Handlebar Warmer problem solved!

[Doogs]

What if we were to spray our bars with white engine paint before installing our grips? It's an old hot rodder's trick to paint the bottom of their intake with white paint to reflect heat. Also, ceramic is an insulator, right? A lot of engine paints contain ceramic, so in theory that should stop the bars from acting like a heat sink.

 

[Kevin Garceau]

Its an old hotrodder trick that never worked!

Been around drag engines my entire life, seen all kinds of crazy things.

 

[2008 Nytro RTX]

You said the warmers shut off when they get below 4,000 RPMS,But I find this not to be true. as I was warming my sled up today by letting it idle I turned on the warmers and they got warm,Never went anywhere near 4,000 rpms.

I read in SNOWTECH that if you hit the brakes they SHUT OFF

This is the 2nd time I am hearing this,Whos great idea was that? thats fucking crazy!

 

[lucky_7]

You said the warmers shut off when they get below 4,000 RPMS,But I find this not to be true. as I was warming my sled up today by letting it idle I turned on the warmers and they got warm,Never went anywhere near 4,000 rpms.

I read in SNOWTECH that if you hit the brakes they SHUT OFF

This is the 2nd time I am hearing this,Whos great idea was that? thats *****ing crazy!

Just don't hit the brakes!!

 

[Doogs]

I've been thinkin about this problem all morning and came up with another possible (at least partial) solution. What do you guys think about glueing a piece of fiberglass cloth around the bar underneath the heater element or slip-on grips? Most header wraps are fiberglass to keep heat inside the headers and out of the engine bay. So I was thinking; why wouldn't it keep heat from sinking into the steel bars?

 

[2008 Nytro RTX]

You said the warmers shut off when they get below 4,000 RPMS,But I find this not to be true. as I was warming my sled up today by letting it idle I turned on the warmers and they got warm,Never went anywhere near 4,000 rpms.

I read in SNOWTECH that if you hit the brakes they SHUT OFF

This is the 2nd time I am hearing this,Whos great idea was that? thats *****ing crazy!

Just don't hit the brakes!!

Hahaha,Just keep on the gas. Your hands would be warm! That or you will be dead and won't have to worry about cold hands lol

 

[Rockmeister]

They don't fully shut-off, they run about 10% on mine at idle.
It is very possible they could be very different from sled to sled even with-in the same model as this is a programmed function inside the ECU.

If this is a programmed function of the ECU, is it a reprogrammable function, can a remapping edit that function?

Like that you and others are thinking deeply on this issue.

Simple answer?
Yes, and No... lol

It IS possible to reprogram the ECU.
However, there are many questions that I don't have the answers to, and not sure anyone does.

One, is the part of the ECU that controls the warmers re-programmable without replacing the chip that holds the info?
IE a EEPROM or similar, that is re-programmable rather than a one time burn chip.

Two, is there a SERIOUS reason that they are programmed the way they are?
IE There have been a few fires due to low voltage, is that the reason they programmed them this way?

Was it a NON-serious reason?
IE They mistakenly thought you wouldn't need the heat then?

Does the ECU get "lost" or something similar and they did this to prevent that condition?

There are many more questions, but this gives you a good idea.

Seriously doubt it is a load issue on the output components as some have pondered, as the ECU runs full blast anyway in some modes and can handle direct shorts to ground..

Mr Sled & others (Like rxl etc) are working on a plug and play solution that will work for most without serious risk to you or your sled.
With as much serious technical attention as is being focused on this, I see a reasonable solution in our very near future.

(The general tone about this issue has changed, for the most part, from whining and naysayers going "don't do this and don't do that" to smart people asking well thought out questions, how about this? and how about that?
Looking for solutions, rather than just adding negativity. Good sign! )

 

[Metallicat]

I've been thinkin about this problem all morning and came up with another possible (at least partial) solution. What do you guys think about glueing a piece of fiberglass cloth around the bar underneath the heater element or slip-on grips? Most header wraps are fiberglass to keep heat inside the headers and out of the engine bay. So I was thinking; why wouldn't it keep heat from sinking into the steel bars?

This is essentially what MrSled is doing to his sled, except he is using a cork (I believe) insulator from Doo (I think that is what he wrote). He said that Nelsons in Michigan has been doing this for several years with very good results. I've gotta give Nelsons a call Monday to get the finer details. Evidently Doo owns the patent for this.

 

[apltx08]

The poly grips look slippery.

Not sure but what I'm looking for is for riding on colder days a QUICK and EASY way of adding some HEAT and when the extra HEAT isn't needed just pull them off and store them for the next cold day...I'll rig them up to plug in my 12v acc. outlet, nice and easy...I think it could do the trick whitout having to MODIFY a hole bunch of stuff and VOID WARRANTY! its worth a try for $40.00 +/-

I'll "PATENT" it and sell it to YAM

 

[Kevin Garceau]

Your going to put them over the stock grips?

 

[apltx08]

Your going to put them over the stock grips?

YEP I was thinking of doing...this is for colder days kind of a booster way to get more heat! when needed quick and simple...will it work! I think it will I'll keep you guys posted once we get SNOW to ride

 

[RacerDave]

These might be a workable solution for the really cold days.
http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Aer ... 16731.html

At 1.6 amp draw you could run them from the aux point if you wire on a plug in. I'd seen these before in bike catalogs but never thought much about them till a poster on another sight brought them up.

 

[RacerDave]

Racerdave....could u explain to me a little more on what your suggesting to do?

That was a suggestion for MrRXL to get power for his mod, not to just run the heaters them selves from.

 

[pat the rat]

i know they look silly but ive been riding with gauntlets with my old warrior and now on the new vector,the rx1 was a tad better than the vec imo,i think the problem is no wind protection,that's why on the apex chassis,they seem to work less,but let me tell you as soon as i installed the gauntlets,i cant stand them with 3 bars on the gauge,im not ready to modify my wiring and risk of frying something,so for me,the gauntlets are the best way to have''HOT'' hands,even with all the mods to get them to work properly,if there is like a 60 to 70 mph wind directly on the bars how can they stay warm,stick out youre finger at that speed and look at how long it'l stay warm.the new rev xp are having the same problems,but there is ''NO'' windsheild on it,the handguards are not the solution either,ive tried it and did nothing for me,just my 2 cent

 

[Apex809]

I 2nd that Pat the Rat. I took large zip lock bags on a ride taped them aound the handlbars and had to turn the heaters down hands where hot as @#$#. People made fun of me,but hey at least my hands stayed warm.