Oxford Hot Grip

Ok, so this is less of a “Look what I just bought” moment and more of a “This is what you should buy” moment.

The Oxford Hot Grips are a god-send in the colder climate (and for general winter touring). It’s something I never really considered having until I rode to the famous Brass Monkey Rally here in New Zealand. For the uninitiated, the Brass Monkey Rally is held over the NZ Queens Birthday weekend at a little place called Oturehua which is as close to Ophir (where the coldest temperature in NZ of minus 26 deg Celsius was recorded). So here I was riding in minus 5 temps and just 80 km out of Dunedin with another 120 km or so to go, we stopped at a shop to get something to eat. With no bark busters, my fingers had literally frozen and I couldn’t even undo my helmet.

These things can get seriously hot. There are 4 heat settings 30% 40% 70% 100%. Generally, you use 100% to get them hot and dial them back to 40% or 30% for most rides. For those freezing (0 deg and colder) rides, you might use 70%. Only once I had to use the full 100% but after about 20 minutes I had to turn them down. And really, if it’s that cold you need to consider whether you should be riding at all.

The best thing is that they are only about $100 and are worth every cent. There’s a set to suit almost any bike. A word of warning … make sure you use the supplied glue no matter how firm they appear to be. They can slip around and foul the clutch lever … you have been warned!!

On my next bike (Triumph Tiger 800) I got the factory heated grips. They only have 2 settings (high and low) and don’t get as hot as the Oxford grips, but I wouldn’t be without them.