Installation of heated fists for Harley-Davidson
Many times, when temperatures lower, the pleasure of rolling on a motorcycle becomes suffering due to cold. One of the remedies we can put is to install some heated fists, that will provide us with heat in one of the most exposed body parts while we drive, our hands. The ability to keep our limbs slightly hotter, in addition to increasing comfort, will add safety and precision when accelerating, stopping and using the clutch.
In the market there are several kits of thermal or heating cuffs, it is important to choose a quality article (when working with electricity, better that they are efficient and safe) and that adapts perfectly to our motorcycle model. Virtually all systems work in a similar way: they are connected directly to the battery, protected by a fuse, and electricity becomes heat because within each fist the wiring becomes a fine winding that works as a resistance, which is heated When the current begins to pass through it.
Many devices also incorporate some thermal control system, to modify the operating temperature of the fists. It is generally variable resistors or potentiometers that we can turn in one sense or another to achieve greater or lesser temperature. At the same time they also function as a switch, allowing the total off of the fists.
We will proceed to the installation of heated fists for Harley-Davidson with conventional accelerator, in models from 1973 to the present.
To start we will disassemble the old fists following the workshop manual of our model. To do this we will loosen the tensioners of the accelerator cables and return and remove the right fist. For the left fist we may need to use some strength, or even cut it, since they are stuck to the handlebar with a very resistant special tail.
We then introduced the heating fist of accelerator in the handlebar and reassemble the accelerator cables and check that everything works well. This fist has three electrical cables at its end that must pass through the interior of the handlebar to the other side. To pass them we can help us by binding a piece of wire to the cables and throwing gently.
The left fist also has three cables that we will simply connect with the ends of the corresponding color cable that come out of the handlebar.
Then we introduce the fist in the handlebar, before putting a little special adhesive for fists, and we close the switch housing that holds the end of the same. From this left fist a cable comes out that we have to carry next to the original cables through the handlebar, under the deposit and even the battery.
After disconnecting the negative battery cable as a precautionary measure we will connect the ends of the heated fists cable to the battery and mass, following the manufacturer's instructions, which can vary a bit depending on the year and motorcycle model.
We connect the battery again and assemble everything again.
The time has come to check if everything works correctly. The left fist has a rotating switch (with a projection so that we can operate even with the gloves on) with several heat positions (low, medium and tall). We put it at a maximum temperature, and after a few minutes we should notice that both fists begin to heat (sometimes one heats up more than another until they reach the operating temperature, is normal).
We have measured the maximum temperature with our infrared thermometer, and has given us 60.5 ºC, an optimal temperature to be used even with thick winter gloves.
Generally this is an accessory that is not given much importance, or that seems too "refined" for the hard motorists who roll to the wind, impassive before the weather. But when it is installed and winter comes we wondered how we had not occurred to us before. Ride Hard ... But Warm!
Frank Burguera