Heated Grips for Burgman 125

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burgman_commuter
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Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 6:23 am
Current Ride: Suzuki Burgman UH125A UK
Location: Edinburgh area

Heated Grips for Burgman 125

Post by burgman_commuter »

My wife used to have heated grips on her old Burgman 125 - Oxford Hotgrips for scooters, designed for scooters with small batteries and charging systems. Unfortunately they had a rather naff on/off switch and LED that mounted in the handlebar fairing.

Having recently traded up to a 2019 model Burgman 125 with ABS, etc, she wants another pair of heated grips and the Oxfords seem to be a good choice still, but she'd prefer something more like the Premium Touring Hotgrips with the temperature control and a controller that mounts near her left thumb.

I can't find any reliable information on whether the 125 can cope with them or if they'd be too much for its battery and charging system. Can anyone offer any advice and enlightmenment, please?

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Data
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Current Ride: 2016 Vespa GTS300ie abs asr
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Re: Heated Grips for Burgman 125

Post by Data »

Ok, so you need to find out the generator output capacity of your wife's new Burgman 125. The Oxford scooter grips use up to 3.2amps. The Oxford Touring grips (I have those on my GTS300 Vespa) use up to 3.9amps. My Vespa has a generator output of 450w so it can cope with that load no problem if the bike is being used normally without too many short trips in midst of winter. I suspect the generator output on your wife's scooter may not be quite sufficient to run the more powerful heated Oxford grips. As mentioned, they do draw up to 3.9amps but the nominal draw is 3.6amps, still a bit high I suspect. The best bet is do that digging around to get the output figures. Dealer may be able to help. I did a quick search but didn't find the figure.
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burgman_commuter
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 6:23 am
Current Ride: Suzuki Burgman UH125A UK
Location: Edinburgh area

Re: Heated Grips for Burgman 125

Post by burgman_commuter »

Many thanks for your response, Data.

Therein lies the rub. The enxt problem I have - probably for another post on this forum - is that when we bought the bike second hand from a main Suzuki dealer down south, it did not come with a user guide and neither that dealer, our local Suzuki dealer in Scotland, nor even eBay, can come up with a user guide for a Burgman newer than around 2010 (I think when they became fuel injected and ABS braked). I shall contact them for the tech specs though.

I have read, on some forum or other, that someone tried (or suggested trying) to get the low power scooter ones and change the controller to that of a different model since you can buy the controllers separately, but I don't know if that's a practical or sensible idea.

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Data
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Re: Heated Grips for Burgman 125

Post by Data »

The Suzuki importers Suzuki GB technical dept should be able to tell you the output capacity of the generator. Or take a look in a Haynes workshop manual. They do list the figures in there. I would not recommend fitting another heat controller. I've seen plenty of melted wiring on bikes where owners have alter heated grip specs. Good luck in your search and try to let us know what you find. That would be very helpful. :)
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

burgman_commuter
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 6:23 am
Current Ride: Suzuki Burgman UH125A UK
Location: Edinburgh area

Re: Heated Grips for Burgman 125

Post by burgman_commuter »

Just to let you know how we got on, I contacted Suzuki GB and asked about the output of a Suzuki Burgman 125's generator, and I asked about getting a replacement user manual to boot. It took them a couple of weeks or more to get back to me and they weren't able to give me a conclusive answer about the generator, and they can't even get a user manual because apparently it's a discontinued part!

I did also contact Oxford themselves, askng if they thought their Commuter handgrips (3.2A) would be alright with the Burgman 125 as opposed to their scooter ones (<3.0A) and they thought the commuter ones would be alright, but we decided to play it safe anyway.

Many thanks for the advice though.

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Re: Heated Grips for Burgman 125

Post by Data »

Thanks for posting back burgman_commuter. It's always helpful. I'm surprised that Suzuki GB couldn't answer a simple question about alternator output. Sign of the times I'm afraid. Never mind though, any tech can measure it for you but the info is now a bit redundant. Oxford scooter grips will do fine I'm sure and won't cause any issues. Even my Vespa dealer wanted to fit those scooter grips to my GTS300. Having experienced them on anther bike on a very long winter ride of some several hundred miles i wasn't impressed with them. However the dealer said "we always fit those to scooters as your charging system won't take anything more"! Utter tripe of course. I pointed out that my GSX1400 had a 370watt alternator and I fitted and ran the more powerful Oxford Touring grips without issue, and the GTS had a 450watt alternator and the same size battery so it will run the Oxford Touring grips without issue too. He was flumoxed as to how to respond. So he didn't. :lol: I've had mine on the bike for nearly 5 years now without issue, no battery problems.

Good luck! ;)
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

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