Winterizing the WRx - Hand guards, heated grips, and more

I thought that I could make it through the winter without riding the WRx. I was wrong, and found myself daydreaming about riding it. I took it out a few times when the temps were in the lower 30s, but it was really cold on my hands. So for Christmas I got some Tusk D-Flex hand guards, Tusk grip heaters, and some [not so] lovely mitts to cover it all up and keep the heat in. I knew that I wanted to power the heated grips with a switched circuit so I didn't accidentally leave them on and kill the battery. So I decided to install a power distribution block that would only be on when the ignition key was on for any accessories.

First step, I bought these two terminal blocks at Radio Shack and had to find a good place to mount them. This bike is pretty tight for space, but I found some behind the radiator shroud. There was a nice flat area on the plastic scoop behind the radiator, so that's where they went. The one on the right is for +12V, and the one on the left is for ground.


To get power to it, I ran a wire from the battery, through a 20 amp fuse, to a small 20 amp relay that I had laying around. Then wired it back to the power distribution block. To switch the relay, I used the blue wire that powers the running lights for the turn signals. I have aftermarket signals, so this wire wasn't being used anyway. So now I have switched power going to the block. I also ran a wire from the negative battery terminal to the grounding block, just so I would be sure to have a good grounding spot.

To install the grip heaters, I first pulled the grips off. I wrapped several layers of electrical tape around the clutch side, and cut the end off the throttle tube for installing the hand guards later. The Tusk grip heaters were self-adhesive, so I stuck them on.



I put the grips back on with the old hairspray trick, and it worked well. Then on to wiring. I ran one lead from each grip heater together and back to the grounding block. Then the other leads I wired together and connected to the output of the switch. I used a small rocker switch rather than the giant toggle switch that came with the heaters. I mounted the switch to the right side of the headlight shroud. On the hot side of the switch, I connected power directly from the distribution block. On the low side, I went from the block through the resistor supplied with the kit. I strapped the resistor to the back of the radiator to keep it from melting any plastic.

Here is the switch mounted to the headlight shroud, and you can see the relay which I mounted to the ignition cylinder with some double sided foam tape.


And here is the power distribution block, and the resistor for the low setting of the grip heaters is visible in the top of the photo:


Don't forget to leave some slack on the throttle side:


The Tusk D-Flex hand guards went on without any problems.



With the shroud in place, everything is nicely concealed. Also check out my other sweet ride in the background...


The hand guards look good. The color matches pretty well.


I am not sure that I am fully satisfied with the way the relay is mounted. I might relocate it closer to the power distribution blocks. After doing it, I feel like there is too much wire running forward and back, and having it all move with the handlebars. Maybe I'll stick it all back near the battery, and try to trace that blue wire for the running lights back there. But for now it all works.

I don't have photos of the mitts, but I will get some shots and add them here. I had Symtec grip heaters on my SV, and they were... meh. Not very hot, but warm enough to keep off the frost bite. These Tusk heaters? Holy crap. If I left them on high and kept my hands tight on the grips, I think it would actually bake my skin. I love it. The mitts keep the wind out and act like little ovens for my hands. I only rode to work once so far, but it was 21 deg F in the morning and not much warmer in the evening and my hands were toasty warm the whole time. I also wired the lead for my homemade heated vest to the power block. (Clicky here for vest thread) I love that vest...

Nice writeup. Living in WI, I've been thinking of doing the same thing.

Here are some pics of the mitts. They were cheap, from Rocky Mountain:
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/43/53/218/962/-/9651/ATV-Logic-Hand-Protectors/mitt





They probably aren't the prettiest solution. They allow me to wear my summer (only) gloves and my hands stay toasty warm! I used to wear snowboard mittens, but they were pretty bulky and don't have any actual crash protection. I had to notch the mitts around the mirrors, then stitch a small strip of velcro to close it back up. They slip on and off really easily.