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4.5
The electrical portion of the Koso Apollo heated grip installation on my BMW G310GS wasn't difficult but the mechanical installation was a pain. The sparse instructions were very clear that I was not to alter any parts, even though this is a universal part that doesn't actually fit. I used a coarse rat tail rasp and sandpaper to file down and sand the inside of the right grip and remove the ridges from the throttle sleeve and used RTV silicone to adhere the heated grip to the grip sleeve. I made a taper recess on the inside opening of the right grip to accommodate the flange on the throttle sleeve. I sourced 45mm M8 X 1.25mm cap screws to replace the screw on the right grip that was too short for the new heated grip length, so I could use an M8 nut and a stack of lock washers as a spacer so the bar end weight doesn't bind the throttle.I bought the special crimp connectors that mate to the wired connectors on the rear of the instrument panel display on the G310GS. These are two accessory circuits that are only on when the bike is on, to avoid running down the battery. I believe they are each capable of supplying 7 amps. I wasn't able to source the specialty connectors on Amazon so I bought them on eBay from a seller in Canada. This prevented me from splicing into the BMW wiring. All electrical additions plug into these two accessory circuits.My biggest tip - DO NOT USE THE SUPPLIED SUPER GLUE. Cyanoacrylic adhesive is always a disaster for me, and this was much worse than usual. You don't want the new heated grips permanently installed halfway on the handlebar, with your fingers glued together and a blob of ugly superglue with some of the skin from your palm stuck to your new heated grip.For the most part, the Koso grips look and operate like factory grips because the control is integrated into the left grip. I love that. Maybe I should have mounted the heated grip switch in a less convenient location. I often inadvertently turn on the heated grips in the summer. I'm sure I'll appreciate the heated grips more when riding in the fall and if I ride this winter.Much as it tortured my soul to use a razor knife to cut off the very nice new BMW grips, the Koso Apollo grips have a nice look and feel, and I like the larger diameter. It's comfortable and less fatiguing, but I have freakishly large hands so your mileage may vary.It was ironic that I sweated for several hours in a 100 degree Fahrenheit garage installing these heated grips.Update: After 8000 miles, I love the Apollo heated grips. This is the first time I've had heated grips on a motorcycle. I expected to get some use out of them in colder weather but I use them all the time, including mornings and nights when the weather is a bit chilly. The heated grips allow my hands to always be the perfect temperature. The five temperature settings seem perfect to me. I ride in relatively thin abrasion resistant gloves and usually use the medium or medium high setting. High is for very cold conditions. If it's not very cold outside, the grips set to high are almost too hot to touch. I love the fully integrated controls as opposed to other brands that have a clunky controller box. The Apollo grips look like factory heated grips. I'll never own a bike without heated grips again. Despite some hassles during the installation (it's very difficult to make a universal product to fit other companies products), the Apollo heated grips are excellent, and well worth the cost and the time spent installing them
