I bought this bike when it was one year old and it came with the Hot Grips^®. The previous owner really liked them and had them on His new bike. These grips in the photos attached are getting a bit worn but they still heat up quite nicely. I will not have another bike without them. A good friend of mine chided me for being a "sissy with the hot hands". Then we went for a ride to Texas. One very cold rainy 34 degree morning in Kansas He asked if he could ride my bike for a while! The sissy!

He bought some Hot Grips^® for his bike as soon as we got home! I have traveled through 45 states so far and I have used the Hot Grips^® even in July. When it rains at four in the morning your hands get too cold to keep riding without them. My coldest ride has been in Minnesota at 27 degrees. I was so cold when I got home I could barely put my feet down when I stopped. The hot Grips^® kept my hands warm enough to keep control of the bike. I think I will keep it parked when it gets that cold. I don't like it when my nose is frozen shut and my eyes are frozen open Ugh!

Ed C.

Compared to the Japan Honda heated grip kits, the Hot Grips^® brand are an incredible bargain. You save $150. compared to Honda's kit, and they are made in the USA. Once I installed these on my GL1800, my wife wanted a pair on her VFR800. My friends tried them and just had to convert their bikes too. The best accessory I have ever bought for any motorcycle. Unlike heated gloves, they are always with you if the weather turns bad unexpectedly. Great installation instructions. They are just fantastic ON ANY SUNDAY. I had one question and learned they have terrific telephone customer support.

Unlike the Kimpex snowmobile grip heaters, which go under your grips, Hot Grips are completely self contained; your old grips get tossed. They seem to be a medium hardness, but, at 1.45" in diameter, are pretty big. Good for carpal tunnel, I suppose, and there's a lot of surface area to radiate heat out to your paws. They're available in three different lengths, any of which will work on an ST; see next paragraph. The interior is hard plastic, with deep and wide longitudinal grooves running through them. The idea behind the grooves is that you apply epoxy to the bars, slide the grips on, and the epoxy locks into the grooves. The right grip pretty much has to be epoxied onto the throttle sleeve, but if you think you might ever want to change bars, they do have a provision in the instructions for not using epoxy on the left side. That optional setup worked fine for me, as I have Heli-Bars, and wanted the option of being able to remove them. The left side grip now slides on and off easily, but is secure when the bar weight is in place.

I start getting a feel for a product's quality as soon as I open the package and start reading the instructions. Too many instructions sound like they've been translated from Swahili by way of Serbo-Croation, and rarely do they 'fit' my bike; I just assume I'll have to fiddle to make it work. Imagine my joy when I opened a small package marked "Spacer kit for all Honda Sport Bikes such as VFR800 and ST1100...". Imagine that: someone actually went to the trouble of seeing how their product would work with my bike, then REALLY went to some trouble and had spacers of various sizes made to make installation of my bar end weights a snap. With the spacers, the fact that I had Heli-Bars, and a Vista Cruise, was not a problem; I just installed appropriate spacers until the bar weights just kissed the grips. Sweet.

The grips each have a two-conductor wire, looking like black lamp cord, coming off the inboard end. These are wired to ground, and to 12V via a resistor (for low heat) and switch. Of course you'd want to use a 'switched' 12V source; otherwise, you could inadvertently leave the grips on and drain your battery (at 15W max, it would take a while, though). There is an optional rotary control which gives infinite control over the heat, and loses the resistor. I recommend the rotary control, as I have never found a great place to locate the resistor, and like the idea of less wiring. The instructions (which were clear and understandable, giving reasons why you should or should not do various steps) mentioned an optional Radio Shack LED, and, not wanting to leave a farkel unfarkeled, I installed it. Starts out moderately bright, ramps up to real bright, possibly too bright at night. We'll see.

After installation, I started the bike, turned the dial, and within seconds felt heat at the grips. Unlike the tape-style heaters, which lose left side heat to the bar, the Hot Grips^® heated evenly. And, cranked up all the way, they put out LOTS of heat in a short amount of time.

I'm awarding Hot Grips^® my 5-wheelie award for a fine product, great instructions, and great service (called them Tuesday afternoon; Jim at Hot Grips said, "I think I can still get these out today; they should be there on Thursday". He did, they were. The basic set is $90 delivered. I paid $137 with the rotary control and 2-day shipping. I recommend buying direct, not from a parts house, because the factory knows exactly what you need for the ST. Unless you live in Hawaii or Singapore, or only ride on sunny Sunday afternoons, you should have these on your bike. Start dropping Christmas hints now. http://www.hotgrips.com

We have tested heated covers that fit over your handgrips, and even heating elements that fit under your handgrips, but these are complete handgrip units, with the heating elements built right in, like the factory would do it.

Hot Grips^® are available for all Honda Gold Wings from 1981 on and most Harley-Davidsons from 1982 on. They also make models for streetbikes, like the Honda ST1100, and most ATVs and snowmobiles. The Gold Wing and Harley models sell for $89.95 per set, complete with wiring and a hi-lo-off switch. There is also a variable heat controller (thermostat) available for an additional $38.95.

We've been using Hot Grips^® for over a year now on a Gold Wing, and couldn't be more pleased with the results. They were easy to install (though you have too wait 24 hours for the epoxy to dry), heat up quickly and evenly, and in every other way function just like the high-dollar BMW units. For less than a hundred bucks, I'd call them a real bargain.

CYCLE Magazine writes about Hot Grips^® ®: Cold Hands can mean the difference between a brisk bracing winter ride and a sh-sh-shiveringly miserable one. So why does a rider deck himself out in long underwear, woolen socks, ski mask and four riding suits only to get 50 miles down the road from his nice warm wall heater and discover frostbite on his pinkies? Easy, heavy gloves interfere with the operation of the motorcycle - the throttle, the brake lever, the clutch lever, the instruments. Consider Hot Grips^® ®: hand grips heated from the motorcycle's electrical system. Jim Hollander originally developed Hot Grips^® for enduro riding in the Northeast, where race temperatures often drop below freezing. He knew cold, numb fingers meant more than just misery to the enduro rider. Our first opportunity to try Hot Grips® was California's version of deep winter. It was raining with the air temperature in the upper-forties. Out in the rain they kept the rider's hands toasty, but not so hot that his hands became uncomfortable in winter gloves. In slightly warmer temperatures, (mid-fifties and up) the low heat setting works fine. Hot Grips^® strike us as a sensible solution to the cold-hand problem. Just think, you can install Hot Grips^® in the time it takes now to thaw out your hands after a cold afternoon ride.

SNOWMOBILE Magazine writes: One of the most convenient features you can have on your snowmobile is a set of electric hand warmers. Anyone who has ever put in a full day of riding knows how cold, cramped, and wrinkled your hands can get, even on the warmest of winter days. Heated grips not only prevent this misery, but in many cases allow you to get by with a thinner, more comfortable glove. Last winter, after having my gloves stuffed full of snow by one of the practical jokers in our group, I was able to ride a sled equipped with warmers, bare-handed, while the gloves dried out. Accessory kits that are available from Hot Grip ® Manufacturing allow you to install hand warmers on just about any snowmobile ever made. We've seen a few versions of the in-bar heater over the years, but none approaches the success of the latest way to keep the mitts warm delivered by Hot Grips, designed and manufactured by Jim Hollander. Every now and then a product comes along that offers advantages virtually obsoleting its predecessors. This is exactly the case with Hot Grips®.

RIDER Magazine writes: I've discovered a product that threatens to consign my electric gloves to mildew city - Hot Grips^®. Countless BMW riders are even now saying to themselves: "Well, duh, Smith, we've had model specific heated grips for years." The trouble, however, was that to get them you usually had to buy a BMW, and while I have nothing against the bikes themselves, I always thought it was a high price to pay for warm hands. Some riders I've talked to swear by heated grips even through the dead of winter, especially those who ride faired bikes that keep the winds off their hands. On my bike, the Hot Grip's true strength is as a spring and fall backup, when I either forget to bring heavy gloves, or don't feel like stopping to put them on, or when the weather turns nasty unexpectedly. I find myself using them a lot more than I ever thought I would, and although I'm not putting my heated gloves in storage just yet, they'll log a lot more miles in the saddlebag this winter.

CYCLE NEWS writes for dirt bike riders: Hot Grips^® are put on a bike in the same manner as normal grips, with the exception of the hot leads and ground wires that let current flow through a copper core inside the grips. Dick "King Richard" Burleson's secret weapon for the frigid Stone Mountain National Enduro - electric hand warmer grips. Burleson had what he called "My secret weapon -- literally, the hot set up." Former enduro/ISDT rider Jim Hollander has a patent pending on heated hand grips. "They are wired to the magneto, said Burleson, "So when I revved it up the grips got hotter, sort of a built in incentive system. They work really well." Hot Grips^® are easy to install and will keep one's fingers toasty warm through the severest of conditions. Jack Penton and Team True Sport run the hot leads into the headlight hot wire, which works fine and is also convenient.

MOTORCYCLIST Magazine writes: Some riders feel the best way to stay warm in really nasty weather is to pile on layers of clothing. If you can live with that, fine, but this same approach won't work on your hands. Since they have rather important duties like working the controls and steering around sharp objects, they must remain as mobile as possible. Instead of leaving us all to fumble around for the controls with numb fingers, Hi-Point Racing Products has found a way to deal with the elements. They call them Hot Grips^® and they work on the same principle as an electric blanket or toaster, the motorcycle's lighting power charges the heating element molded into the rubber grip.

MOTOCROSS ACTION Magazine writes: We've got a hot one here Chief. Unlike our enduro-type friends, motocrossers seldom race in such miserable conditions as cold and rain; heated grips are not a necessity. However, lots of MXers have street bikes, and those poor unfortunates back east actually do race in miserable conditions...sometimes. That's when some of these Hot Grips^® would come in real handy. ISDE competitor Jim Hollander came up with the idea of getting wired for warmth. These could well be the "hot set-up" in more ways than one.

DIRT BIKE Magazine wrote: Keeping your hands warm during a sub freezing race was usually impossible, thus results would suffer drastically. We're not saying that Hot Grips^® made Dick Burleson win the Stone Mountain National Enduro, but he definitely had an advantage. King Richard won the event convincingly, and when asked about the grips after the race, he just grinned. Anything that's good enough for Dick is good enough for us. Having these little jewels in your bag of tricks will definitely prove an advantage when the proper time comes. Cold weather racing is a reality, preparation is critical. While everyone is suffering in extreme cold, you are less affected. Besides, if King Richard uses 'em, how can you lose.

CYBERCYCLE Magazine says: "...All the modifications enhance the Monster's (Ducati M900 ) inherent character: a bad boy you can't help but love. One possible exception is the Hot Grips^® which may seem like a pure luxury item, unless you've ever lived in New England. Chances are you could've used a set of these more than once. Around these parts, if you want to make the most of a beautiful, but short, riding season, a pair of heated grips can be invaluable. On a cool morning or evening, or a cold rainy day, heated grips can mean the difference between enjoying a ride in relative comfort, or just getting through it. They can also be considered a safety device as they can reduce rider fatigue. "

CYCLE WORLD Magazine Editor-in-Chief talks about heated grips: In a May article on the 1998 Honda VFR800, the Editor notes a number of improvements the bike needs, including: "Fit some heated handgrips while you're at it." (Hot Grips^® Mfg. notes: We're working on it, we have a Honda VFR 800 in our shop.)

SNOW GOER TRADE Magazine writes: Heated grips are one of our top selling items. I believe in them, if a snowmobiler's hands are warm, it's fun to ride.

SNOWMOBILE BUSINESS Magazine writes: This family run business excels at manufacturing heated handgrips for snowmobiles with both external and in-the-handlebar wiring. With his background as a motorcycle enduro racer, Hollander set out to solve the problem of cold hands. Soon Bombardier came calling and asked Jim to make heated grips for the snowmobile industry. Hollander's company mission is "to keep customers' hands warm, to supply heated grips as original equipment for all snowmobile manufacturers, and retrofit all others." It is the most efficient heating device available because of the close proximity of the heating wires to the operator's hands. The entire family snowmobiles in New Hampshire on a trail system directly accessible from their 15-acre factory-homesite.

SNOW WEEK writes: Hands usually get cold first because they are often exposed to the air and the steel handlebar often retains the cold temperatures. It's also due to the fact that there is less blood circulation in your fingers. A more popular hand warmer over the years has been the Hot Grips^® replacement heated grips. The Hot Grip ^® is heated by running an electrical current through the thin plastic grip, which results in probably the quickest change in warmth. In other words you feel the Hot Grips^® before you would the other designs. If you get cold hands while snowmobiling, then you're not using Hot Grips^®. A variety of styles and diameters makes it possible to mount Hot Grips^® on any handlebar, and the high/off/low settings make it possible to ride comfortably in all temperatures.