A’ME Chicane Sports Bike Heated Grip Review
By Kevin on Jan 16, 2012 with Comments 0
Introduction
If you are like me, there is no inappropriate temperature to ride a motorcycle…just inappropriate layers of protection. If the roads are safe, you can bet that I will be on two wheels for my commute to and from work. I get grouchy after a few days off the bike.
So as winter is approaching in North Texas, and I have a fairly new bike to play with, I am looking at some ways to keep myself warm on my morning commute. I thought I would share some of my experiences and help you find some ways to stay warm on your motorcycle.
Perhaps the one thing that gets cold the quickest and must be addressed while riding in cold weather is a rider’s hands. I have yet to find winter gloves that can keep your fingers warm on the highway at sub-freezing temperatures. One way to keep the fingers from turning blue is to add some heated grips. I looked at the OEM Yamaha grips to add to my FJR1300 but quickly realized how insane they were for asking $400 for a set of heated grips. So I started searching for some alternatives to keep my hands warm on a motorcycle. I found the A’ME Heated Chicane Sports Bike Grip while researching the web for options. They have a very intriguing design and a lot of tech in a set of heated grips, so I thought I would give them a shot. Here is my review.
Design / Install
The Chicane Sports Bike Grip from A’ME is an encapsulated heated grip. That means the heating element is enclosed in the rubber of the grip. You can purchase heating elements that slide under the grip but for quality of heat and build quality encapsulated is the way to go.
The Chicane grips kind of have a funky shape, being wider in the middle and more narrow on the ends but once I put them on the bike I quickly liked the shape of these new grips. I like a slightly wider than factory grip and these fit my hand just right. They are also much softer than the stock grips and provide a very tacky / no-slip surface.
The install could not have been easier. These grips wire directly to the battery, so there is no need to search for a switched power source to provide juice to the grips. Just connect them directly to the battery and the internal electronics on the grips will shut off the heat when your bike is off to keep from running down the battery.
A’ME provides three interchangeable throttle cable cams to work with your existing throttle. Just select the cam that is most like your OEM throttle cam and you are good to go. Trust me, if I can install these, you can install these.
The one problem I had with the install was the throttle side of the grip was about 1/2 inch shorter that the stock grip. This left a gap at the end of the grip prior to reaching the bar end. I know, I could cut the end of the bar, or re-drill the hole for the cable housing and slide everything to the right, but I just did not want to make those kind of modifications to the bike. So for now I have a gap at the end of the grip.
Controls
The heat controls for the grips are in each individual grip. In order to turn the grips on one of the six available heat levels each grip must be turned on individually from a single button on each grip. Press the button once and a small blue LED light flashes one time on the grip to show you are on the lowest heat level, push it again and the LED flashes two times. In order to set both grips to their highest heat levels the buttons must be pushed a total of 12 times.
This control scheme is one of the weakest features of these grips in my opinion.
- You have to push the buttons 12 times to in order to bring the grips to full heat.
- Because the buttons are on the grip they needed to be recessed in order to keep from inadvertently changing the heat level while you ride. Because they are recessed buttons it is near impossible to change the heat settings with gloves on, and unsafe to change heat levels while on the go.
- You can not check the heat level at a glance. In order to see what heat level the grips are on you have to push the button and count the number of flashes from the blue LED light.
Features
A’ME states that the rubber on the grips is made of a Vulcathane TM rubber compound. I have no idea what Valcathane is but it sure makes a very nice feeling motorcycle grip. I have installed Grip Puppies on bikes in the past to thicken and soften the grip. These grips are not as soft as Grip Puppies but they are very soft and feel much more durable than Grip Puppies. If you like soft grips, you will like these.
There is no need to worry about leaving the grips on when you park your motorcycle. Each grip monitors your battery voltage and if it detects a drop in battery voltage it will turn the grip off. The grips will come back on when you return to your bike and start it back up.
A”ME claims a heat range of 95F degrees to 135F degrees on the heat settings from 1 – 6. I have found the grips do not get quite hot enough for me as temperatures get cold and I wonder if the sample grip I have actually reaches the full 135F. On very cold mornings and a 45 minute commute, it is difficult to tell if the grip is actually on until I take my winter glove off and feel it with my hand.
Accessories
The A’ME Chicane grips come with everything needed for install: wiring harness, three interchangeable throttle cable cams, and the two grips.
Pros
- Ease of install
- One of the best feeling grips I have had on any bike
- Cool electronics that turns the grip off when you leave your bike to keep from draining the battery
Cons
- Finicky controls – hard to turn on with gloves, unsafe to change settings on the go
- One size fits all – throttle control was too short for a good fit on my motorcycle
- Could be hotter
Price
At the time of the writing the A’ME Chicane Sports Bike Grip retails for $139.95
Recommendation
This is a nice alternative to the outrageous prices the manufacturer charges for heated grips. It has many nice features that puts it ahead of many competing products. Make sure and check your individual platform to make sure the grip will fit your bike. As a first step to keeping your hands warm on a bike, this is a good price conscious product that performs as advertised.
Join the forum discussion on this postOther articles you may be interested in:
Filed Under: Featured • Gear Reviews • Motorcycle Videos
