Hello from CM23!!!!

Hi there,

Joined this morning and wanted to introduce myself.....

I'm Chris from Bishops Stortford, Herts. Recently acquired a 99T Cat in red after passing my DAS course thanks to Big Dave up at Camrider Cambridge. December probably not beng the best time for a test after suffering 3 Mod 2 cancellations due to a mixture of ice and fog and also having the not so nice pleasure of watching a fellow newbie come off his bike at 5mph on a roundabout due to icy conditions while on his rideout to the exam centre for his part 2.

However, all is now good. He has now passed and I have been slowly getting to grips with my not so furry feline at weekends when the weather has allowed.

One thing I have noticed especially while on the M11/A14 on a ride up to Peterborough was how cold my pinkies get. Have bought a set of heated grips and trying to find some time to fit them. Any advice on wiring into switched live feeds or ease of installation would be very helpful.

Also, any recommendations for paddock stands welcomed as I plan to carry out basic/routine maintenence myself.

Best,

Chris

Hi Chris,

Welcome.

Looks like you're gonna fit in perfectly - in the superhero section of the site!



Congratulations on passing your DAS course and choosing an excellent bike. I hope you're enjoying getting to know her/him/it.
Several folk here on the site have fitted heated grips. I'm sure someone will be able to help you out.
As for a paddock stand I got one from the BMF show - something like
this

Post up if you have anymore questions.

Cheers,
Chris

Welcome to the asylum Chris. Can't help on the heated grips cos I'm wellhard and don't have them (ok so i'm just not that hard that I go out when it's that cold ) I did my DAS with Camriders too a few years back. As Chris says, no doubt someone will have the answer to your query.
Suzie

Hi Chris,

Welcome and congrats on your DAS.

I'm not afraid to admit I have heated grips and they do get used. Guess the fitting will depend on the type you got. I've got Oxford with the 'electronic' panel which I have put on the yoke. The wiring is connected via a fuse to the battery. I have been too lazy to get a relay and connect to a switched source (goes off when you turn off the key). Just get into the habit of turning it off when you stop, I tend to turn mine off before my destination.

The ABBA stand is a sturdy bit of kit, but also has a sturdy price tag too. Mine was pre-loved, so came my way at a good price.

SteveCat wrote:Hi Chris,

Welcome and congrats on your DAS.

I'm not afraid to admit I have heated grips

But let's be honest Steve - about the only thing missing from your bike electrical wise is a bloody teasmaid!

Welcome Chris.

Heated grips is my next job but in the meantime I wear HG spock gloves, ride vfm under £50, with silk gloves underneath. I can stand around an hour out and about before getting abck into the warmth.

Enjoy the cat.

Hi & Welcome Chris,

Wouldnt be without my heated grips, summer, spring, autumn or winter!!!

Ellie :bounce:

Hi Chris,

I first bought my Cat on 24 December a few years back and remember being fed up with not being able to try it out properly 'til the better weather. Roll on the Spring.

Many thanks for the warm welcome,

Will be good to meet some of you guys/girls on the rideouts this year once I have managed to remove the stabilisers from the rear wheel!!!!

Thanks for the advice on the stands, I'm off to the Excel London Saturday to the bike show and both Abba and Biketek have stands there - excuse the pun - so will check them out.

On the heated grips debate I spent much of yesterday mulling over how to go about installing. Armed with my trusty Haynes manual with wiring diagram inside and bacon sandwich I locked myself in the office and planned it all out. Now all I need is some bright spark to tell me it's all wrong, I don't know what I'm doing and the bike will blow up..........

As I want the grips to turn off when I turn off the ignition I have decided to tap into the switched live feed to the tail light under the seat - blue with red tracer wire - and installing a relay fused to the +ve of the battery should do this.

Removal of the tank should allow me to run the cabling neatly from the grips/controller back to the relay.

Ok, so thats the principal. My GCSE Grade C in Electronics tells me this should work. Any thoughts.......

I'm hopeful to be able to do the work the following weekend so will upload pics and description for future reference - so as long as the bike does not turn to a pile of ash!!!!

Chris

MrSlightlyoffWhite wrote:
Ok, so thats the principal. My GCSE Grade C in Electronics tells me this should work. Any thoughts.......

Your GCSE beats my telco electronics from 30 odd years ago. Sounds OK, so the grips will operate when the headlight is switched on.

Another place could maybe be to the fused side of the ignition wiring in the fuse box (dotted Red in diagram). I know it's 6 of one and half a dozen of another, but I leave well clear of the lighting circuit (main fuse go rather than lighting if relay goes pete tong - umm).

I'm sure you'll be fine and not turn your into ashes.

Might get down to Excel this weekend too.

Ezzy's Mum! wrote:
But let's be honest Steve - about the only thing missing from your bike electrical wise is a bloody teasmaid!

And that's only because I don't like tea

Hi & welcome to the site.

I only ride when warm & sunny so no heated grips im afraid. I have an oxford paddock stand which in my opinion is very good for any cleaning or maintenance job.

Congrats on passing the test & hopefully see you on a ride out sometime.
Paul.

The best place to take it from is the fused ignition feed off the fuse box its self, and the put an inline fuse on that as well, served me for many years and 2 bikes , and you know it will always be off when you turn bike off

pete

Hadn't thought about the possibility of the relay going pop and knocking out the lighting circuit. Don't fancy that late at night on country roads.

Ignition feed off the fusebox seems like the way forward.

Many thanks Steve/Paul for your advice......

Chris

MrSlightlyoffWhite wrote:Don't fancy that late at night on country roads.

You might not fancy going down country roads late at night even with the lights working, the headlight is far from 'brilliant'

Thats a very valid point although the bulbs fitted in mine seem to give off quite a bit of light when on dark roads. (possibly upgraded bulbs) The force feeding of carrots when a minor may also contribute to this clearer vision.....

I read somewhere that Philips do a bulb - Vision Plus 50% - which someone had fitted to his cat and seemed to improve his field of vision. Around £24 for a pair.

Maybe worth a try if the light really is as bad as people say.

Hi Chris

Welcome to the site.

Lovin the "Fathers for Justice" outfit.

You've had sound advice already.

I have heated grips but it is always the tips of the fingers that still stay cold.

Top notch gloves is the answer I guess.
Slightly oversize gloves and thermal inners will be warmer still.
Heated gloves should guarantee toastie fingertips.

Cheers
Rosco

Welcome aboard