram means connecting direct to the battery. This means that if you forget to turn them off, you'll get a flat battery! Not good on a trip!
I'm going to fit a 12v relay connected to switched live to power the grips. When i find switched live that is?

[upshift]

One thing to note though. Following the Oxford circuit diagram means connecting direct to the battery. This means that if you forget to turn them off, you'll get a flat battery! Not good on a trip! I'm going to fit a 12v relay connected to switched live to power the grips. When i find switched live that is?

Not sure which generation of Oxfords you got but mine switch off automatically a couple of minutes after the ignition is turned off so I never have to worry about a flat battery (for this reason).
 
 
I bet yours are the same but maybe read the manual to confirm?